Associate – Housing Litigation (Hybrid)

Our large thriving Housing Litigation team provides advice and support on all housing/residential property litigation services, including anti-social behaviour advice, disrepair litigation, access injunctions, possession proceedings and advice on housing law generally. We advise landlords only – including housing associations, local authorities, charity landlords and housing co-operatives throughout England. We are looking for an Associate level Solicitor/Barrister/Chartered Legal Executive Advocate to join our nationally and regionally recognised team. In this role, you will undertake the delivery of housing litigation matters, including: Anti-social behaviour injunctions and breaches; Defending disrepair claims - supervising legal assistants who conduct files from letter of claim stage up to assessment of liability and conducting claims thereafter either to settlement or trial; Defending occasional s82 Environmental Protection Act prosecutions for statutory nuisance arising from disrepair; Supervision and advocacy on non-access injunctions and committals; ASB possession claims including many with Equality Act, mental capacity and proportionality defences; Possession claims on all grounds – trespass; fraud; demolition etc.; Some residential leasehold or shared owner forfeiture/possession/injunctions; Housing management advice; review or drafting of policies and procedures on all issues that can lead to litigation such as succession; mutual exchanges; new legislation etc. The housing litigation team of 17 fee earners plus 5 secretaries are based across both our Manchester and Birmingham offices. This role will be to join the 10 fee earners based in Birmingham. This role is hybrid with an expectation of 2 days a week in the newly refurbished Birmingham office working alongside fellow team members and 3 days working from home. Regular weekly attendances at court hearings are likely. All IT equipment and support for home working provided. Experienced secretarial and PA support is provided, supported by our office assistants who deal with all post, bundles and admin. The Housing Litigation Dept runs an excellent technical training programme to ensure all fee earners develop their areas of expertise. The firm’s wider sector teams offer further opportunities for training and development and expanding sector knowledge. About the candidate

The successful candidate will ideally have the following experience and skills: Previous experience of housing and or residential leasehold litigation for either social landlords or tenants in a private law firm or in-house; Advocacy rights of audience with confidence and a keenness to undertake hearings (e.g. first possession hearings, directions hearings and injunction return dates); Ability to collaborate and work as part of a team, delegating to junior lawyers, legal assistants and trainees; (Preferably) experience in line managing junior lawyers and legal assistants; Only needing light touch supervision; Excellent written communication skills e.g. using plain English and identifying pragmatic legally sound solutions for clients; Strong communication and interpersonal skills; Ability to build rapport and strong relationships with client officers with varying levels of experience; Effective organisational and time management skills to ensure can work under tight deadline pressure; Strong self-motivation and proactivity, and confidence to use your own initiative where appropriate to deliver consistently high-quality work that meets the client’s needs. About the firm

Anthony Collins Solicitors is a specialist law firm with a clear purpose – to “improve lives, communities and society.

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