Legal Costs Team Leader

Key Responsibilities

• Planning and distributing workload across the team, paying appropriate attention to individual team member’s current capability, to ensure the timely and profitable completion of cases
• Measuring and reporting on a weekly and monthly basis the financial and performance MI for the team against agreed targets and KPIs ·Conducting team meetings, including disseminating information from operational leadership or departmental meetings to the team and seeking feedback and views from team members
• Mentoring team members with their technical development through the Costs team’s technical framework, providing supervisory support and regular feedback in 1-2-1 meetings to enable them to attain appropriate financial authority levels and progress in role
• Consideration and implementation of strategies for effective and robust claims handling against specific claimant firms and CHOs to be able to successfully challenge costs claimed. Meeting with the Director of Costs and Technical Director to articulate challenges faced, highlighting relevant successes.
• Continuously improving the quality of work in the team, conducting audits, providing feedback to team members and drafting and implementing improvement plans where necessary.
• Providing updates and implementing [Employer hidden — view at passion-project.co.uk] policies, procedures and local initiatives, including actions arising from audits, to effectively inform and engage team members to perform to agreed standards
• Reviewing processes to continuously improve current operating practices or to address specific client requirements
• Compliance with benchmarks set by [Employer hidden] and by clients whilst driving settlements and ensuring quality of delivery to enable retention on insurer client panels
• To ensure effective delegation of work to junior team members and paralegals; ensuring more senior team members are fully engaged in the development and technical progression of junior team members; with the Team Leader maintaining oversight to ensure the delegation of work to maximise profitability
• Effectively deal with complaints through agreed handling processes
• Work with the Business Unit Director to manage team members according to the firm’s policies and employment laws, ensuring HR procedures are followed
• To ensure compliance with the SRA Standards & Regulations

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• 2 years’ experience as a minimum in a similar costs draftsperson / negotiator role, either for claimant or defendant, handling own caseload of high value costs claim
• Degree and/or LPC and/or ALCD
• Knowledge of current cost case law and insurance litigation practice and process
• Experience of the Detailed Assessment process including preparing Bills, Schedules of Costs, Budgets, Points of Dispute and considering replies
• Previous experience of client liaison -taking instructions and providing advice both verbally and in writing
• Previous experience leading, managing or mentoring others in a team
• Ability to upskill and provide constructive feedback to others
• Ability to plan and prioritise workloads and to remain calm under pressure
• Good telephone negotiation skills
• Ability to use own initiative and make decisions
• Ability to review and summarise MI to identify performance trends
• Excellent listening and verbal communication skills
• Ability to act as part of a team
• Proficient IT skills in Microsoft packages

Benefits

• Davies Incentive Plan
• 25 days holiday per year which increases with level of service (opportunity to buy & sell 3 days)
• Family Cover Private Medical Insurance (Bupa) - will automatically be at single cover level but can opt into family option within first month of joining.
• Simply Health Care Cash Plan
• WeCare – 24/7 online GP, mental health support and virtual wellbeing covering a whole host of topics to do with health, mental health, wellbeing & healthy living and financial & legal wellbeing
• Death in Service
• Critical Illness Cover
• PHI/Income Protection (Private health insurance)
• Pension Contribution based 5% Employee / 3% Employer
• Employee Resource Groups
• Employee Volunteering Programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme*
• Tech Scheme*
• Season Ticket Loan*
• Gym Flex*
• Access to Online Discount Sites
• Discounted Gourmet Society Membership
• Discounted Tickets for Merlin Attractions nationwide
• Discounts at local retail outlets