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JOB DESCRIPTION
SOLICITOR / ASSOCIATE SOLICITOR - FAMILY DEPARTMENT 
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Reporting to:     Head of Department
 
Person specification – Skills, knowledge and experience required

Practising certificate
Minimum of 5 years post qualification experience as a solicitor in family law to include experience of dealing with:
Divorce and Civil Partnership;
Matrimonial / Civil partnership finance matters;
Private law children’s cases;
Co-habitation agreements and disputes;
Separation agreements;
Nuptial agreements;
Non-Molestation and Occupation Orders
Experience of supervising staff  
Practical skills:

Administration skills (good knowledge of Word, Excel etc)
Typing skills
Interviewing skills
Telephone skills
Time management skills
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English
Supervisory and management skills
Ability to prioritise own workload
Ability to work as part of a team as well as independently
Personable with excellent client care skills
Ability to work to deadlines
Must have a good working knowledge of the SRA Code of Conduct and Accounts Rules
A strong team player  
Job purpose:

To assist in the development of the family department
To act self-sufficiently
To run own caseload
To assist other fee earners with their cases
To actively develop new sources of potential income streams for the department  
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General responsibilities:

Manage own caseloads from instruction to conclusion;
Ensure that diary dates and reminders are kept and observed;
Meet relevant quality and professional standards;
Proactively build and grow department;
Actively develop new sources of potential income streams;
Promoting a positive working environment within firm;
Marketing and promoting the firm and its service offerings;
Undertaking research on developing areas of law and procedure to remain up to date on key issues;
Maintaining training requirements as expected by the firm and the SRA;
Providing training to members of department where appropriate.  
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Tasks:

General administrative tasks in relation to individual file management including obtaining acceptable ID and signed client care letters;
Attending upon clients, taking instructions and giving advice, confirming that in writing;
Writing letters and emails and corresponding with court, solicitors and clients;
Drafting and issuing court papers and other legal documents;
Dealing with all court directions, including reports and valuations etc;
Representing clients at Court hearings where appropriate;
Briefing and liaising with Counsel for hearings;
Implementation of final orders;
Billing and seeking to meet billing targets;
Using existing precedents, template documents and other processes to enable department to be run efficiently;
Producing updated precedents for use by the department where appropriate;
Producing articles for website on current issues, landmark cases and developments in family law on a regular basis, or as requested of you;
Utilising social media frequently, in particular LinkedIn and Twitter, to promote the firm and its service offerings;
Running and/or assisting in the running of stalls, trade shows, attending networking events where appropriate;
Other tasks as requested by the firm