Associate/Senior Associate - Professional & Commercial Risk (D&O / Coverage)

Job Introduction

DAC Beachcroft - Associate/Senior Associate, Professional & Commercial Risk (D&O / Coverage) - Bristol

Are you looking for a role where you will be intellectually challenged, but treated with respect?  Or an environment where you can enjoy industry-leading work quality without compromising on client contact and business development?  Or a position that offers genuine flexibility to allow you to meet your personal and work commitments?  An opportunity in our Professional and Commercial Risk team may be for you.

At DAC Beachcroft we are committed to and recognise the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion across the board, including and beyond the protected characteristics. We take decisions based solely on merit .

We value, welcome and seek out people with different backgrounds and life experiences , perspectives, beliefs, ways of thinking and identities. Our inclusive culture encourages colleagues to be themselves at work, supporting people to perform at their best and to reach their potential.  

Should you require any support to perform at your best throughout the recruitment process, please contact us so that we can discuss how we can most appropriately assist.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and guarantee to interview anyone with a disability, long term health condition or neurodifference whose application meets the essential criteria for the role (see below). If this applies to you, please contact recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com in confidence, quoting the reference number for this vacancy and "DCS" in the subject box of your email, and a member of the Recruitment Team will be in touch.

We are happy to talk flexible working and have in place a Flex-forward working scheme. We would encourage you to talk to us about our approach to flexible working during the hiring process if you would like to explore this further.

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Role Responsibility

You will play an active role in the continued growth and success of the professional indemnity team in collaboration with our wider practice in the South, as well as nationally.

The team is ranked in Tier 1 in both the Legal 500 and Chambers directories, with a number of leading individuals named. It is the longest established professional negligence team in Bristol, acting for most of the leading insurers.

Within the team, the service line specialising in advising on Directors' and Officers' (D&O) insurance is particularly active.  This team act for a number of the leading D&O insurers, both in advising insurers on coverage for a wide variety of claims as well as defending claims against directors and officers/insured companies. This often involves working with specialists from other teams in fields such as employment law and white collar crime.  In addition, the team provide coverage advice under a wide range of insurance policies, including Crime and Financial Institutions insurance.

Specific responsibilities include but are not restricted to:

• Handling a stimulating and often complex D&O caseload with an emphasis on advising on insurance coverage, but with opportunities to handle a wide variety of claims against directors and officers.:
• The opportunity to interact on a regular basis with leading insurer clients in this area.
• Working collaboratively with other specialists across the firm.
• Acting as a point of contact for clients where necessary, demonstrating a level of knowledge and skill commensurate with experience
• Maintaining an awareness of the firm's strategies and plans
• Maintaining and develop technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications and exceeding Law Society CPD requirements
• Ensuring full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management when supporting others in managing files and in relation to own files, where appropriate.

The Ideal Candidate

• A qualified solicitor with at least 3 years PQE experience (up to and including Senior Associates) gained in a specialist insurance firm (or in house at a financial lines insurer)
• Good experience in advising on insurance coverage under financial lines policies and ideally including under D&O/Management Liability policies.   
• Excellent relationship and client handling skills.  Able to deal confidently and professionally with clients on day to day issues.
• Experience on secondment with a leading financial lines insurer would be beneficial.
• The ability to deliver clear, well written legal advice/reports on complex legal/coverage issues.
• Able to demonstrate a reasonable level of self-sufficiency, combined with an awareness of the boundaries of own competence/authority.
• An ability to adopt a client focused and commercial perspective rather than an ‘academic’ approach to legal issues, coupled with a keen grasp of legal issues, as these arise (demonstrating a clear ability to learn quickly ‘on the job’).
• Change oriented with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives.
• Team oriented and collegiate with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team.
• Willingness to work hard as part of a highly ambitious and driven team to help it continue to develop and to achieve its objectives.

About the Company

We're a leading international legal business with over 3,000 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We're market leaders in insurance, health and real estate but with a full-service offering, including growing Financial Services and Tech capabilities. We represent a wide range of clients – from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for nearly all of the top-20 UK and global insurers, we're market leaders in the provision of strategic, commercial and regulatory advice to providers and commissioners in the health sector, and in real estate we advise all of the UK’s top-five housebuilders.

We are a fast-growing international business with offices around the globe.  In addition to our 11 UK offices, we also have offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Rome, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Miami, plus a broad network of affiliations across the globe. 

Working with us

Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. Combine this with our supportive culture and hybrid working model, and you have: a Life that Works.

Our flexible approach means that we help our colleagues to be their best at work, while recognising that they have all sorts of different interests and commitments outside work.

We pride ourselves on our supportive, approachable culture. We are trusted, appreciated as individuals and embraced as part of a team. At DACB, we don’t just accept your differences, we celebrate and advocate for them. From bespoke solutions for our clients, to treating you as an individual. Our strength comes from your diverse ideas and bringing the ‘whole you’ to work. So if you’re good at what you do, come as you are!

Note for Recruitment Agencies – the DAC Beachcroft LLP resourcing team is responsible for managing all current vacancies through direct hiring and referrals wherever possible.  We do work with recruitment agencies and where we require external support we will formally release those vacancies to the agencies on our Preferred Supplier List deemed best placed to assist us.  Speculative CVs sent by any agency to any DAC Beachcroft employee without a specific request by the resourcing team will not be accepted and with no introduction fee applicable.  Our resourcing team can be contacted at recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com

DAC Beachcroft