Dispute Resolution - Senior/Principal Associate

Job title

Senior/Principal Associate

Department

Dispute Resolution (Commercial Litigation sub-team)

Our Purpose

To forge long-term relationships that have a positive impact on our people, our clients, our business partners, and our community.

Our Commitment to Our People

We do not think there is a magic formula to the Higgs culture. The key is to listen to and respect our people. If we take care of our people and our people take care of our clients, then everything we want as a firm will take care of itself. We are friendly and open to new ideas.

Our Core Values

Higgs core values are “CLEAR” – Care, Legacy, Excellence, Authenticity, Relationships

Role Purpose

To manage a broad caseload of commercial litigation cases and assist Partners with more complex high value business critical commercial disputes.  The caseload will be diverse and include commercial contract disputes, restrictive covenant claims, IT contract disputes, sale of goods and supply of services disputes, shareholder disputes, partnership disputes, defamation claims, general reputation management advice, warranty and indemnity claims, IP disputes and consumer claims. This will vary from pre-action advice through to claims in the County Court, High Court and where necessary Court of Appeal.

The role will involve dealing with a range of disputes for the firms clients who range from high net worth individuals, SME’s through to PLC and global large corporates.

Key Responsibilities 

• Provide clear, results-focused and strategic advice to clients in line with all relevant legal principles and the client’s personal/commercial objectives
• Comply with and advise on relevant pre-action protocols
• Drafting thorough documentation required in the litigation process
• Liaising and building rapport with clients, counsel and experts
• Deal with Court proceedings and arbitration proceedings as necessary
• Represent clients in settlement negotiations, including, but not limited to mediations
• Ensure all matters are conducted diligently, efficiently and with excellent financial hygiene
• Be a team player both within the Commercial Litigation Team and the wider Dispute Resolution Department
• Contribute to the development of junior team members through active supervision and collaborative working
• Assist and engage with firmwide initiatives
• Foster long term relationships with clients (both internal and external)
• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of substantive law and procedure

Person Specification

• Team player who embraces ‘one team’ ethos
• An unwavering commitment to client care, written excellence and timely delivery of services
• Positive, ‘can do’ attitude
• Decisive
• Embraces change
• Strong work ethic
• Resilient
• High service delivery standards
• Excellent organisation and time management skills
• Excellent ability to process and distil large quantities of information.

Technical Knowledge

• Excellent technical knowledge in relation to both substantive law and procedure
• Commercial in approach
• Strategic thinker

What You Need to Know

Higgs offers hybrid working wherever possible. Our Higgs’ Best FIT (flexible, inclusive, together) principles are designed to ensure that people can complete their best work from the most appropriate location. If you are looking to work flexibly then let us know and we will do what we can to accommodate your request.

We encourage a ‘dress for your diary’ approach which means dressing in a manner appropriate for your schedule or the specific appointments you have on any given day.

Equal Opportunities

As charter signatories to The Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter, Higgs are committed to developing a diverse business by engaging with the widest pool of talent. We recognise this is an ongoing journey and regularly monitor our figures which can be viewed here.

People Driven. Legal Excellence.