Insolvency Associate – 2- 4years PQE – Dispute Resolution Team (St Albans)

Job specification

Position: Insolvency Associate – 2- 4 years PQE
Department: Dispute Resolution
Location: St Albans

Company overview

At Debenhams Ottaway we are passionate about delivering high quality services for the clients we work with. Our people are experts in their field, and we pride ourselves on providing professional, trustworthy and reliable advice. We understand that in order to do that, we need great people.

Set in the heart of St Albans, Hertfordshire we have built a reputation for providing outstanding services and supporting a variety of clients from high profile businesses, local individuals and families throughout the region and further afield. Our people are the key to our success and have created an inclusive, friendly and warm working environment. We strongly believe in developing them, by providing challenging work, support and structured development. With growth on the horizon for us, it is an exciting time to join our firm!

Overview 

Our highly regarded Insolvency team is described in the Legal 500 directory as being an “extremely competent team focusing on insolvency and restructuring from the debt recovery end to large scale corporate restructuring” lead by Alexander Neale who is praised for being “technically brilliant, charming and easy to deal with”. The team acts on a wide range of high quality non-contentious advisory work and contentious insolvency disputes. The team often handles work referred from London and national practices where they are conflicted and has an extensive roster of Insolvency Practitioner clients. We are looking for a dynamic lawyer with extensive insolvency experience to help grow the team as it moves forward to the next level.

Key areas 

Activities will be varied and will include, but are not limited to the following:

• Dealing with new client enquiries.
• Handling all aspects of corporate insolvency including administration appointments (both in court and out of court appointments), all court applications under insolvency legislation, providing advice to IPs, secured lenders and directors.
• Dealing with all aspects of property related transactions in insolvency.
• All aspects of personal insolvency.
• Dealing with insolvency related litigation.
• Providing direction and guidance where required to junior members of the team.
• Provide a courteous and efficient service putting clients at the center of everything that is done.
• Maintain control of an allocated caseload to ensure that standards of matter conduct, file management, administration, time-recording and accounting are maintained at all times.
• Recognise the importance of cross selling and identify opportunities to refer work to other teams.
• Attend networking and firm events to build relationships with potential clients and intermediaries.
• Assist in developing and implementing marketing strategies for specific area of expertise and work.
• Regularly update knowledge and expertise and share this with others’ in the department/firm.

Skills and attributes 

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience of insolvency.
• Adopts a client-centered focus at all times taking responsibility for the level of client service in they provide and proactive steps to maximize and improve client relationships.
• A commercial and pragmatic attitude to the resolution of disputes.
• Able to manage time and workload to prioritise and juggle multiple client priorities.
• Willingness to go the extra mile.
• High IT literacy.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Confident with the ability to interface and develop relationships with a variety of people.
• Socially confident.
• Professional appearance.