Trainee Case Handler

A leading UK law firm with a network of offices from the South Coast to Scotland, working together as one national team. An innovative practice and the first top 100 law firm to achieve “Gold Standard” Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm. The lack of barriers between departments, a real lack of hierarchy, zero tolerance for arrogance and pomposity makes Shoosmiths a fantastic place to work.

Our Litigation Services department within the Business Assurance Division provides a complete range of debt recovery services utilising cutting edge technology and with specialists dealing with different debt types, all operating under a centralised management structure allowing us to deliver consistently excellent service. Our structure ensures we can provide a full range of volume recoveries and litigation options, whilst ensuring that we have the expertise and experience to deal with complex and technical issues arising from volume recoveries.

Our highly successful and reputable Financial Services Litigation Team are looking for a Trainee Case Handler. This is an excellent opportunity to join a team that has achieved Tier 1 rankings in the Legal 500, won Debt Recovery Team of the Year at the Law Awards of Scotland in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and been “Highly Commended” in the Litigation Team of the Year category at the Scottish Legal Awards 2019.

This role will provide you with the opportunity to act on behalf of leading financial services organisations to deliver a quality and comprehensive recoveries service with a client and customer service focus. You will perform a crucial role in making sure that we continue to meet of Service Level Agreements and deliver an excellent client experience.

The main purpose of this role is to be responsible for collecting outstanding debts. The role will suit an individual who is keen to learn new skills and also for those looking to build on their existing knowledge and understanding on debt collection in Scotland.

Full training on how to deal with financial services litigation cases and utilise commercial strategies to reach a conclusion will be provided. 

• Manage inbound and outbound calls to ensure the best outcome for our customers.
• Establish customer’s financial circumstances and negotiate sustainable payment plans.
• Record customer information accurately to our case management system.
• Deliver a first class level of customer service in line with FCA regulations and client requirements.
• Remain professional and polite at all times.
• File management within the case management system.
• Completing assigned tasks within the case management system.
• Taking personal responsibility for compliance with all relevant regulatory requirements and, client and internal Service Level Agreements.
• Taking responsibility to ensure that our clients’ accounts are successfully management through the court process to ensure a positive outcome for our clients.
• Making enforcement decisions or recommendations on behalf of our clients and enforcing court judgements. 

• Excellent customer service expertise.
• Strong negotiation, communication and problem solving skills.
• Good written, numeracy and oral communication skills.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• IT literate including sound knowledge of Word, Excel and the internet.
• Ability to prioritise, be organised and efficient.
• Flexibility with the capability to adapt to change, new practices and cope under pressure but with the ability to recognise when to seek assistance.
• Able to integrate within a team and able to work on your own initiative.
• Be pro-active and self-motivated with a positive approach.
• Previous experience in an office environment dealing with a high volume of work is desirable.

Desirable skills and experience.

• Previous experience in an office environment involving interaction with clients/customers over the phone
• Previous experience of negotiating with customers to achieve a positive outcome.
• Previous experience in the following: Collections Advisor, Debt Recovery, Recoveries Services, Customer Service, Negotiator Customer Service Administrator, Trainee Customer Care Assistant, Administration Assistant, Receptionist, Call Centre, and Customer Care Administrator.

Benefits package 

Shoosmiths has an outstanding benefits package; we believe that all staff should be rewarded for their commitment to the continued success of the firm. These can include:

• A pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5.5%
• Generous life assurance cover for peace of mind, up to 8 times salary
• Up to 23 paid working days holiday per annum with the option to buy up to 8 additional days. You can choose to 'flex' twice a year - January and July
• 'Happy Birthday!' - have a free day off to celebrate and a £50 voucher to spend! (We won't take it from your annual entitlement)
• Childcare vouchers which are not subject to tax or NI
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Staff introduction bonus scheme
• Corporate discounts on a wide variety of products and services
• Discounted conveyancing and legal advice, for instance for wills and family trusts

The application process

If successful, you will be contacted by a member of our recruitment team inviting you to interview. There will be one interview stage which will be held at our Edinburgh office. 

Background checks

Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted.  These checks will include employment references covering the last 5 years, proof of ID, proof of address covering the last 5 years, Personnel Vetting credit search (which will only highlight insolvency or County Court Judgments - should any adverse data show on the Personnel Vetting search then any offer of employment made will be withdrawn).Terrorism Check (against data supplied by the Bank of England) and a DBS check previously known as a Criminal Records check. 

Shoosmiths is a committed Equal Opportunities employer promoting equality of opportunity. This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.