Paralegal - Proactive Litigation & Sanctions

Job Introduction

The role is to work as a Paralegal in our Proactive Litigation & Sanctions team (PLS) providing a high-quality service to clients in the management of pre-litigated/ litigated fraud recovery and/or sanction cases.

We act on behalf of major insurers in pursuing a recovery of their losses on fraudulent cases from third parties and After the Event insurance providers. Duties will include: reporting to clients, reviewing and completing Land Registry documents, drafting letters before action, review and analysing documents, drafting legal proceedings, commencing various enforcement proceedings, instructing/liaising with High Court Enforcement Officers, liaising with Liquidators, assessing the prospects of making a successful recovery, heavy negotiating, researching case law, preparing witness statements, and running recovery proceedings/action through to the best possible outcome for a large array of clients across the business.

The team

We believe that by thinking outside of the box and adopting a proactive stance is key. Knowing your opponent and adopting the right strategy is an important part of the fraud recovery process which is dealt with by this specialist team. The PLS team deploy the most appropriate tactics and apply the most appropriate pressure upon the debtor to secure payment, achieving positive recovery rates on behalf of our clients as a result.

With the expansion of the PLS team it is an exciting time to join the team. This team plays a key role within the wider fraud team and this expansion of the team is reflective of the teams abilities and success.

Role Responsibility

Specific responsibilities will include:

•  Handling a varied caseload of pre-litigated and litigated claim with an appropriate level of supervision
• Support the more experienced fee earners in the team on the more complex or larger sanctions cases
• You will be expected to effectively communicate with debtors, solicitors, third parties and clients via telephone, post and email correspondence. The ability to communicate robustly will be required when dealing with opponents, especially given the nature of the work
• Assume responsibility for quality control and benchmark compliance on own caseload, including accuracy and timeliness of management reporting and information
• Act 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
• Demonstrating a high level of financial management in respect of own files
•  Achieving annual fee targets and hitting 1440 chargeable hours per year
• Supporting marketing and business development activity within the team e.g. attending marketing events and client training
• Ensure strict and ongoing adherence to benchmark standards in all work undertaken
• Building an awareness of the firm's other services, developing effective internal and external networks
• Maintaining and developing technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications and meeting Solicitors Regulatory Authority CPD requirements, where necessary
• You will be required to handle confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocols.

The Ideal Candidate

Please note that:

Legal experience or qualifications is desirable but not essential; and

Exposure to litigation and enforcement/ sanctions is desirable but not essential.

• IT literacy - with a good working knowledge of Excel and Word. Previous knowledge or experience of a case management system would be an advantage
• Prioritisation and organisation skills – The ability to organise your own time, recognise time pressures and what's important and when to ask for help
• Willingness to follow a process driven system, working within set parameters and precedents
• Analytical skills – The ability to critically look at factual evidence; identify what is right/out of the ordinary
• Commercial sense - the ability to know the principle or law but also know when it is worth pursuing it
• Experienced fee earner (Paralegal / Litigation Executive), preferably with a litigation background gained within a recovery/litigation/sanctions environment, would be desirable but not essential as the successful candidate will be fully trained in dealing with sanctions cases
• Knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules
• Knowledge and application of the methods of enforcement for judgment would be advantageous
• Confident negotiator and communicator
• Interpersonal skills – The ability to work well with a team, speak to a client or debtor on the telephone and meet with clients
• Resilience – The ability to stand your ground in a telephone negotiation and to receive feedback
• Aptitude to learn – the ability to retain knowledge and transfer this into new skills
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work on own initiative without close supervision, but also a team player with a collegiate approach to knowledge sharing and problem solving, particularly in the case of multi-site clients which are supported across the team
• Flexible with an ability to adapt to rapid change, both internally and in the context of clients' businesses.
• Must be able to work under pressure and with a high volume caseload, to meet required deadlines.

About the Company

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,400 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 Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru, Central America, Argentina, the USA, Australia and Germany.

We are known for our market-leading presence in sectors such as 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 the majority of the top 30 insurance and financial services companies operating in the UK. We are the asset management lawyers for the UK’s largest shopping centres and act for 9 of the UK’s top 10 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 155 Chambers UK 2019 practice area and individual lawyer rankings, including 30 rankings at 'Band 1' level. In Legal 500 UK, 2018, the firm received top tier ranking for 32 of its practice areas and 59 practice areas in the top two tiers. In March 2018, we were named as one of Legal Week's Best Legal Advisors for the third year running, achieving category-leading satisfaction scores for our commercial approach, service delivery, quality of legal advice, communication & responsiveness and overall relationships.

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.

DAC Beachcroft is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from every sector of the community. We also welcome direct applications. 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.

DAC Beachcroft