Solicitor – Litigation – Legal

Job Description

Job Category: Legal

Job location: Fleet House, 59-61 Clerkenwell Road, London, Greater London, EC1M 5NW, Southern Housing

Hours per week: 35

Start date: Immediate start

Salary: £26.46 per hour

Employee must have a valid and current Law Society Practicing Certificate (if a solicitor) or a Bar Council certificate with the ability to conduct litigation confirmed (if a Barrister). � Enhanced DBS and driving licence requirements are not applicable to this role

To provide legal advice and assistance routine/standard housing management and landlord & tenant matters and on more complex matters, with support as appropriate to your level of skill and experience from more senior or experienced team members.

To include conducting efficient and effective litigation to include but not limited to, anti-social behaviour injunctions; anti-social behaviour possession claims; committal applications; tenancy fraud possession claims; access injunctions; housing disrepair claims; prosecutions under the Environmental Protection Act; applications to the Court of Protection and money claims, briefing Counsel and/or conducting advocacy where appropriate in order to protect the interests of Southern Housing and its Group partners.

Dependant on your level of skill and experience, to provide or assist in the provision of advice on and conduct of other contentious matters with support as appropriate to your level of skill and experience from more senior or experienced team members. To include First Tier Tribunal cases; trespass/Right of Way/breach of Easement claims and other claims arising from contactor, Landlord and Leaseholder non-performance or breach of contract or lease terms.

To assist with instructing external solicitors for matters that cannot be dealt with in[1]house.

To assist in developing the in-house legal provision to meet the needs of Southern Housing and its Group partners.

To ensure that legal work is carried out in house where this is more cost effective including preparing and drafting all own pleadings on routine/standard matters and more complex matters, with support as appropriate to your level of skill and experience from more senior or experienced team members to include but not limited to, notices of seeking possession; claim forms; particulars of claim; defences; reply to defences; part 20 counterclaims; injunctions; committal applications, witness statements; case summaries; lists of issues; chronologies and trial bundles. Ensure communication between instructing officers and the legal team is effective and efficient.

To assist in the development and to implement processes and procedures to ensure the efficient and effective provision of housing management and other litigation services and advice on landlord & tenant law including the provision of witness support in particular to those witnesses involved with anti-social behaviour cases which includes out of office hours visits to their homes, if required.

To comply with the approved processes and procedures, including maintaining data records and registers as required by the Director of Legal Services. Ensure sound data management, both in case management and in passing on key data to other departments in a timely fashion.

To keep up to date with the constitutional, legal and regulatory framework within which Housing Associations operate. This also includes keeping up to date records in requirements. To ensure that such knowledge is shared to encourage a knowledgeable and compliance focused culture.

To support more junior legal team members and volunteers and provide assistance to the more senior team members and general assistance to the wider legal team. Liaising with clients, suppliers, and staff at all levels across the organisation. Build and maintain effective working relationships with external contacts and partners including updating colleagues in respect of changes in law.

Ensure confidentiality, sensitivity, and a professional approach in all activities. To provide cover for other solicitors in the litigation side of the team and, dependant on skills and experience, for the Legal Services Manager (Litigation) in their absence

What you need:

Knowledge & experience

Essential

Qualified solicitor or barrister.

Desirable

Experience of undertaking routine/standard housing management litigation casework, particularly for housing associations or other public sector bodies.

Experience of drafting pleadings and conducting litigation including advocacy A thorough understanding of legal processes, Housing and Landlord & Tenant law

Experience of developing and implementing processes and procedures within housing management litigation or contentious property legal work

Experience of developing talent and supporting and up-skilling junior staff

Experience of conducting and advising on complex contentious litigation

Skills

Excellent IT skills in particular Microsoft Office suite and Outlook.

Ability to present information in a variety of forms to a high standard, including excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Excellent legal drafting skills Abilities The post holder will be party to highly confidential and sensitive data and the ability to maintain confidentiality is of the utmost importance.

Conveys confidence in own ability, decisions and actions and takes personal responsibility for the consequences.

Seeks feedback and learns from experience.

Willing to admit mistakes

Is positive and upbeat Talks positively about Southern Housing and its work Engages with all aspects of work, team meetings, road shows Considers impact of own actions on others