Associate/Senior Associate - Property Management

To note: While this role sits within our Bristol team, we are flexible as to your location.

Our Professional Negligence Team advises professionals and their insurers when claims are made against them.

The Professional Negligence Team sits within the wider Professional and Commercial Risks team in our Bristol office. The team is ranked in Tier 1 in both the Legal 500 and Chambers directories, with a number of leading individuals named. It includes commercial litigation together with the longest established professional negligence team in Bristol, acting for most of the leading insurers, as well as large professional services firms themselves including leading global surveyors, solicitors and insurance brokers.

We are seeking an Associate/Senior Associate role within the Professional Negligence team defending claims against property managing agents. Types of claims include deposit claims, slip and trips, property damage, service charge disputes and referencing claims.

The service line is a growing team with significant opportunities for development, client contact and promotion.

Key Responsibilities

The overall purpose of this role is to provide a timely, professional and high-quality service to clients in the management of property manager claims. The role will require you to:

• Manage your own caseload of claims against property managers, advising on liability, quantum and strategy, under the ultimate supervision of a Legal Director;
• Report to the insured property manager and their insurers;
• Supervise junior fee earners who have day-to-day conduct of lower value property manager claims;
• Conduct the review of new cases, carrying out conflict checks and opening new matters.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Previous experience of either claimant or defendant property management dispute resolution is essential;
• Good knowledge of the relevant law including statutes, regulations, codes of practice and case law applicable to property management claims;
• Clear and concise drafting skills;
• Good experience of litigation including the FTT and County / High Court procedures;
• IT literate with working knowledge of Word and Excel;
• Able to work to deadlines, prioritise own workload effectively under pressure and manage conflicting priorities;
• Proactive and demonstrating initiative in driving forward matters on own accord, seeking guidance where appropriate;
• Very good attention to detail and accuracy with drafting;
• Team oriented. A collegiate approach to sharing knowledge and working with colleagues across locations is essential;
• Committed and enthusiastic with a mature attitude to work and a desire to commit long term to a career in this field;
• Confident oral and written communication skills.

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, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, New York, Paris, Rome, Santiago de Chile, and Singapore plus a representative office in Miami and 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.

We are happy to talk flexible working with our Flex Forward scheme. We would encourage you to talk to us about our approach to flexible working during the hiring process if you would like to explore this further.

Note for Recruitment Agencies

DAC Beachcroft manages all vacancies via our in-house recruitment team, prioritising direct sourcing and referrals. When external support is required, roles are released to selected agencies on our Preferred Supplier List (PSL).

Speculative CVs sent to any DAC Beachcroft employee without prior instruction from our recruitment team will not be accepted, and no fees will be payable.

For PSL queries, please contact: [email protected]