Local Government Lawyer

Our Market Leading Local Government team provides a full, expert service in defending public (PL) and employers' liability (EL) claims across the public sector. Weightmans' team is second-to-none in providing defendant litigation services in these and other specialist Casualty areas. We operate on a national basis with dedicated commercial insurance and Local Government teams and as part of our wider specialism we have a dedicated Casualty Fraud team.

We are currently recruiting for a lawyer to join our Local Government Team based in either Birmingham or Leicester. We seek a lawyer to assist on high value and complex property damage claims as a result of escapes of water and waste from infrastructure, natural flooding, and tree roots and invasive species at the pre-action stage and litigated through the High Court TCC for Local Government and Statutory Bodies. As part of your role, you will also have conduct of your own lower value FT/MT property damage claims with the opportunity to progress to gaining more autonomy and handling the larger value and complex claims with experience. This is an excellent opportunity for a junior lawyer with a real interest in dealing with technical disputes and litigation.

You will be responsible for assisting on large scale disclosure exercises, the preparation and obtaining of witness and expert evidence, and meeting court deadlines together with the running of the day to day of your cases including liaising with clients, opponents, court, witnesses and undertaking your own liability investigations.

Your key duties and responsibilities will include:

• Handling or assisting on predominantly PL property damage claims involving residential and commercial properties and statutory infrastructure, including water and waste assets and the highway.
• Assisting senior fee earners with various tasks including general case management, legal research, drafting of witness statements, instructions to experts and counsel, reports to clients and preparation for court hearings.
• Attending client meetings and court hearings.
• Responding promptly and accurately to correspondence and telephone enquiries from clients and other parties, with and without supervision.
• Achieving set financial and chargeable targets.
• Supporting the team’s business development activities.

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and you will be expected to perform other duties and have other responsibilities that fall within the wider remit of the role.

About You

You will have experience handling or assisting on property damage claims, or previous experience of handling casualty claims, and a genuine, demonstrable interest in the work. We also require you to have:

• Experience of handling PL, EL, Highways claims.
• A proactive and forward-thinking mindset.
• A willingness to ask questions and engage with the whole team.
• Experience of handling own caseload.
• Good drafting skills.
• Good influencing skills.
• Good communication skills.
• Good IT skills.
• Good written and communication skills.
• Good time management and organisation skills.
• Good attention to detail and concentration.
• Ability to multi-task and prioritise.
• Ability to work to strict deadlines.
• Ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative.
• Knowledge of CPR procedure with proven technical ability.

Why work for us

Come and join our award-winning organisation and be part of a team where people truly matter. Weightmans is a Leading national law firm, with strong international capabilities. Weightmans has been recognised as a leading employer for the 19th consecutive year at Britain’s Top Employers awards, and ranking top 10 in the list, the firm has also secured top positions in Chambers UK. Join Weightmans as we continue our journey to becoming one of the UK’s top 30 law firms.