Department: Civil Liberties and Human Rights
Location: London (City)
Contract: Permanent – Full time
Salary: £34,000-£38,000 PA
Closing date for applications: 4 August 2023
No Agencies
Apply with CV and covering letter addressed to: recruitment@itnsolicitors.com
About ITN and the Department:
Our Work: ITN is an award winning leading law firm operating across a number of practice areas. The firm takes pride in its cross-departmental approach to litigation. All departments in the firm are recognised as leaders in their fields.
Our Civil Liberties and Human Rights Department: The CLHR Department is recognised for a wide range of work from private law litigation (largely involving public and private bodies with powers to detain/use force particularly in relation to protest/public order situations), through to inquests arising from deaths in custody, and varied public law matters including claims dealing with prison law, counter-terrorism and data rights. The firm benefits from a range of referral sources, as well as a steady stream of internal referrals. Over the last ten years, our practitioners have been involved in ground-breaking cases against a range of national police forces, the IOPC, the CPS, the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office. We have represented individuals, non-governmental organisations, community groups and activist networks in often complex cases.
Our People: Our solicitors are known for their fearless and dynamic approach to litigation. We are known for our capacity to take complex and difficult factual challenges and find and apply novel legal solutions to achieve remedies for our client groups.
We are committed to equality and diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Overall purpose for this role
- To conduct cases on behalf of the CLHR Department, including assisting other fee earners
- To assist with the continued development of the Department
Main duties and responsibilities
- Taking instructions from new clients and advising them of the initial merits of the case and of the costs associated with the claim and the various funding methods. This includes funding applications to the LAA, through the CCMS system where necessary. You will be expected to have detailed knowledge of the LAA scheme and its operation
- Liaising with all parties to a claim, including defendants, government agencies, courts or any other party and/or their solicitors
- Providing detailed, high quality advice to the client in appropriate areas of law, in clear and understandable language
- Undertaking all necessary preparation of the case or matter, including:
- making complaints;
- drafting pre-action correspondence;
- instructing counsel;
- assisting with the preparation and drafting of pleadings;
- preparing documents for disclosure;
- taking clients’ proofs of evidence and witness statements;
- instructing expert witnesses; considering large volumes of disclosure;
- attending or arranging attendance at conferences, consultations or hearings; and
- working in accordance with CPR/other applicable rules of procedure
- Maintaining correspondence in good order in paper and electronic files
- At all times, having strict regard to the SRA's Standards of Professional Conduct and Ethics, particularly the strict requirement of confidentiality of client affairs
Person Specification
Essential
- Ideally suited to newly qualified lawyers or those with up to 3 years relevant post qualification experience in relevant civil litigation
- Genuine interest in working in Civil Liberties and Human Rights law
- Experience in one or more of the following areas: civil litigation; public law; prison law
- A thorough and comprehensive understanding of all relevant torts, the Human Rights Act 1998, the Data Protection Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and coronial law
- Experience working on publicly funded cases
- Proven experience in a variety of casework and admin tasks at all stages of a case, including funding and billing
- Proficient drafting skills including the ability to draft persuasive representations and letters before claim, statements of case (when appropriate), witness statements and other documents
- Demonstrable ability to research, analyse and evaluate complex fact patterns, legal concepts and related issues
- Experience in sorting and reviewing evidence
- Experience in dealing sensitively with clients and experts, including the ability to provide and facilitate solutions effectively when negotiating difficult situations and conversations.
- Excellent time management skills, demonstrated by ability to organise and prioritise a complex workload and work to tight deadlines
- Ability to assist the firm in maximising income and profitability by effective time recording, billing and staff planning
- Solid experience in using a variety of IT packages (MS Word, Excel, Case Management Systems and Outlook)
Desirable
- Existing proven links with referral organisations and sources
- Interest in and ability to develop links with potential referral organisations
- Experience in victims’ rights, discrimination, inquest cases, public law and prison law
- An interest in immigration detention issues
- An interest in developing practice areas by writing, lecturing and networking through a variety of forums is necessary