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

Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd) is regulated by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority and was founded in 1998. 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. We are a paperless law firm with over 500 personnel that embraces hybrid-working, servicing both corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 areas of law across 60 languages. We have been awarded Law Firm of the Year at the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards, reflecting our dedication to legal expertise and client service. We hold Investors in People Gold Standard accreditation for over 15 years, showcasing our commitment to professional development.

Our Housing team provides assistance to both landlords and tenants on all housing issues. Our solicitors are highly experienced in finding solutions to housing disputes and aim to address the issues quickly and effectively. We offer lawyer supported dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a means to resolve housing disrepair matters. The department also regularly represents clients in the courts and prepares applications for judicial review in cases of homelessness.

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 such as Homelessness, Disrepair, Eviction, Possession, Property Ownership Disputes, Succession for Tenants, Housing adaptations, Social Housing, and Neighbourhood Problems.
• 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.

You will have a professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and be interested in Business Development and Marketing to supplement the substantial work volumes brought in by the company.

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.
• Strong management skills.
• Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster a 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 publicly funded Housing work including legal representation and legal help.
• 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.

We offer:

• Senior Solicitor - Director Level Salary: Outside London: £68,000+

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.

Equal Opportunities: Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff. The Company strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, which is reflective at all levels within our workforce. We guarantee an interview for candidates that disclose a disability and meet the essential requirements for the post.

If you are interested in applying for this vacancy, apply now or visit our company website to apply using our online process.