Solicitor/Chartered Legal Executive – Motor Fraud

Job Introduction

Due to continued growth we are looking to expand our pre-litigated Low Speed Impact ("LSI") team.  The team is currently comprised of 1 partner, 1 manager who also supervises the team and 5 full time fee handlers.  The team works predominantly for 1 insurer client investigating LSI fraud claims, although we do work for other insurers and are expanding this further into other areas of fraud, including phantom passenger claims and claims farming.

It is a very tight knit and vibrant team who are looking forward to welcoming another member into their ranks.
 

The Motor Counter-Fraud Team is a multiple award-winning team.  It has a reputation for not only defending the claims themselves (the main aim is full repudiation), but also for proactively tackling those organisations and professional enablers behind the claims, particularly for organised fraud. The team adopts a collaborative approach where both reactive and proactive investigation is promoted, working hand in hand with our clients and agencies such as IFED and the new Regional Fraud teams.

Our investigative work has resulted in a number of outstanding successes for our clients: findings of fraud in civil courts, cases which are being developed for contempt proceedings, and, where a police referral has been made, sentences handed down in successful criminal prosecutions. The success of the team is due to innovative legal strategies and the use of sophisticated analysis, such as telecommunications work, to ensure the insurance fraud industry is equipped to combat these claims.

If you're interested in this opportunity and have any questions, please contact Emma Colls ecolls@dacbeachcroft.com

Role Responsibility

• Handling a caseload of pre-litigated LSI claims (with potential expansion into other fraud types) with an appropriate level of supervision.  This would potentially be for more than one client.   
• Proofing the policyholder to obtain a detailed version of events and assess the strengths of their evidence
• Reviewing other evidence (e.g. medical reports and engineering reports) to assess the strengths of the Defence
• Preparing an advice note to advise on prospects of success
• Investigating and repudiating pre-issue claims
• 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 
• Demonstrating a high level of financial management in respect of own files
• Achieving annual fee targets and hitting 1440 chargeable hours per year
• Maintaining and developing technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications and meeting Solicitors Regulatory Authority CPD requirements, where necessary

The Ideal Candidate

• Preferable an experienced pre-issue fee earner (although training will be provided and applications will be considered from other relevant backgrounds)
• Expertise in fraud is beneficial, but not essential, as the successful candidate will be fully trained in dealing with fraud cases
• Confident negotiator and communicator
• Investigation and analytical skills preferred but full training will be provided
• Ability to work on own initiative, but also a team player
• Being commercially aware
• Attention to detail and quality in drafting advice notes and repudiation letters

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