Senior Associate - Construction Professional Indemnity

DAC Beachcroft LLP; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm in Manchester is seeking a Senior Associate in their Professional and Commercial Risk team. The role involves managing professional negligence claims within the construction sector and providing advice to insurers. Candidates should have at least 6 years of experience in professional indemnity and possess strong client handling skills. The firm promotes hybrid working, offering genuine flexibility to its employees.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of post-qualification experience in professional indemnity in construction.
• Ability to deal confidently with clients on day-to-day issues.
• Experience in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation.

Responsibilities

• Interact regularly with clients providing meaningful advice.
• Handle a workload of professional negligence claims in construction.
• Advise insurers on coverage aspects under indemnity policies.
• Conduct pre-action and litigated matters, providing project support.
• Manage your own caseload while supervising junior fee earners.
• Engage directly with experts and Counsel.

Skills

Professional indemnity construction expertise

Strong relationship and client handling skills

Self-sufficiency in managing a caseload

Change-oriented mindset

Team-oriented approach

Job description

Overview

Department: Professional and Commercial Risk

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Manchester

Description: Are you looking for a role offering intellectual challenge, client-focus and industry-leading quality, without compromising on genuine flexibility? An opportunity in our Professional and Commercial Risk team may be for you. We are looking to recruit a Senior Associate to work within our highly regarded Construction Professional Indemnity Team. The Team is thriving and we are seeking to expand rapidly both to service existing workloads and to exploit new sources of work. The candidate will play an active role in the continued growth and success of the team, in collaboration with our wider practice nationally and internationally.

Our team acts for all of the top 20 UK and global insurers, both working on joint defence retainers with insured professionals such as architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, contract administrators, project managers, M&E engineers, contractors and subcontractors and advising Insurers directly on policy coverage issues. Construction disputes are very buoyant at present and the Team is working on some of the most interesting and complex disputes in the market. We encourage all team members to build their own client relationships and given the state of the construction disputes market, there are excellent opportunities for the successful candidate to progress their career.

The successful candidate would ideally be based within reach of one of our regional offices in Bristol, Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle but would be working collaboratively as part of a national team. Our Flex Forward policy means that we’ve been at the forefront of hybrid working since before covid and we can offer genuine flexibility to the successful candidate and we would encourage you to talk to us about our approach to flexible working during the hiring process if you would like to explore this further.

Key Responsibilities

• The opportunity to interact on a regular basis with clients. You will share your knowledge of key issues and provide meaningful advice and support.
• A workload of professional negligence claims within the construction sector, involving a range of professionals such as architects, engineers, design & build contractors, quantity surveyors, project managers, and specialist subcontractors
• Advising insurers on all aspects of coverage under a construction professional indemnity policy
• Responsibility for conducting both pre-action and litigated matters, providing real-time project support.
• Your own caseload to handle, alongside providing support to our Partners and supervising more junior fee earners on matters which involve a large team of fee earners.
• A good understanding and experience of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation.
• Direct engagement with experts and Counsel, directing our work with both.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Professional indemnity construction expertise (~6+ PQE)
• Strong relationship and client handling skills, commensurate with experience
• The ability to deal confidently and professionally with clients on day-to-day issues
• A good level of self-sufficiency, managing a caseload commensurate with experience
• Change oriented, with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives
• Team-oriented and collegiate, with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team
• A willingness to work hard as part of a highly ambitious and driven team