Solicitor (4-5 years PQE)

Job Purpose

We are looking to recruit a solicitor with 4-5 years’ PQE to join the team. Successful candidates will be able to manage their own caseload, comprising a mixture of contentious and noncontentious matters.

The right candidate will display strong technical ability, commercial awareness, ability to organise and prioritise their workload effectively, excellent communications skills and a flair for nurturing client relationships. The opportunity will be available to develop a specialism within the field to sit alongside their general practice.

The Team

Our Employment and Pensions team acts for over 200 registered providers of social housing and an increasing number of corporate clients across England and Wales, providing pragmatic commercial advice and guidance on all aspects of Employment & Pensions law. There is also a small but growing workstream of individual clients. The department is recognised in both Legal 500 and Chambers.

Duties and Responsibilities

This is not an exhaustive list and from time to time it may be necessary to vary these to meet the department and business needs.

• Responsible for the day to day running of a caseload;
• Advising on routine matters such as misconduct, sickness absence, grievances etc;
• TUPE advice and drafting;
• Conduct of Employment Tribunal litigation up to hearing stage, with some telephone advocacy if required;
• Preparation, negotiation and advising on Settlement Agreements (for employers and employees);
• Advising on industrial relations and strike action;
• Advising on restructures;
• Undertaking due diligence and supporting other departments on projects with a people aspect;
• Preparation and presentation of training to clients on Employment related topics;
• Supporting the Partners on large and more complex matters if required;
• Direct interaction with clients, managing their expectations and meeting their deadlines;
• Achieving time recording and billing targets
• Efficiently managing deadlines relating to a variety of cases at any one time;
• Full involvement in marketing and business development in a client focused manner

Person Specification

Essential:

• 4-5 years’ PQE as an Employment Lawyer, admitted to practice as a Solicitor in England & Wales;
• CILEx Lawyers must have Civil Litigation Practice Rights;
• Strong academic background with 2.1 at degree level (or equivalent);
• Sound knowledge of employment law;
• Ability to prioritise workload, undertake own caseloads, and demonstrate commercial awareness and proactivity;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal and the ability to convey clear and concise information;
• Highly focused attention to detail and strong technical ability;
• Resilient and determined to achieve positive outcomes;
• Happy to travel to visit clients across the UK.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of pensions law (particularly in relation to outsourcing arrangements with local authorities, admission agreements and the Best Value Authorities Staff Transfers (Pensions) Direction 2007);
• Knowledge of Social Housing;
• Knowledge of data protection (in particular the handling of data subject access requests by employees);
• Experience in undertaking investigations on behalf of clients.