Housing Litigation Solicitor (x5) – Manchester

Regulated by the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority, Duncan Lewis Solicitors was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in the City of London (Fenchurch Street EC3M), with offices nationwide. We are recognised by the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK independent legal directories as a top-tier law firm in all of our key practice areas – “a diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients”. A paperless law firm with over 500 personnel that embraces hybrid-working, we service both corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 areas of law across 60 languages. We give people a voice - that is our ethos. Recognised among The Times 200 Best Law Firms, we have been awarded Law Firm of the Year at the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards, reflecting our dedication to legal expertise and client service. We hold Investors in People Gold Standard accreditation for over 15 years, showcasing our commitment to professional development. Duncan Lewis is also Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus, and ISO 27001 certified, ensuring excellence in practice management and data security. We are committed to recruiting dedicated and talented professionals and welcome applications from exceptional candidates. At Duncan Lewis, we value training and diversity, and we take pride in our inclusive workforce. Housing Department Background:

Noted for its "sustained legal conviction combined with outstanding advocacy" our Housing team, is ranked and recommended by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners UK for its services in social housing UK-wide, providing assistance to both landlords and tenants on all housing issues. We handle both publicly funded (legal aid) and privately funded legal services in homelessness, disrepair, unlawful eviction, succession for tenants, neighbourhood problems, and possession proceedings.

Our solicitors are highly experienced in finding solutions to housing disputes and aim to address the issues quickly and effectively. The department regularly represents clients at all court levels (including the appeal Courts) and is extensively experienced at handling all housing related judicial review matters at the High Court.

Main Responsibilities of the Role

• Report directly to Department Director
• Responsible for all aspects of Housing work and on occasions, where appropriate providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members
• Ability to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities
• Assisting with a diverse caseload of public and private housing matters, such as:
  • Homelessness applications and appeals
  • Disrepair claims
  • Eviction and possession proceedings
  • Property ownership disputes
  • Unlawful eviction cases
  • Succession rights for tenants
  • Neighbourhood and anti-social behaviour issues
• Conducting your own advocacy where appropriate
• Attending clients, taking instructions and preparing cases
• Dealing with correspondence
• Maintaining accurate time costing procedures
• Implementing any recommendations made by your supervisor following monthly file reviews ensuring that these are dealt with promptly
• Ensuring compliance with file management

Key Skills Required:

• Must have a clean, valid Practising Certificate at the time of applying
• Strong management skills
• Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster culture of positive change and encourage cross referrals
• Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators
• Professional with a pro‑active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with vulnerable client matters in a sensitive manner and resolve complicated practicalities involved in Housing issues
• Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business
• Excellent analytical and organisational skills
• Ability to use own initiative and sound judgment
• Working knowledge of the publicly funded Housing work including legal representation and legal help and have the ability to service privately funded cases
• Have extensive experience in dealing with all Housing related work
• Experience in own advocacy is an advantage
• Excellent IT Skills – familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills

What we offer

• A fantastic supportive team
• Strong career progression with support for legal awards and professional recognition
• Attractive salary package with supervision bonus

The recruitment process will fully comply with GDPR and other applicable laws. Background checks including CRB / DBS checks will establish your eligibility to work in the UK and suitability to the role.

Equal Opportunities

Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff. The Company strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, which is reflective at all levels within our workforce.

We guarantee an interview for candidates that disclose a disability and meet the essential requirements for the post. Please provide additional details in your covering letter if this applies.

APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED BY AGENCIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THE ABOVE VACANCY

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