Team Leader – Cost Draftsman / Lawyer

Cardiff, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Advertised Salary: Competitive (DOE)

Location: Mostly Remote - Quarterly meetings in Cardiff

Salary: Competitive (DOE)

Benefits: 27 days holiday plus bank holidays, the option to buy and sell holidays, hybrid working, a flexible working environment, company pension, sick pay, life assurance, employee assist program and many more.

Are you an experienced legal costs expert with a flair for leadership and operational insight? Ready to take your career to the next level in a supportive, forward-thinking environment? Simpson Millar is looking for a dynamic Costs Team Leader to join our dedicated CC Law team. As a pivotal part of the team, you’ll combine expert case handling with operational leadership. You’ll support the Head of CC Law in driving performance, maintaining best practice, and enhancing the delivery of legal cost services, all while managing your own caseload and mentoring a high-performing support team.

Role & Responsibilities:

• Draft Traditional and Precedent S Bills of Costs, Budgets, and Statements (N260).
• Provide expert costs advice and negotiate with opposition parties.
• Represent at Costs Management and Detailed Assessment Hearings.
• Lead operational initiatives – from process improvement and tech integration to KPI tracking and financial forecasting.
• Mentor team members, address performance concerns, and collaborate with L&D for talent development.
• Work closely with Business Intelligence to improve key Management Information (MI).

What We’re Looking For:

• A solid background in legal costs with experience in operational leadership.
• Sharp critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Confidence in handling KPIs, improving performance, and driving business outcomes.
• Proficiency in case management systems and Office/Excel tools.
• A strong communicator who leads by example and thrives in a collaborative environment.

You’ll also have experience of using CostsMaster / idraft software and if you hold membership of the Association of Costs Lawyers then that would be great, but it’s not essential.

So why should you want to join us? We have a small but genuinely friendly and hard-working team who are all keen to work together to achieve the best results possible and provide a genuinely high-quality service. But this small team is part of a national law firm, so you get the best of both worlds – a friendly team who all know each other and work towards a common goal where you’re going to get hands-on experience from an early stage, but with the backing of a growing and well-capitalised law firm.

If the above sounds like you, then we’d like to hear from you. Either click the link below to apply, or otherwise if you want to talk through your experience and find out a little more, then please feel free to call Katie McCabe (Recruitment Business Partner) on 01138 314206.

Diversity and Inclusion:

At Simpson Millar we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your previous experience doesn’t align perfectly with every element in the advert, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or for other roles in our firm.