Police Claims Solicitor

Our specialist practitioners act exclusively for the police service, representing a diverse range of forces across England and Wales. As the largest dedicated police legal team in the country and the only “Chambers and Partners” Band 1 ranked defendant police law team, our lawyers have been involved in some of the most high profile and significant cases involving the police service over the last 20+ years.

We are recruiting for a 0-2 year PQE Solicitor to join our Police Claims team in London, Liverpool or Manchester. This is a hybrid working role; you will be expected to attend the office at least 2-3 days each week, to meet the business need. Initially, you will assist in the defence of civil claims in the national Police Claims team, working on a wide variety of claims on behalf of a variety of police forces. Depending on your experience, you can expect to start handling your own caseload under supervision.

Your key duties and responsibilities will initially include:

• Assisting fee earners with various tasks including general case management, legal research, reporting to clients and preparation for court hearings;
• Attending client meetings, witness conferences and court hearings to support fee earners;
• Assisting with the instruction of counsel and experts;
• Responding promptly and accurately to correspondence and telephone enquiries from clients and other parties, with and without supervision;
• Achieving financial and chargeable hours targets;
• Supporting the team’s business development activities.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and you will be expected to perform other duties and have other responsibilities that fall within the wider remit of the role. You will also ensure that you comply with the relevant Weightmans and client policies and procedures, and consistently work in accordance with our values.

About You

You will have previous litigation experience and a genuine and demonstrable interest in this area of work. As the role is varied, you will need to have a flexible approach and be able to adapt to different tasks. We also require you to have:

• Strong written and communication skills;
• Strong time management and organisation skills;
• Strong attention to detail and ability to concentrate;
• An ability to multi-task and prioritise;
• An ability to work to strict deadlines and targets;
• An ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative;
• Knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules and their application to this area of work.

Previous defendant claims experience and/or in-house experience of working with the police are desirable but not necessary. If you meet our criteria and think that this is a job to which you could bring enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn, then we look forward to receiving your application.

Please Note

In addition to the Employment screening, the successful candidate will be required to complete a Police Vetting before commencing employment. Candidates must meet the Police Vetting Criteria, including the Residency Criteria. This is essential to enable us to proceed with employment.

Why work for us

Weightmans is a Top 40 law firm with offices throughout the UK. Having been recognised as the leading legal employer and achieved record rankings in Chambers UK, we are proud to be an accredited living wage employer. We are truly committed to fostering a culture of equality and diversity, where everyone in the firm is respected and recognised on merit for the work that they do. We strongly encourage applications from people of all ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and disabilities.

As well as being immensely proud of the work we carry out for our clients and the culture we provide to our people we offer a wide range of benefits including:

• 28 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays (pro-rated for part time);
• Hybrid working including provision of home office equipment;
• Pension plan;
• Life Insurance 4 x salary;
• Employee Assistance Programme including counselling, legal and consumer advice service;
• Discounted gym membership;
• Cycle to work scheme;
• Offers & discounts;
• Great reward and recognition scheme.

We encourage candidates to speak to us direct/apply direct for the opportunities we have available. The successful candidate appointed to this role will be subject to our standard background checking process, and any offer of employment made is conditional upon successful completion of those checks. Further details can be obtained from the Recruitment team. We are open to part time/job share applicants.