Duty Solicitor Vacancy – Leicester

Reeds Solicitors would like to open a new criminal office in Leicester and therefore we are seeking a Duty Solicitor to join the team.

Candidates must be Duty qualified and ideally have a reputation and following within the local area. This is an exciting opportunity to help build a new office and develop a team of your own with the added benefit of the background support of a larger team, who have experience in this kind of business development.

With this in mind, we would like to hear from candidates who have prior management experience or a desire to develop those skills in due course and who will be excited to get involved in the marketing, promotion and development of our company and services within this area.

Solicitors would have the opportunity to develop skills and assist with Crown Court Litigation and Private Magistrates Court work. Within these roles there is significant opportunity to progress within and between departments, a chance to secure work related bonuses and internal training. Candidate will be expected to participate on the out of hours Police Station rota.

Roles and Responsibilities

This work will be sufficiently challenging and varied and we will be looking for someone who can help to develop a new office.

The ideal candidate will be required to:

  • Meeting and interviewing clients to give advice on the relevant law in criminal allegations and take their instructions.
  • Manage their own case load, often taking cases from the police station all the way to trial.
  • Draft applications, documents and letters that may arise during the course of a criminal case.
  • Preparing client’s proof of evidence and replies to prosecution witness statements.
  • Representing clients in court.
  • Instructing barristers or specialist advocates to appear in the Crown Court.
  • Attending at the police station to advise clients where necessary.
  • Travel across the area and the wider business to represent clients in Court.
  • Working in a team, sometimes referring cases to the head of department.
  • Supervising and delegating work to trainee solicitors, paralegals and legal secretaries as appropriate.
  • Any other duties as directed by the Team Leader or a member of the Management Team.

Person Specification

  • Must hold Duty Solicitor Status.
  • Must hold Police Station Accreditation.
  • Highly dynamic with the drive to generate work for the firm.
  • Self-motivated and commercially minded, as well as having good interpersonal and communication skills.
  • Must be proactive in seeking to manage and progress files and apply a consistent attention to detail.
  • The ability to work within a high pressure, high workload environments.
  • Excellent understanding of client care requirements and a commitment to Criminal Law.
  • Be self-confident, proactive and able to develop good working relationship with third parties including court staff, counsel and the Crown Prosecution Service.
  • Excellent time management and organisation skills.
  • Resilient with the ability to cope with everchanging priorities.
  • A flexible approach and willingness to help, across all teams and departments, with a “can do” attitude.
  • Proficient in using Microsoft Office package and the ability to learn and efficiently use both practice and case management software.

Salary – Negotiable dependent on experience.

Working Hours – Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm, with one hour for lunch.

Job Type – Permanent, full-time.

Closing Date – We reserve the right to amend the closing date or withdraw the advert without notice prior to the closing date.

Why Work for Reeds?

At Reeds we do things The Reeds Way – a set of foundational principles that not only tell us how we run our business, but why.

Externally, it governs how we look after our clients. For example, we have developed our Service Pledge, and our whole firm works as a team to make sure we deliver on this every time. The Reeds Way also governs and guides how we try to add value to the communities in which we operate.

Internally, the Reeds Way governs our culture, the Reeds working environment, and the working life and career that we offer to all Reeds people – About Us – Reeds Solicitors.

So, what does all this look like when put into practice? Here is what you can expect from us if you join our team:

  • We safeguard a non-negotiable culture of respect for and between colleagues;
  • We offer a transparent and fair career development structure with opportunities for all lawyers and fee-earners to progress through the stages and become an Associate, Senior Associate and hopefully Partner;
  • All our people – and that means all our people – constantly undergo training and development via The ‘Reeds Academy’ which helps everyone achieve their career goals and get to where they want to be professionally, and to enhance their business skills and knowledge;
  • We encourage all our staff to think about business development and look for growth opportunities. We are always willing to listen to, and potentially invest in, new ideas;
  • We offer competitive salary and benefit packages and have a transparent annual review process which considers your whole contribution to your team and the Firm, not just billing figures;
  • We offer to all staff a discretionary bonus scheme for exceptional performance as well as performance related bonuses;
  • We offer flexible working schemes which include compressed 4 day weeks, 9 day fortnights and TOIL (time off in lieu), as well as a true commitment to hybrid working;
  • You will enjoy the ability to earn up to 30 days of holiday with years of service (standard holiday packages start at 21 days plus all bank holidays);
  • There is an additional paid celebration day for you to use as you would like (such as a birthday, anniversary or other key event);
  • You will have the ability to buy a further 5 days of holiday, and sell surplus holiday, each year;
  • Discretionary additional holiday days are given at Christmas (up to a maximum of 2 days);
  • We give you private medical health care with the option to upgrade and add optical and dental care;
  • Discounted gym membership is available, through private medical insurance;
  • We offer an employee assistance programme with access to physical, mental and emotional health advice & webinars, wellbeing videos and programmes, online counselling & mini health checks;
  • The Cycle To Work scheme is available, including e-bikes; Fresh fruit baskets are placed in each office on a weekly basis

How To Apply?

If you are interested in this position, or would like further information, please email [email protected] with the job title clearly stated in the subject line.

Date:

02/05/2025