Costs Draftsperson / Experienced Paralegal
Job Introduction
Currently the costs product has two Partners, five Legal Directors and two Associates. There are 50 lawyers specialising in all aspects of costs litigation including Solicitors, Chartered Legal Executives, Costs Lawyers and Paralegals.
The costs product comprises several distinct teams specialising in a specific area of costs including paying party teams, complex claims team and a receiving party recovery team.
Team members aim to build strong links and establish good rapport with the clients and claims handlers, which ensures that team members understand the clients' businesses and exceed their expectations.
We are currently accepting applications from lawyers to join our receiving party recovery team. There are opportunities for entry level paralegals as well as more experienced lawyers who already have experience dealing with recovering costs and drafting claims for costs including detailed bills.
What’s in it for you?
- High levels of flexibility and a great work life balance - https://jobs.dacbeachcroft.com/whats-in-it-for-you/
- A well-rounded remuneration package (which includes private medical insurance, income protection insurance and discounted gym membership, amongst many other benefits)
- Opportunities for growth and progression including professional funding
- In person and remote social events
- Opportunity to get involved in a range of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities
We are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, which aligns closely to our cultural principles (Determined, Clear, Creative and Supportive). If you are excited about this role and being part of our culture, but your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!
What you will do
Receiving party claim team specific responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Handle a case load of costs recoveries
- Drafting electronic detailed bills of costs (depending on experience), costs schedules, statements and estimates
- Depending on experience, dealing with all aspects of costs management including the drafting of budgets, budget discussion reports and variations
- Acting as a point of contact for clients, demonstrating a level of knowledge and skill commensurate with experience
- Ensuring full compliance with clients' SLAs and DAC Beachcroft's internal protocols
- Assume responsibility for quality control and benchmark compliance on own caseload, including accuracy and timeliness of management reporting and information
- Ensure strict and ongoing adherence to benchmark standards in all work undertaken.
- Demonstrating a high level of financial management in respect of own files
- To hit, maintain and apply a consistent approach to all individual targets of chargeable time, financial performance, realisation rates, settlement rates and average claim spend.
- Achieve a minimum budgeted annual target of 1440 chargeable hours per year.
- Exercise full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management in respect of own files.
- Supporting marketing and business development activity within the team e.g. attending marketing events and client training
- Maintain an awareness of the firm's strategies and plans.
- Maintaining and developing technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications
- Handle confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocol
Who you are
This is an ideal opportunity for an entry level paralegal to start their legal career and obtain an essential grounding in an area which will serve as a platform for their own development or for a more experienced lawyer already specialising in receiving party costs litigation to develop their career by broadening their experience. There is also the possibility for a lawyer already dealing with paying party costs litigation to develop their career by developing their experience in receiving party recovery work.
- For the general entry level opportunity, no experience is necessary just a willingness to learn. Full training will be provided and funding support for the Costs Lawyer training course is available.
- For the more experienced opportunity, anyone with a minimum of three years experience dealing with costs (specifically paying/receiving party or both) arising from litigation to include drafting pleadings (such as points of dispute, replies, budgets and budget discussion reports)
- Experience of drafting detailed electronic bills or Costs Form 1s/schedules of costs makes you an ideal candidate for our more experienced receiving party opportunity
- Confident negotiator, who can communicate clearly and concisely both verbally and in written form
- IT literate with a good working knowledge of Excel and Word. Previous knowledge or experience of a case management system would be an advantage but is not essential
- Willingness to follow a process driven system, working within set parameters.
- Ability to work on own initiative without close supervision
- Able to demonstrate strong team working skills and that they are a flexible and self-motivated team player
- Have excellent organisational skills and able to effectively prioritise and organise a workload/tasks
- Experience of working within a pressurised and deadline driven environment
- Have an ability to adopt a commercial perspective to legal issues rather than a purely academic approach
- Able to produce work to a high standard, with excellent attention to detail
- Flexible with an ability to adapt to rapid change, both internally and in the context of clients' businesses;
- Knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules (academic or practical).
- Must be able to work under pressure and with a high volume caseload, to meet required deadlines
About DAC Beachcroft
We are a leading international legal business with over 2,900 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Rome, Singapore, Argentina Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Malaysia, Brazil, Peru, Central America, the USA, Australia and Germany.
We are a broad-based commercial firm with a strong heritage in insurance, health and real estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for the UK’s top-ten insurers, we are 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 the UK’s top-12 housebuilders.
We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 141 practice area rankings across Chambers UK 2023 and The Legal 500 2023 and over 230 individual lawyers ranked in the two guides.
Our successes have been recognised by the legal industry and the markets in which we operate. Our most recent accolades include being named the top winner at the 2022 Legal Innovation Awards with two awards, bringing home two National Insurance Awards in 2023 for ‘Insurance Law’ and ‘Innovative Product’, winning ‘Legal Adviser of the Year – Public’ at both the 2021 and 2022 HealthInvestor Awards and ‘Legal Adviser of the Year – Private’ at the 2021 awards, and being named ‘Arbitration Team of the Year’ at the 2022 British Legal Awards. Regionally in the UK, we were named ‘Law Firm of the Year – Large’ in the 2022 Yorkshire Legal Awards and ‘Innovators of the Year’ at the 2022 Bristol Law Society Awards.
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. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.
What you need to know about applying
At DAC Beachcroft, we don’t just accept your differences we celebrate them. From bespoke solutions for our clients, to treating you like 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. We welcome direct applications and are happy to talk flexible working.
We also want you to be at your very best. Please feel free to let us know of any changes we can make at any point in the recruitment process that will help support your application. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV. Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.
Note for Recruitment Agencies – the DAC Beachcroft recruitment 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 recruitment team will not be accepted and with no introduction fee applicable. Our recruitment team can be contacted at csgrecruitment@dacbeachcroft.com
DAC Beachcroft