Job Description:
Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd):
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.
Choosing a career with Duncan Lewis is choosing a law firm that is the largest provider of publicly funded (legal aid) legal services in the country and has a growing private client practice. We have been Investors in People Gold Standard accredited for over 15 years and are continuously applauded nationally for the work that it does.
Having demonstrated unparalleled legal expertise and a commitment to justice, we were awarded Law Firm of the Year at both the 2024 Lexis Nexis Awards and 2023 Modern Law Awards. We are named as one of the Times 200 Best Law Firms. In 2021 we were celebrated by the Chambers Europe Award as an ‘outstanding firm’ for diversity and inclusion. In previous years we have been awarded a number of awards, including the Law Society Excellence Award for Large Law Firm of the Year in 2020, Access to Justice at the UK Legal Diversity Awards in 2019 and the Family Law Firm of the Year at the 2015 Family Law Awards, to name just a few. Duncan Lewis is Law Society Lexcel, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 Information Management accredited.
We look to recruit dedicated and talented employees in both legal and non-legal capacities, and we are always interested to receive applications from quality candidates. Training and diversity are at the heart of Duncan Lewis, and we remain proud of our diverse and inclusive workforce. If you can demonstrate a strong commitment to the areas of law provided by the firm, and you are keen to build a career with us, please apply online with your details and CV.
Court of Protection Department Background:
The Court of Protection adjudicates or resolves disputes that concern adults who lack mental capacity to make decisions. Disputes typically include whether the person has the capacity to make decisions and what is in that person’s best interests.
Our Court of Protection team has been recognised by The Legal 500 for their dedication to achieving the best possible results for their clients and for putting a “tremendous amount of work” into their cases. The team is multidisciplinary team regularly collaborating with the company’s experts in mental capacity, mental health, community care, clinical negligence, family, childcare and public law.
We are dedicated to our clients and support family members and advocates, and are regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor in cases relating to the wellbeing of an individual who lacks capacity, including health and welfare, medical treatment, financial issues and mental capacity.
Main Responsibilities of the Role:
* Report directly to Department Director
* Professional proactive approach, strong client care skills and a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of clients’ needs
* Assisting with Court of Protection matters including personal injury trusts; statutory wills and gift applications; deputyship applications; on-going deputyship administration; health and social care judicial review and ancillary applications such as trustee orders
* 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:
* Demonstrate passion and experience in a broad range of publicly funded Court of Protection
* A strong academic background with a Law degree
* Legal experience as a Court of Protection Paralegal/Advisor
* Clear understanding and application of Court of Protection
* Business acumen and the ability to market the Company
* Excellent communications skills to work effectively with all types of people
* Excellent written communication and drafting skills
* Excellent analytical and organisational skills and ability to use own initiative but know when to seek guidance
* Committed team player, self -motivated and professional
* Excellent IT Skills -familiar with Microsoft Office applications and document management skills