Associate or Principal Associate

Weightmans is a Top 45 law firm with offices throughout the UK. Having been recognised as the leading legal employer at the annual Britain's Top Employers awards 2019 and achieved record rankings in Chambers UK, we are immensely proud of the work we carry out for our clients and the culture we provide to our people.

Our national Litigation team deals with a wide range of disputes affecting both private and public sectors. Our clients include UK Corporates, owner managed businesses, high net worth individuals, insurers, education establishments and public bodies. Whatever the subject matter of the dispute, we take a pragmatic and commercial approach, focusing on the business needs of the client. We have particular expertise in dealing with disputes involving company/shareholder issues, intellectual property, technology, goods and services, breach of warranty claims, professional negligence, property damage, contentious probate, financial services and harassment.

This role is based in the Manchester office. The Litigation team undertakes a broad range of substantial, challenging work, largely of a contentious nature.

To manage a caseload of mixed commercial dispute work. This is a chance to join a well-established team offering real progression opportunities. The individual will be supervised on larger cases and will have exposure to a wide range of commercial disputes work. They will also have a reasonable degree of autonomy to build and run their own caseload.

Key duties and responsibilities

• Managing own caseload including proactive case management of general commercial disputes cases with limited supervision
• Assisting partners with high level commercial dispute work
• Liaising with clients, experts, witnesses, Counsel, insurers and other parties
• Active participation in business development and profile raising initiatives
• Ensuring compliance with relevant deadlines, quality measures and key performance indicators
• Ensuring compliance with client service level agreements, relevant policies and procedures
• Completion of Management information as and when required
• Work in accordance with Weightmans’ and the client’s values

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and you will be expected to perform other duties and have other responsibilities that fall within the wider remit of the role.

• At least 5 years’ PQE or equivalent experience at a City, large regional or national practice
• Significant experience of commercial disputes work and in particular from as many of the following categories as possible: contract disputes, restrictive covenant disputes, finance disputes, procurement disputes, IT disputes, IP litigation, partnership disputes, shareholder disputes, franchise disputes professional negligence disputes, property damage claims and insolvency litigation
• Motivated and highly-driven
• A commercial, solution-driven and client-focused approach
• Strong legal and analytical skills with an eye for detail
• Excellent IT skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent time management and organisation skills
• Ability to multi-task and prioritise
• Ability to work to strict deadlines and targets to manage caseload and deliver effective solutions
• Ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative with a positive attitude
• Flexible approach

Please note:

• Any reference to experience or PQE in our adverts or job descriptions is to be used as a guideline only. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and with different levels of experience who can demonstrate that they fulfil the requirements of the role.

• The successful candidate appointed to this role will be subject to our standard background checking process, and any offer of employment made is conditional upon successful completion of those checks. Further details can be obtained from the Recruitment team.