Solicitor/FCILEX - Court of Protection (Property & Affairs) in Durham

A little bit about us: EMG Solicitors is an award winning Legal 500 law firm with offices nationally, specialising in Court of Protection (both property and affairs and health and welfare), Deputyships, Mental Health Law, Family Law and Mediation, Residential Conveyancing, Education Law and Wills, Trusts & Probate services. Our mission is to provide the legal support our clients require in order to achieve anything from their basic needs to their wildest dreams and everything in between.

What are we looking for? We are currently looking to recruit two Solicitors or FCilex in our Court of Protection, Property and Affairs team, who ideally will have up to 4 years’ PQE, and can competently manage Court of Protection matters.

Where will you be based? This role can be based from our Durham office, but we would expect you to travel and work from other offices from time to time.

How many hours will you be working? This is a full-time role which is 35 hours per week, however at EMG Solicitor we work flexibly, it’s not a 9 to 5 role, but we do expect the work to be done, when you do it can be largely up to yourself, your Team Leader and the requirements of your clients.

A brief overview of the role: This role will be managing a caseload of professional and lay deputyship clients from the application through to dealing with the administration of the deputyship. This will include making appropriate decisions, involving exercise of judgment, understanding and managing financial budgets and understanding all aspects of our client's lives. The role also includes coordinating and overseeing projects, including independent living trials, property purchases and adaptations, financial investments, litigation support pending a clients personal injury claim and other Capital purchases to name a few. The fee earner will be expected to provide advice regarding the Court of Protection to clients as well as monitoring their ongoing eligibility for certain statutory funding and other entitlements to support them in all other aspects of their life where there is a financial implication and to liaise with case managers, carers, clients and their families. Assisting and carrying out work on other team members cases when required will also be involved. The fee earner will have good theoretical knowledge of work and be able to deal with challenging behaviour in a non-confrontational manner as many of our clients have suffered an acquired brain injury.

What will we expect from you:

• Generating work: Your work will come from a mixture of delegation and general deputyship management of matters. We encourage all our team members to win work, which can be achieved in a variety of ways, including becoming known as a go-to specialist in a field, writing articles and speaking at events, both external and internal, attending networking events and flying the EMG Solicitors flag, and developing relationships on a one-to-one basis.
• Undertaking work: You should be passionate about providing technically excellent advice and support to clients, delivered in a user-friendly way, and exemplary client service. We take the view we stand and fall as a team - you will need to work both on your own and as part of a team. You will undertake fee earning work and provide a profitable contribution to the work of the department. Ensure the successful development of the department and of the firm in line with the business plan. Ensure the Clients needs are met as soon as possible and deal with any issues that arise for them.
• Financial control: Take monies on account of fees and disbursements when possible and appropriate. Record time accurately and in line with chargeable and non-chargeable time targets. Agree fees with the client in advance of billing, whether by agreeing fixed fees or hourly rates with fee estimate. Bill matters promptly and appropriately, seeking to maximise recovery of time spent. Collect cash promptly from clients in settlement of bills.

To be able to perform this job you will need:

• As far as qualifications go you will need to be an experienced COP Paralegal or fully qualified solicitor, or a Legal Executive with a desire to train and work in this field.
• You will need to be an excellent communicator in how you work with both clients and colleagues.
• Effective time management and organisational skills will need to be part of your skill set and you will need to be able to work under your own initiative to be proactive when working to tight deadlines.
• We also love to promote from within the firm, so we are looking for someone who has a desire for continuous personal and professional development.
• Takes on personal responsibility to learn on the job and keep knowledge in all relevant areas up to date.

Some of the behaviours we want to see demonstrated in this role:

• Co-operation: You will need to work proactively together with your team towards your common goals, being willing to give up your own time and helping clients and colleagues even when you are under pressure yourself.
• Courage: You will fight for your client’s cause; however, we don’t want you to just say ‘yes’ to your client we want to give the difficult answers and advice too.
• Excellence: We are one legal firm and, in your role, we would expect you to seek to help your client with all their legal issues. In working with your clients, we expect excellence in client care keeping them up to date with what can be done and buy when.
• Integrity: You will work in a way which demonstrates fairness, openness and honesty offering training and sharing knowledge. If you do happen to make a mistake, we would want you to raise these with your supervisor without fear of any reprisal.
• Kindness: We ask that you listen, encourage participation and allow people to be heard, noticing when colleagues and clients may need an extra hand and an offer of help.

What you can expect from us:

• Firm wide annual bonus scheme, in addition to a competitive salary.
• 4% Pension employer contributions offered through Standard Life.
• 25 days holiday entitlement per year (FTE) with an additional three days off at Christmas.
• 5 extra days paid leave on your 5-year anniversary – (and every 5 years thereafter).
• Life Assurance providing your loved ones with a 3x salary death in service benefit.
• Employee Assistance Program – a Freephone number you can call 24/7 for personal, legal and financial issues; to arrange counselling and a GP helpline.
• Free annual flu injection.
• EMG Rewards – Vivup well-being & Tastecard apps offering discounts across a large number of retailers & restaurants.
• £50 Gift card on your birthday as well as a late start or early finish.
• £50 Gift card at Christmas plus Christmas closure (subject to variation).
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Salary Sacrifice Electric Car scheme.
• Fruit and refreshments in each office.
• If you want to take the family or friends out, we have two passes for Beamish open air museum which you can book out and take up to 10 people.
• Opportunity to join EMG working groups, such as our Green Team, Better Health at Work Team, Justice, Empowerment, Diversity and Inclusion Team (JEDI) & our Community Team.
• Regular surveys to understand issues our team care about. Includes regular guest speakers on a wide range of topics.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion: EMG Solicitors is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and able to thrive. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. Join us and help ensure EMG continues to deliver excellence, integrity and compliance while supporting clients to achieve anything from their basic needs to their wildest dreams and everything in between.