Hiring: Catastrophic Injury Principal Lawyer

Thompsons Solicitors are currently looking for a knowledgeable and experienced Midlands-based Serious Injury Lawyer to help supervise, lead and develop our Nottingham team. You will be a qualified Lawyer with significant post-qualification experience and have experience of delivering full and effective supervision of serious injury case work; taking responsibility for best practice in marketing; high expectations of client care and ensuring case management standards are implemented and upheld throughout the team.

You will have a flair for effectively managing a team of people alongside running high-value, complex serious injury cases.

More about the role...

As the Principal Lawyer you will have the responsibility for ensuring that team members receive relevant supervision and support with case progression and strategic input. You will work towards achieving the required operational and financial performance, driving the success of the team and Branch through effective management and monitoring of cases. Alongside supervisory responsibilities, you will deal with a serious injury caseload from initial interview to settlement. You’ll provide advice and support to Trade Unions, their members and private clients. You will play a key role in identifying training and development needs for both yourself and your team, reporting these into the Branch and National Head. You will be responsible for ensuring that both you and your team stay up to date on legal developments and continue to deliver legal excellence. You will take responsibility for ensuring serious injury reporting and spreadsheets are current and accurate, in line with requirements set by the National Head and Branch. You will work collaboratively with the Serious Injury Principal Lawyer group and specialist leads on delivering best practice and contributing to the national serious injury strategy. You will be supervised by the National Head of Serious Injury. You will work alongside the Branch and National Head on forecasting and realisation of WIP. Under the supervision of the Branch and National Head, you will lead on business development and case intake initiatives both regionally and nationally. Overall, you will raise the profile of the team, attract new clients, and support business development opportunities.

Who we are looking for...

You will be a true leader, with existing and up-to-date knowledge of the law and experience of running successful serious injury teams. You’ll also possess strong supervisory skills with excellent client care and interpersonal skills, coupled with an enthusiasm to train and share experience, having experience of successfully mentoring, developing and supervising a team. You will have a proven track record of running and providing strategic input into complex Serious Injury cases pre and post issue. You will have experience of progressing cases to Trial, ADR and making interlocutory applications. You will be able to demonstrate evidence of forecasting and billing, including a strong track record of recovering costs and guiding your team through that journey. You should have experience of working with a case management system and proficient IT skills to enable you to work efficiently. You should be able to demonstrate proven competency and expertise in the field of Serious Injury by accreditation with either the Law Society or AVMA, or other relevant professional memberships.

What we offer you...

• £5,500 car allowance in addition to base salary
• Contributory pension scheme
• Permanent health insurance
• Healthcare Cash Plan (Medicash)
• Life assurance
• 23 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• 5 additional days leave over Christmas
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Cycle to work scheme
• Subsidised sports and social club
• Annual travel and parking loans
• Financial assistance for professional development

About Thompsons Solicitors

For 100 years, leading social justice law firm, Thompsons Solicitors, has been fighting for the rights of the injured and mistreated and changing lives for the better. Since 1921, we have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with trade unions to implement key legal reforms and give a voice to those who might otherwise have been disadvantaged and marginalised. Thompsons ran: the case that established the right for injured workers to be compensated in 1937; the first asbestos case that was successful in the House of Lords in 1972; the first equal pay for equal value claim in the UK (1988) and later in Europe (1993); the case against UK construction companies for blacklisting union members in 2016; hundreds of cases on behalf of women who received negligent treatment at the hands of disgraced breast surgeon, Ian Paterson (2017) and on behalf of those injured by mesh (2019). Today, Thompsons employs 800 staff who work at 18 offices right across the UK. Key areas of legal specialism include: personal injury, serious injury, asbestos diseases, medical negligence, road traffic accidents, accidents at work, industrial diseases and trade union law. As a point of principle, the firm has never worked for employers or insurers. Over the last 100 years, we have consistently won the cases that have advanced the law for working people, but, as long as there are employers who put profit before the safety and rights of their workforce, there is always more to do. We continue to expose injustice, holding those responsible to account and campaigning for positive change. We want to hear from anyone who is keen to progress a legal career with a firm that won’t let up in its quest for fairness.