Associate/Senior Associate - Financial Professionals Disputes

This role will see you play an active role in the continued growth and success of the financial professionals team in Bristol, although we are flexible as to your location.

The team's clients include leading firms of accountants, financial advisers, pensions professionals and insolvency practitioners. We deal with high value, complex and interesting claims which are sometimes international in nature. The claims we handle include court proceedings and FOS and POS referrals and our work very often comes with a fiscal or regulatory angle to it. We also support clients involved in regulatory investigations by the FRC, ICAEW and FCA. Our focus is always on achieving the best outcome possible for the client.

The team has grown rapidly in recent years and consists of 2 partners, 2 legal directors and approximately 10 other lawyers who regularly work in the area, High work levels coupled with anticipated future growth mean there is an opportunity for an experienced lawyer to join the team and progress their career. For the right candidate this could include entry as a Senior Associate or a career path to promotion to that level.

We work in close collaboration with our wider professional indemnity and commercial litigation practices in Bristol, as well as nationally. The Bristol based professional indemnity practice is ranked in Tier 1 in both the Legal 500 and Chambers directories, with a number of leading individuals named. It is the longest established professional negligence team in Bristol, acting for most of the leading insurers, as well as large professional services firms and with specialist service lines covering all the key professional and financial lines of business, including, in addition to accountancy and financial services, the legal, surveying, insurance broking and construction sectors.

Key responsibilities of the role:

We are looking for an experienced lawyer to assist in the defence of professional indemnity claims, particularly in the financial professionals line of business. The role will involve acting as a point of contact for clients, managing a caseload with supervision and supporting Partners in larger matters.

Specific responsibilities include but are not restricted to:

• Responsibility for conducting both pre-action and litigated matters as well as assisting more senior fee-earners.
• Advising insurers on coverage across a range of insurance policies and issues.
• Acting as a point of contact for clients, demonstrating a level of knowledge and skill commensurate with experience.
• Reporting to Insurers and conducting work according to insurer protocols and SLAs.
• Participating in and initiating marketing and business development activity in order to maintain and develop work from existing clients and potential clients. Including by presenting and assisting in client and other external seminars and writing articles.
• Providing supervision and coaching to junior fee earners
• Maintaining and developing technical knowledge through attendance at training sessions, reading appropriate publications and exceeding Law Society CPD requirements.
• Ensuring full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrate a high level of financial management when supporting others in managing files and in relation to own files, where appropriate.

Key Technical / Knowledge:

• A qualified solicitor of more than 4 PQE will be considered. Previous experience dealing with financial professional claims is essential. Experience of advising on professional indemnity coverage issues is highly desirable.
• A desire to specialise in financial professional claims and the complex, technical issues they involve, is essential.
• Good numeracy and an interest in financial/money related matters and tax.
• Solid academic track record at degree and CPE and/or LPC level (or equivalent).
• Excellent relationship and client handling skills. Able to deal confidently and professionally with insured and insurer clients on day to day issues.
• Able to operate with a high level of self-sufficiency, combined with an awareness of the boundaries of own competence/authority.
• A demonstrable ability to adopt a client focused and commercial perspective rather than an ‘academic’ approach to legal issues, coupled with a keen grasp of legal issues, as these arise (demonstrating a clear ability to learn quickly ‘on the job’).
• Change oriented with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives.
• Team oriented and collegiate with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team.
• Willingness to work hard as part of a highly ambitious and driven team to help it continue to develop and to achieve its objectives.

About DAC Beachcroft

We are a leading international legal business with over 3,000 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We are market leaders in insurance, health and real estate but with a full-service offering, including growing Financial Services and Tech capabilities. We represent a wide range of clients – from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for nearly all of the top-20 UK and global insurers, we're market leaders in the provision of strategic, commercial and regulatory advice to providers and commissioners in the health sector, and in real estate we advise all of the UK’s top-five housebuilders.

We are a fast-growing international business with offices around the globe. In addition to our 11 UK offices, we also have offices in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Lima, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, New York, Paris, Rome, Santiago, and Singapore plus a broad network of affiliations across the globe.

At DAC Beachcroft we are committed to and recognise the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion across the board, including and beyond the protected characteristics. We take decisions based solely on merit. We value, welcome and seek out people with different backgrounds and life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, ways of thinking and identities.