Job Description
Job title
Principal Associate/ Legal Director
Department
Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence – PI Serious Injury Team
Our Purpose
To forge long-term relationships that have a positive impact on our people, our clients, our business partners, and our community.
Our Commitment to Our People
We do not think there is a magic formula to the Higgs culture. The key is to listen to and respect our people. If we take care of our people and our people take care of our clients, then everything we want as a firm will take care of itself. We are friendly and open to new ideas.
Our Core Values
Higgs core values are “CLEAR” – Care, Legacy, Excellence, Authenticity, Relationships
Role Purpose
We are seeking an experienced Principal Associate to join our Personal Injury Team, specialising in catastrophic injury claims. This is a fantastic opportunity to work on complex, high-value multi-track cases involving life-changing injuries, including brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and serious orthopedic trauma.
Key Responsibilities
* Case Management: Handle a caseload of catastrophic injury claims.
* Client Care: Provide expert legal advice with a client-focused approach, ensuring empathy and understanding for individuals and their families. Managing client expectations appropriately, which includes negotiating with defendant insurers/solicitors and other professionals to secure the desired objectives of the client
* Litigation & Advocacy: Conduct litigation, instruct counsel and experts, attend court hearings, and negotiate settlements.
* Leadership & Supervision: Support and mentor team members, promoting their professional development.
* Business Development: Assist in growing the firm's catastrophic injury practice, participating in networking, marketing, and relationship-building with referrers and insurers.
* Compliance & Risk Management: Ensure compliance with relevant legal and regulatory standards, including SRA guidelines and industry best practices.
Person Specification
* Commercial attitude and aptitude
* Ability to delegate tasks clearly and effectively and to work within agreed deadlines
* Demonstrate accuracy, efficiency and high quality presentation of work
* Experience in providing highest standards of client service
* Discretion, tact and ensuring the confidentiality of client and firm affairs
* Self-motivated and able to use initiative
* Sound grasp of your own discipline
* Experienced in offering clear and comprehensive advice to the client
* Willingness to engage in business development and take an active part in the management of key commercial relationships and a desire to make a wider contribution with attendance at events and supporting with delivery of the departmental and the firm’s business plan.
Technical Knowledge
* A strong appreciation of the core legal process in serious/catastrophic injury claims.
* A good understanding of The Rehabilitation Code, Serious Injury Guide and their application to major trauma cases.
* Knowledge and experience of the law relating to road traffic collision claims, work accidents and accidents in a public place.
What You Need to Know
Higgs offers hybrid working wherever possible. Our Higgs’ Best FIT (flexible, inclusive, together) principles are designed to ensure that people can complete their best work from the most appropriate location. If you are looking to work flexibly then let us know and we will do what we can to accommodate your request.
We encourage a ‘dress for your diary’ approach which means dressing in a manner appropriate for your schedule or the specific appointments you have on any given day.
Equal Opportunities
As charter signatories to The Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter, Higgs are committed to developing a diverse business by engaging with the widest pool of talent. We recognise this is an ongoing journey and regularly monitor our figures which can be viewed here.
People Driven. Legal Excellence