Role: Commercial Litigation Solicitor (Any PQE)
Location: Maidstone, London, or Manchester; the firm has a London (W1) presence under active development.
Working pattern: Primarily office-based, with sensible flexibility around individual demands.
Reports to: Director and Head of Litigation
About STA Legal
STA Legal Limited is an SRA-regulated Alternative Business Structure with offices in Maidstone (Kent) and Manchester, and a London (W1) presence under development. The firm sits alongside STA International, an FCA-authorised credit management business (FRN 705183) with deep penetration of the United Kingdom higher-education market and a substantial corporate client base across logistics, retail, technology and financial services.
The firm is newly repositioned as a mid-market corporate and commercial advisory boutique. The combined STA Legal and STA International structure permits a genuinely integrated approach to contentious work, from pre-action correspondence and protocol compliance, through complex commercial litigation and contentious insolvency, to post-judgment enforcement — including the option, where appropriate, of damages-based agreement-funded enforcement strategies not commonly available within traditional competitors. Instructions span England and Wales, with established cross-jurisdictional matters across the UAE, US, and Europe.
Role Overview
This is a hands-on commercial litigation role for an ambitious solicitor ideally between 4 and 8 years post-qualification (or comparable demonstrable experience) who is ready to take ownership of a varied caseload of commercial disputes within a growing, dispute-led firm. Higher PQE will be seriously considered on the merits of the CV provided.
The postholder will work directly with the Head of Commercial Litigation on day-to-day caseload, strategy and supervision, and will benefit from genuine exposure to substantial work and matter ownership. Creditor-side contentious insolvency experience is valued and will broaden the scope of available work, but is not essential for the right commercial disputes candidate.
Why This Role Will Appeal
• Quality and breadth of work. A genuinely varied commercial disputes caseload, including contractual and supply chain disputes, shareholder and partnership disputes, civil fraud and asset tracing, injunctive relief, and contentious insolvency, alongside acting for institutional clients on volume-commercial recovery and dispute work.
• Integrated enforcement capability. Direct involvement in matters where the firms ABS structure and FCA-authorised sister business enable creative funding and enforcement strategies, including, in appropriate cases, damages-based agreement structures coupled with the High Court Enforcement Officer route.
• Visible mentorship. Day-to-day working contact with management, and structured involvement in strategy, drafting and tactical decision-making on substantial matters.
• Defined progression. The firm is executing a multi-year growth plan with a clear pathway to senior fee-earner and supervisory roles as the practice scales into its London (W1) presence.
• A real client portfolio. Instructions from FTSE-listed corporates, international logistics groups, leading high-street retailers, technology businesses and a substantial portfolio of higher-education institutions, supported by long-standing volume work through STA International.
• Sensible economics. The firm operates a transparent pricing structure allowing for manageable caseloads and a sustained focus on quality, rather than utilisation alone.
Key Responsibilities
Caseload and matter management
• Run a personal caseload of commercial disputes from pre-action through to trial and, where appropriate, enforcement.
• Draft pre-action correspondence and Letters of Claim in compliance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, and the relevant sector-specific protocols.
• Draft, review and settle statements of case, applications, witness statements, and consent and Tomlin orders to a consistently high standard.
• Conduct interim applications, including (as appropriate) applications for summary judgment, strike out, security for costs, specific disclosure, and interim relief, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules and applicable Practice Directions.
• Manage disclosure, evidence gathering, hearing preparation, trial bundles and instructions to counsel.
• Provide clear, commercially focused advice on merits, prospects, costs risk, settlement strategy, Part 36 considerations, and enforcement options.
Client and stakeholder handling
• Act as a day-to-day point of contact for clients and internal stakeholders, with timely, accurate updates and proportionate management of expectations.
• Liaise with counsel, experts, counterparties and opposing solicitors; manage negotiations and settlement discussions within agreed authority.
• Support the Head of Commercial Litigation on matter planning, resourcing and escalation of material risks.
Compliance, governance and file hygiene
• Maintain excellent file hygiene, accurate and contemporaneous time recording, and matter management.
• Ensure proper handling of conflicts, confidentiality, AML and counter-terrorism financing requirements (where engaged), UK GDPR and data protection requirements, and information security obligations.
• Use the firms case management and workflow tools (including Clio and integrated workflow systems) to support consistency, oversight and efficiency.
Essential Criteria
• Solicitor admitted in England and Wales, with a current practising certificate, with 4 years post-qualification experience. Strong candidates with broadly equivalent post-qualification experience by another route (for example, qualified Chartered Legal Executives with comparable contentious experience) will be considered.
• Demonstrable experience of running commercial litigation matters with appropriate supervision, including ownership of strategy, drafting and case management.
• Strong working knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules, including in relation to disclosure, witness evidence, costs management, Part 36 and interim applications.
• Sound judgement on proportionality, costs risk and settlement strategy.
• Excellent drafting skills and the analytical rigour to handle complex pleadings, applications and instructions to counsel.
• Clear, professional communication style suited to senior client and stakeholder management.
• High standards of professional integrity and regulatory compliance (SRA Principles, AML obligations and data protection).
Valued Additional Experience
The following experience is not essential, but will be of particular value and will broaden the scope of available work:
• Creditor-side contentious insolvency experience, including statutory demands, winding-up and bankruptcy petitions, validation orders, applications to restrain advertisement, and proofs of debt.
• Experience of antecedent transaction claims (preferences, transactions at undervalue, transactions defrauding creditors), wrongful trading and misfeasance claims, or a clear interest in developing in this area.
• Experience of civil fraud, asset tracing and recovery work, including interim injunctive relief (freezing, proprietary, search and disclosure orders).
• Exposure to commercial arbitration (institutional or ad hoc) and to the enforcement of arbitral awards.
• Experience of cross-border disputes, including matters involving the UAE, Bermuda, or other common-law and civil-law jurisdictions.
• Experience acting for institutional or volume-commercial clients with disciplined reporting and risk management.
• Familiarity with Clio, Legl and similar legal technology and workflow tools, and a pragmatic approach to operational improvement.
Skills and Behaviours
• Commercially intelligent, with the ability to translate legal complexity into concise advice that supports business decision-making.
• Calm and structured under pressure, including in time-sensitive injunctive or pre-trial situations.
• Accountable, well-organised, and disciplined about diary management, deadlines and limitation.
• Confident in setting expectations for junior colleagues and contributing to the development of the team.
• Comfortable working in a growing firm where contribution to building precedent, process and proposition is welcomed.
Remuneration, Benefits and Progression
• Competitive salary in the range of £65,000–£95,000, depending on PQE, location and demonstrable commercial disputes experience, with scope to exceed that range for an exceptional candidate.
• Performance-related bonus scheme reflecting individual contribution and team performance.
• Pension contribution and standard statutory benefits.
• Funded continuing professional development, including support for relevant accreditations and memberships (for example, ILA, R3 affiliate membership, CIArb pathways for arbitration-track candidates).
• Structured progression within an expanding disputes practice, with clear opportunities to move into senior fee-earner and supervisory roles as the firm scales into its London (W1) presence and develops its specialist consultant bench.
What Good Looks Like in This Role
• Matters progressed efficiently, with strong procedural compliance, accurate diary management and clearly recorded decision-making.
• High-quality drafting that requires minimal rework, and consistently court-ready output.
• Timely, accurate, commercially focused client communication and controlled costs risk.
• Constructive supervision of paralegal colleagues, with visible contribution to their development.
• Active contribution to the firms know-how, precedents and operational improvements.