Associate / Senior Associate (Inquests) in Liverpool

Hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00 - 17:30 (37.5 hours per week)

Hill Dickinson are proud to be named as a Top Ten Employer for Working Families 2025 for the second year running and so, we are happy to consider flexible working opportunities to help you balance your work and home life.

Location: Liverpool

Role overview:

This role provides the opportunity to join one of the fastest growing business groups of Hill Dickinson. The Healthcare team has been growing year-on-year with a team of over 100 lawyers and national coverage; we are one of the leading firms providing legal advice and support to the NHS and independent healthcare organisations. Our dedicated Healthcare team is now looking to recruit an Associate/Senior Associate with specific inquest experience who will be undertaking a wide range of advisory work for the NHS and other public and private organisations operating in the Health and Social Care Sector.

Introduction to the team:

An exciting opportunity to join our rapidly growing team of highly experienced specialists working on a wide range of Healthcare matters for the NHS and other public and private organisations operating in the Health and social care sector. Experts in their field, the healthcare team regularly advises NHS bodies, private providers and insurers on a range of issues including inquests and public inquiries, best interests applications, claims for judicial review, mental health law, patient care issues, and clinical and corporate governance matters. We have specialist teams working exclusively for the healthcare sector on commercial, procurement, employment and property matters.

Key responsibilities:

• Inquests (held both with and without a jury) including advocacy
• Court of Protection, treatment and best interest cases including advocacy
• Advising on public law issues such as public and patient involvement and consultation, governance and constitutional issues, judicial review and human rights;
• Advising on matters of general healthcare law including patient complaints, SUI and Ombudsman investigations, and a variety of other health sector legislation and guidance including mental health;
• Advising on care standards legislation and practice and information governance matters.

The candidate will work with other lawyers practising in the healthcare/public/regulatory sector and will be expected to identify new products and work streams relevant to clients and develop new business.

What are we looking for:

Important criteria:

• Qualified solicitor or barrister
• Proven experience of healthcare Inquests including advocacy
• Previous experience within healthcare law
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to work flexibly and proactively
• Excellent communication/client service skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Excellent organisational skills
• Willingness to travel

It would be beneficial to have some of the following:

• Experience in Court of Protection/inherent jurisdiction work
• Familiarity with issues relevant to organisations in the health and social care sector

If you don't meet all of the criteria above but feel that you could add real value to Hill Dickinson, we encourage you to submit an application and if successful, we can help you develop along the way.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Hill Dickinson is committed to providing fairness and equal opportunity for all regardless of age, gender, gender identity, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, marital or transgender status, nationality, religion or belief. We understand that our power as a firm comes from empowering our people and that it is only by encouraging and enabling individuals to be themselves at work that we can truly benefit from their rich and varied strengths. Hill Dickinson is an equal opportunities employer. All applications received by the firm will be considered based on their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background and from all routes to qualification, with both the SRA and CILEx.

Disability Support

We are a Disability Confident employer, which means if there is anything that we can do to make your visit easier, so you are able to perform at your best, please let us know. You can contact the HR team at hrteam@hilldickinson.com should you require any adjustments to the application or interview process.

At Hill Dickinson, we welcome applications from individuals that are looking to return to the law as well as all routes to qualification, with both the SRA and CILEx. All successful candidates will be subject to our standard pre-employment screening, including a basic criminal record check via Disclosure and Barring Service. Any offer of employment made is conditional upon completion of all checks. Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.