Public Law Director

**Role: Public Law Solicitor / Director - London** **Duncan Lewis Solicitors (Ltd)**: Duncan Lewis was founded in 1998. We are a large and established company employing over 550 lawyers delivering legal services in over 60 languages. Duncan Lewis serves corporate entities and private individuals in over 25 practice areas from offices throughoutLondon and across England and Wales. Our success in case results are regularly reported in the media and our staffs’ accomplishments are acknowledged and recommended as leaders in the legal directories; The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, as a top tierfirm and described as a "diligent and professional team that is prepared to go the extra mile for its clients". **Public Law Department Background**: Our Public Law department has experience in all aspects of civil liberties and judicial review against the HMRC, local authority, NHS, planning Judicial Review including obtaining emergency orders and other interim relief to prevent breaches of human rights.The department regularly follow up judicial reviews with actions for damages in both the County and High Courts and successfully pursue matters to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The quality of our work is repeatedly demonstrated by our high success rates. Our lawyers are award winning and many of our cases, which are recorded in the reported case journals, raise new and important issues, and create legal precedents for the future. Our Public Law Department is recognised as a leader in our field by Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 for our depth of experience in immigration and civil liberties challenges. As a large and well-established firm, we are well known to the Legal Aid Agency(LAA), the Courts, and the Government Legal Department (GLD). We also collaborate with other firms on funding and case management issues, and have a close working relationship with a number of barristers’ chambers with relevant expertise in public law. We carry out both publicly and privately funded work. Main Responsibilities of the Role - **Report directly to and collaborating with the Board to ensure performance targets are met**: - **Responsible for all aspects ofPublicwork including providing technical expertise and guidance to other team members**: - **Ability to manage and supervise Solicitors, Trainee Solicitors and Caseworkers to manage appropriate caseload types and complexities**: - **Assisting with delivery of appropriate training and development in the department**: - **Variety of duties including dealing with a range ofPublic Law work including:Unlawful detention; False imprisonment; Abuse by detention staff and removal escorts; Conditions in detention; Age assessments; Asylum support; Challenging non-appealable decisions; Challenging removal notices; Policies, practices and decisionsmade by the Immigration and Asylum Tribunals (First-tier Tribunal / Upper Tribunal) ; Bail decisions**: - **Preparing draft documents including witness statements and processing evidence**: - **Attending conferences and court**: - **You will have a professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and be interested in Business Development and Marketing to supplement the substantial work volumes brought in by the company** Key Skills Required - 3 Years+ PQE - Registered with the Law Society Immigration Accreditation Level 2 Supervisor - Membership is desirable andcommitted and highly driven - Must have a clean, valid Practicing Certificate at the time of applying - Strong management skills - Committed team player with ability to approach team concerns fairly, foster culture of positive change and encourage cross referrals - Previous proven supervisory experience and working to key performance indicators - Professional with a pro-active approach; excellent client care skills and ability to deal with client matters in a sensitive manner to deal with vulnerable clients and resolve complicated practicalities involved in Public Law issues - Excellent networking and communication skills with the ability to successfully market the Company and generate new business - Working knowledge of the publically funded Public Law work and have the ability to service privately funded cases - Have extensive experience in dealing with all Public Law related work and some expertise on adoption matters - Experience in own advocacy is an advantage Rewards - 25 days annual leave - Additional Birthday leave - Additional holiday accrual* - 4 days paid sick leave* - Five day holiday roll over if not used - Full medical insurance with BUPA or similar provider - Practicing Certificate renewed annually - The Law Society Panel Membership and Accreditation/re Accreditation Reaccreditation fee paid for* - The Law Society registration fee for Panel membership paid for* - Panel courses mandatory for the Law Society Accreditation paid for* - Access to vast range of training webinars / E-Library - Automatic enrolment onto the Company’s pension scheme - Childcare Vouchers - Eye test vouchers - DBS Check costs paid for - Excellent progression opportunities - Supportive team environment. - Part time working - Flexible working arrangements/working from home considered - Support for appropriate legal awards/recognition *terms and conditions apply The recruitment process will fully comply with GDPR and other applicable laws. Background checks including CRB / DBS checks will establish your eligibility to work in the UK and suitability to the role. **Equal Opportunities**: Duncan Lewis is committed to Equal Opportunities and embraces diversity of its staff. The Company strives to ensure that our staff reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, which is reflective at all levels within our workforce.