Associate/ Senior Associate, Barrister

Regulatory

London, Birmingham or Winchester

Permanent

Full-time, Hybrid working

THE FIRM

Capsticks is a leading provider of legal services to the health, social care, housing and emergency services sectors, as well as in the field of professional regulation. The firm has a turnover of c£60m and around 600 staff - including 450 fee earners - across five offices nationally. We act for a wide range of long standing clients in both the public and private sector, including all forms of NHS organisations, governmental and regulatory bodies, registered providers, insurers, police, fire and rescue services, independent health and social care providers, charities and GP practices.

Further details about the firm and the type of work carried out can be found on our website at www.capsticks.com .

In 2022 Capsticks achieved a two star accreditation from Best Companies, the specialists whose recognition programme is the standard for workplace engagement - Capsticks is an "outstanding place to work" - Best Companies to work for 2022. The Best Companies accreditation is really important to Capsticks as it focuses on the trust and value we place in our people, their wellbeing and their careers. Capsticks is independently rated as an "outstanding company to work for" .

THE ROLE

Our professional discipline team is ranked in the top tier by the legal directories and is one of the largest in the country. We act for a significant number of regulatory bodies across the health and social care, education and legal sectors. We are seeking ambitious advocates (barristers, solicitor advocates or solicitors with relevant experience as tribunal advocates) to join our London, Birmingham or Winchester office and to help us build and develop our practice and respond to increasing volumes of work, servicing clients both locally and nationally. In particular, we are looking for advocates to support London based health and social care regulators and clients within the education sector in the Midlands.

Successful candidates will work within an experienced and expanding team of lawyers, advocates and case progression paralegals. Advocacy experience, including trial/ final hearing advocacy is essential preferably in a professional disciplinary/ fitness to practise context but we will consider candidates who can demonstrate the required skills and experience from other sectors. Full induction training and ongoing support and training will be provided as part of the role.

As an advocate within the Regulatory Division you will primarily present cases at final substantive hearing and represent regulators at interim application and case management hearings. This includes presenting the full range of cases taken forward to hearing by professional regulators including those involving dishonesty, fraud, sexual misconduct and serious instances of deficient professional performance. There will be opportunities to work with expert witnesses and to support vulnerable witnesses and those with additional support needs to give best evidence.

There are also opportunities to input into case direction at all stages of the investigation and preparation process. This includes: evidence reviews, allegation drafting, preparing opening notes, case summaries and written applications/ skeleton arguments and advice on all types of legal and evidential issues arising during the course of case preparation and presentation. There are also opportunities to get involved in our broader advisory work with clients, including the use of statutory powers and a wide range of other issues affecting regulators.

Depending on qualification and experience, it is likely that there will opportunities to appear in the High Court and the First Tier Tribunal on appeals from decisions of the regulators. There are also opportunities to work with our clients on continuous improvement projects and scope for involvement in training for panel members and in-house teams.

Capsticks is committed to recruiting the best people to maintain its status as legal adviser of choice. We welcome candidates from all relevant disciplines, however, candidates will be expected to demonstrate at interview that they are self-motivated and commercially minded, as well as having good interpersonal skills and able to work effectively in teams.

This is a great opportunity to join a friendly and expanding team in a market leading firm with the opportunity to influence and shape the ways the dispute advocacy service evolves moving forwards.

Capsticks is an inclusive employer

At Capsticks we value diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive working environment where everyone is able to be themselves and reach their full potential. Capsticks is committed to providing equal opportunities for all and therefore we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, background, culture, ethnicity, race, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, neurodiversity, religion and beliefs.

We will make reasonable adjustments to our application and interview process to ensure that you have the best chance of success. We understand that there's not a "one size fits all" approach to adjustments so our team will work with you individually to understand more about your requirements. If you have any questions please contact our Recruitment team on: ( Careers@capsticks.com )