Trainee Solicitor- Casualty
Job Introduction
To be eligible for a traineeship in Scotland, you must have completed a LLB in Scots Law and a Diploma in Professional Legal Practice. Both of these must be completed at an accredited Scottish University.
The Claims Solutions Casualty Injury Team is expanding and the team now seeks a trainee solicitor to work on lower value pre-litigation and Sheriff Court claims and to assist other members of the team with higher value claims. The work is predominantly Defender with a significant proportion being local Ordinary Cause actions and work in the All Scotland Personal Injury Court.
Our specialist casualty injury team in Glasgow comprises a Partner, three Solicitors and a trainee providing expert and practical advice over a range of areas:
• Public Liability / Employer Liability claims
• Medical and Professional Negligence claims
• Stress at work claims
• Fatal and catastrophic injury claims
• Foreign and holiday claims, particularly those emanating from Spain including the Canary and Balearic Islands
• Indemnity and policy coverage
• Claims against local authorities
Role Responsibility
- With an appropriate level of supervision, undertaking predominantly pre-litigation work, litigated cases in the Sheriff Court along with task based work on all level of claims including Court of Session Work.
- Task based activities on claims for solicitors, carrying out preliminary investigations and evidence gathering to include:
- Ensuring the technical and expert evidence obtained by insurers' and loss adjusters is sufficient to dispute liability and causation;
- Investigating and precognosing witnesses, reviewing medical records and arranging medico-legal appointments;
- Contacting relevant parties to obtain information and contract documents; and
- Where necessary and appropriate, conduct site visits with the insured.
- Drafting letters and reports to clients.
- Negotiating damages and legal expenses with third party solicitors.
- Research tasks and analysis of documents in order to provide advice to other team members or direct to clients.
- Attend meetings, conferences and court and prepare all related paperwork. It is anticipated that in the second year of the traineeship the candidate will appear in court under a restricted practising certificate.
- Working on cases which are predominantly Defender in nature
- Exercise full compliance with DAC Beachcroft LLP protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management in respect of own files.
- Aim to achieve a minimum budgeted annual target of 1440 chargeable hours per year.
- Handle confidential information in line with the firm's data security protocols.
The Ideal Candidate
- Have an LLB (Hons) and have completed the Diploma in Legal Practice.
- Be highly organised and a confident communicator with an outstanding eye for detail.
- Be interested in and have a good understanding of general contract and delict.
- Be interested in and willing to learn insurance law, reparation law, and the technical aspects of personal injury litigation and investigation as required for the role.
- Be familiar with the Sheriff Court Rules, particularly Chapter 36
- Be change oriented, with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives.
- Be IT literate, with a good knowledge of Microsoft Office and previous knowledge or experience of a case management system would be an advantage but not essential.
- Willingness to follow a process driven system, working within set parameters.
- Be team orientated, with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team.
- Have an ability to adopt a commercial perspective rather than an ‘academic’ approach to claims settlement.
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