Finance Graduate - Express Solicitors : Job Details

Job Title: Costs Litigation Assistant

Location: Sharston, M22 4HH

Salary: £25,750 per annum + £200 monthly commission

Job type: Full time, Permanent

Do you have an interest or experience in Cost Law or finance related?

Would you like to try something new and take your career in a new direction?

Express Solicitors are looking for litigation assistants / graduates to join our costs department. You don’t need to have experience in Costs Law or even law!

Our Cost Litigation Assistants draft bills and cost statements for our clients. They work to deadline and to detailed work check lists. This is technical work, and being able to absorb information and then clearly and concisely distil information will be a major part of the role.

We provide full training on all aspects of the role. You will learn how to use our cost drafting software: Cost Master, and our case management system: Proclaim. You will learn how to review a client file of papers accurately in order to bill all the client’s legal work and disbursements.

Training will be given in new starter groups and one to one at your desk (both in person and over MS Teams). You will have a work Buddy and work closely with your Line Manager.

We are committed to providing our employees with the guidance and resources they need to succeed in their roles and advance their careers. This role has great career opportunities as successful cost litigation assistant can progress, in time, to train to become:

• Cost Draftsperson - specialising in technical bill drafting work
• Trainee Cost Lawyer with the recognised qualification from the Association of Cost Lawyers
• Cost Litigation Executives, handling a case load

We have a cohort of Costs Litigation Assistants starting on 7th October 2024. If you are available to start full time from then, we would love to hear from you.

We offer a Salary is £25,750 per annum, as well as a monthly commission of £200 if targets are achieved.

About The Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual to join our legal team as a Costs Litigation Assistant. You will get involved in:

• Preparation of costs schedules for trial
• Counting and drafting breakdowns of costs at case conclusion, to assist with recovery of costs from between the parties to litigation and to assist with calculating client charges
• Liaising with service providers to our clients such as barristers to ascertain final fees and fee estimates
• Preparation of risk assessments
• Making telephone calls to progress cases in terms of costs negotiations and payments on account of cost.
• Assisting with the preparation of cost budgets and
• Reviewing the work done for the client and preparing chronologies and descriptions of the steps taken

About You:

• A degree such as English, History, Law or other similar degree.
• GCSE Maths & English at C grade or above.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• The ability to produce work that is highly accurate with excellent attention to detail.
• The ability to assess and analyse both numerical and written information.
• Be highly motivated, with the ability to work under pressure.
• The ability to work under your own initiative.
• Have a working knowledge of IT systems like Microsoft Office packages.

Salary, Hours & Benefits:

• Office based
• Working from home offered after probation and once competent in work practices at a rate of 1 day per week.
• 23 days holiday a year, rising to 26 days
• 3 holiday buy backs per year after 1 year of service
• Extra day’s holiday for your birthday after 2 years’ service
• Private medical insurance available after 2 years’ service
• Attending Monthly Costs Department Meetings (monthly)
• Cost Department Training Roadmap
• Attending fee earner meetings and training sessions (every other month)
• 3 appraisals per annum to discuss career and progress towards a training contract - starting after probation pass
• Death in Service - 2 x salary
• Active social committee with generous departmental and firm-wide social budget
• Active training culture and various groups and events such as Diversity & Inclusion
• Netball / Football team, 10km Manchester team and more
• Enhanced Maternity Leave payment if you have over 1 year tenure
• Other benefits including Employee Assistance Programme, free fruit & annual flu jab

About Us

Established in 2000, Express Solicitors is an award-winning law firm that deals personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Based in Manchester, we serve clients nationwide. We are proud of the work we do helping injured people, and this is our core business.

We are currently ranked 93 in the Top 200 UK Law firms and are a Legal 500 Recognised Leading Firm for both Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence. We have a 5-star ranking with Trust Pilot from over 6,000 reviews, which coming from our clients, means a lot to us.

We rate skill and ability above all else and our recruitment policy encourages applications from all.

Recruitment Process:

Please send a CV and covering letter by clicking APPLY.

We rate skill and ability above all else and our recruitment policy encourages applications from all.

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Candidates with the relevant experience or job titles of; Graduate Financial Controller, Trainee Finance Assistant, Trainee Accounts Assistant, Accounting Graduate, Finance Analyst, Finance Coordinator, Treasury Coordinator, Junior Costs Litigation may also be considered for this role.