Paralegal - Coverage & Liability - Bristol

Job Introduction

The Claims Solutions Group Property team in Bristol provides advice and claims management services to the insurance industry.  Our specialist Complex Property team is led in Bristol by 3 partners and 3 associates. We provide expert and practical advice covering a range of areas, including:

• Property Damage claims, including pursuing subrogated recovery actions and defending Policy coverage disputes.
• The defence of public and product liability claims.
• Business interruption claims.
• Claims involving issues arising under structural warranties
• Investigating and defending allegations of fraud arising under property insurance policies, as well as complaints.

Role Responsibility

• Developing your knowledge of all aspects of property-related insurance claims, including policy coverage disputes, public and product liability claims, fraud claims and complaints, and subrogated recovery claims and liability matters.
• Developing your knowledge of litigation tactics and a sound working knowledge of the CPR.
• Claims handling a variety of litigated and pre-litigated files.
• Task-based discrete activities assisting on claims for other fee earners in the team, including carrying out preliminary investigations and evidence gathering, ensuring technical and expert evidence obtained by insurers and their agents is sufficient to prove causation; obtaining witness statements; and contacting relevant parties to obtain contractual and other relevant documentation.
• Ensuring that the case management system and hard copy files are updated with diary dates as required by the case.
• Assuming responsibility for client protocol compliance both on own files and where working on task-based assignments.
• Handling confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocols
• Meeting and exceeding internal targets for time recording and billing.

The Ideal Candidate

• Preferably have a degree in Law (LLB or equivalent) or previous relevant legal experience.
• Knowledge of the litigation process is desirable – either through experience, the LPC or ILEX.
• Be interested in and have a good working knowledge of general contract and tortious principles.
• Be interested in and willing to learn insurance-based property damage law.
• Be interested in and willing to learn the technical aspects of construction and property claims investigations as required for the role.
• Have an ability to adopt a commercial perspective rather than an ‘academic’ approach to claims settlement.
• Demonstrates alignment with the Firm’s Cultural Principles (Clear, Creative, Determined and Supportive).

About the Company

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,500 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Malaysia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, 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, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for all of 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 all of the UK’s top-12 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 142 Chambers UK 2021 practice area and individual lawyer rankings. In Legal 500 UK 2021, the firm received a top tier ranking for 37 of its practice areas, and 58 DACB lawyers were singled out in the ‘Leading Individual' rankings.

Our successes have been recognised by the legal industry and the markets in which we operate. These accolades include two top prizes in the ‘Excellence in Business Development’ and ‘Excellence in Technology & Innovation’ categories of the 2020 Law Society Excellence Awards – the highest accolade for law firms in England & Wales. Our health sector team won the ‘Crisis Management Team of the Year’ award at the 2020 British Legal Awards for its support to the NHS at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our Cyber & Data Risk team received the ‘Business Development Innovation Award’ at the 2020 Legal Innovation Awards, as well as ‘Cyber Law Firm of the Year’ at the prestigious Insurance Insider Cyber Rankings Awards, for its market-leading suite of digital tools to help our clients prepare for and respond to cyber and data risk crises.

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.

Application Details

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 recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com

DAC Beachcroft