Lead Lawyer
Application Deadline: 29 October 2025
Department: Legal
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: Bolton
Description
The Lead Lawyer will be responsible for the technical leadership of a team of NDA Litigated Fraud file handlers and assistants whilst carrying a reduced file count. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring through peer review, training and supervision that robust, technical strategies are employed across all matters as well as ensuring that all KYO strategies understood and followed throughout the team. The Lead Lawyer will be pivotal in feeding back outcomes to the Strategy Director and the Technical Manager.
The post holder will be responsible for supporting the handlers in delivering the best possible outcome for clients whilst also ensuring cases are progressed in a robust, strategic manner. The post holder will be expected to support the design of best practice handling documents for their team working with the Technical Manager and the Team Leader.
The Lead Lawyer will also be responsible for overseeing the file allocation process ensuring that files are allocated to appropriate handler based upon competence, experience, client relationships and capacity.
Key Responsibilities
Key Accountabilities:
Strategic excellence:
* Devising and implementing best practice handling processes to ensure great client results
* Identifying and escalating any opportunities for strategic litigation and any cases appropriate for complex consideration and referral.
* Working with the Team Leader and Senior Leadership team to monitor time spent on files and use coaching and training to ensure profitable practices are adopted by the team.
Technical Excellence:
* Supervision and peer review of all handlers in your team.
* Make full use of the firm’s Case Management System in progressing files from receipt to closure.
* Delegate appropriate work to team members and ensuring assistants have enough of the appropriate work to achieve chargeable hours and settlement targets.
* Undertake file allocation triage ensuring file are matched with the appropriate handler based upon skills and experience, and client relationships.
* Improve kick out rates
* To ensure compliance with the SRA Code of Conduct 2011
Client excellence:
* Building and developing partnerships with clients where needed
* Ensuring maximum customer satisfaction on all cases dealt with in your team
* Ensuring compliance with all internal and client SLA’s
* Ensuring accurate and timely completion of all client and internal MI
* Improve kick out rates
* Working with the Quality Lead and Client Relationship Manager to Investigate, establish root cause and implementing solutions for client complaints
* Achieve both client and internal KPIs
Leadership:
* Leadership, motivation, engagement and technical development of the team to ensure achievement of objectives.
* Taking responsibility for identifying any issues which arise around wellbeing or performance and addressing those issues with support from the Team Leader.
Financial and cultural excellence:
* Achieve objectives and financial targets
* Adhere to Keoghs Values
Working Hours
35 hours per week
Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm with 1 unpaid hour for lunch.
Primary location for this role is the Bolton office.
We are agile workers with attendance at the Bolton office at least 1 day per week.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
* High level of experience of handling non-delegated counter-fraud cases, with an agreed handling authority matching the requirement of the work
* Ability to analyse trends and devise and implement strategies designed to deliver market-leading results.
* Experience of supervising others, with a strong track record of progressing supervisees.
* Positive, confident and enthusiastic
* Excellent listening, verbal and written communication skills
* Excellent inter-personal and client care skills and experience of building relationships with clients.
* Excellent IT skills
* Ability to prioritise work, keep to deadlines and work under pressure
* Ability to win the trust and confidence of others
* Ability to make decisions
* Ability to maintain concentration and pay attention to detail
* Driven to achieve with a track record of achieving all objectives
Required Soft Skills
* Ability to lead a team and to ensure those within the team have enough of the appropriate work.
* Ability to motivate those within the team and beyond to achieve their targets and objectives.
* Ability to foster engagement with the Keoghs Shared Values within the team and wider office, leading by example.
* Ability to develop the technical skills of those within the team.
* Excellent communication skills, not only to enable the lead to conduct meaningful, formal reviews of progress against technical and financial metrics but also such that the lead is able to identify any issues as they arise and (with support from the Team Leader) to provide appropriate support to team members either in respect of wellbeing or performance.
Benefits
* Davies Incentive Plan
* 25 days holiday per year which increases with level of service (opportunity to buy & sell 3 days)
* Family Cover Private Medical Insurance (Bupa) - will automatically be at single cover level but can opt into family option within first month of joining.
* Simply Health Care Cash Plan
* WeCare – 24/7 online GP, mental health support and virtual wellbeing covering a whole host of topics to do with health, mental health, wellbeing & healthy living and financial & legal wellbeing
* Death in Service
* Critical Illness Cover
* PHI/Income Protection (Private health insurance)
* Pension Contribution based 5% Employee / 3% Employer
* Employee Resource Groups
* Employee Volunteering Programme
* Cycle to Work Scheme*
* Tech Scheme*
* Season Ticket Loan*
* Gym Flex*
* Access to Online Discount Sites
* Discounted Gourmet Society Membership
* Discounted Tickets for Merlin Attractions nationwide
* Discounts at local retail outlets
* after successfully completing probation
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