Social Housing Solicitor-Director - Salary £68K Per Annum- Manchester

Duncan Lewis Solicitors was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in the City of London, with offices nationwide. We are recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK independent legal directories as a top-tier law firm in all of our key practice areas. A paperless law firm with over 500 personnel that embraces hybrid-working, we service both corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 areas of law across 60 languages. We give people a voice - that is our ethos.

Choosing a career with Duncan Lewis is choosing a law firm that is the largest provider of publicly funded (legal aid) legal services in the country and has a growing private client practice. We have been Investors in People Gold Standard accredited for over 15 years and are continuously applauded nationally for the work that we do. Having demonstrated unparalleled legal expertise and a commitment to justice, we were awarded Law Firm of the Year at both the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards. We are named as one of the Times 200 Best Law Firms.

Housing Department Background: Our Housing team is ranked and recommended by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK for its services in social housing UK-wide, providing assistance to both landlords and tenants on all housing issues. We handle both publicly funded (legal aid) and privately funded legal services in homelessness, disrepair, eviction, succession for tenants, neighbourhood problems, debt issues and possession proceedings. Our solicitors are highly experienced in finding solutions to housing disputes and aim to address the issues quickly and effectively.

Main Responsibilities of the Role:

• Report directly to and collaborate with the Board to ensure performance targets are met.
• Responsible for all aspects of Housing work including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members.
• Significant experience in representing clients as Housing Court Duty Scheme over the last 2 years.
• Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities.
• Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department.
• Variety of duties including dealing with a range of Housing cases including Homelessness; Disrepair; Eviction; Possession; Property Ownership Disputes; Succession for Tenants; Housing adaptations; Social Housing; Neighbourhood Problems matters as well as undertaking your own advocacy.
• Dealing with emergency cases and identifying and carrying out strategic litigation.
• Preparing and managing funding applications to the Legal Aid Agency.
• Preparing draft documents including witness statements and processing evidence.

Key Skills Required:

• 3 Years+ PQE with proven experience of Housing and Litigation, including court representation essential.
• Must have experience as Duty Advisor under Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme over the last 2 years.
• Must meet the 2013 SQM Supervisor standard in Housing, or willing to work towards this.
• Experience in welfare rights and community care issues.
• Must have a clean, valid Practicing Certificate at the time of applying.
• Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster culture of positive change and encourage cross referrals.
• Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators.
• Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable client matters in a sensitive manner.
• Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business.
• Working knowledge of the publicly funded Housing work including legal representation and legal help and have the ability to service privately funded cases.
• Have extensive experience in dealing with all Housing related work.
• Experience in own advocacy is an advantage.
• Excellent IT Skills - familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills.
• Experience within the legal sector is preferable.
• Ability to manage social media activity to promote the Company.

What we offer:

• A fantastic supportive team.
• Excellent progression opportunities.
• Support for appropriate legal awards/recognition.

The recruitment process will fully comply with GDPR and other applicable laws. Background checks including CRB / DBS checks will establish your eligibility to work in the UK and suitability to the role. Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff.

We guarantee an interview for candidates that disclose a disability and meet the essential requirements for the post. Please provide additional details in your covering letter if this applies.