Somek & Associates is a brand leader in providing expert witness services for clinical negligence and personal injury litigation, as well as other areas of dispute involving health or disability issues including family matters, criminal cases, tribunal, coroner’s court and professional regulation issues.

We take the business of being an expert witness seriously, aiming to provide first class expert witnesses, in addition to a quality service for our clients.

Our Principles

• Respect – Creating a supportive, kind and inclusive environment.
• Quality – Delivering consistently high standards
• Reputation – Cultivating lasting relationships with clients and associates
• Teamwork and Communication – Recognising unique contribution and rewarding success
• Growth – Developing the mindset to maximise the potential of our individuals and organisation

POSITION

The Expert Witness Enquiries Coordinator (‘EWEC’) role supports the Expert Witness Enquiries (‘EWE’) Team in the day-to-day management of cases from the case enquiry stage through to the case instruction stage. This includes reviewing and interpreting enquiries for expert evidence, identifying salient medico-legal information, identifying potentially suitable associates, managing expert availability / workload planning, securing instructions and preparing financial documents including fee estimates. Comprehensive training will be provided on all elements to this position.

We pride ourselves on the professional service that we deliver. As a member of the EWE team you will be providing clients and experts with a positive and quality experience.

Being part of a small team, whilst also being able to work independently, you will be able to work under pressure, organise your time, and prioritise your workload. You will be articulate and have excellent communication skills, being able to liaise with individuals at varying levels of seniority.

Hours: Permanent, full-time, Monday to Friday

09:00 to 17:30 (including 1 hour break)

Location: Somek & Associates, 9 Chess Business Park, Moor Road, Chesham, HP5 1SD

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Progressing case enquiries autonomously from the enquiry stage through to instruction.
• Information analysis and data entry, including; reviewing new case enquiries, identifying medico legal issues in cases, identifying the report type, clarifying instructions, identifying the time period to which the case relates, identifying appropriate experts, providing fee estimates and developing case management plans.
• Being proactive in communicating with clients and associates in respect of new enquiries to secure instructions (both by email and over the phone). On occasion this may involve the use of assertive negotiation skills to ensure that we can balance meeting the client’s need for a report to meet a specified deadline, with the associate’s workload remaining manageable.
• Developing effective working relationships with clients and maximising opportunities for further instructions.
• Developing effective working relationships with our associates, which may involve following up responses and negotiating time allocations and preferred travel methods.
• Ensuring that associates have well managed caseloads which meet their desired expectation (where possible) and are within the realms of their level of expertise.
• Adhering-to team / company processes and policy.
• Developing effective working relationships with Associate Trainers and members of the Case Handler, Finance, Operations Support and Reports teams.
• Handling confidential medico-legal reports / evidence, which may sometimes involve sensitive and/or distressing content.
• Other duties as required.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The Expert Witness Enquiries Coordinator will need to:

• be articulate.
• have excellent written and verbal communication and negotiation skills.
• have good critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• possess strong organisational skills.
• be reliable and trustworthy.
• be able to use own initiative, whilst also working as part of a small team
• be able to work flexibly.
• have demonstrable assertiveness skills.
• be able to work under pressure and prioritise their own workload
• be able to recognise situational complexity and seek support from senior colleagues where appropriate.

The post holder will routinely read case information which contains confidential information and which may sometimes be highly sensitive. There is a requirement to remain objective when reading this material and generally deal with it tactfully and in accordance with GDPR and data protection principles.

Training

In-house training will be provided on all S&A software.

In-house training will be provided on all job roles as required.

Confidentiality

The nature of the work of S&A is highly confidential and the post holder will be expected to maintain full confidence.

Why work with us?

Located just outside of London in Chesham, beside the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we’re a well-established small-to-medium sized company with a family feel. If you work with us, you’ll be joining a warm and welcoming team.

We offer a great range of employee benefits, which includes:

• 31 days holiday a year (including Bank Holidays)
• Individualised training opportunities to support career development
• Free and confidential Employee Assistance support for you and your family
• Hybrid working after qualifying period
• Private Healthcare after qualifying period
• Increasing pension contributions with service
• On site electric vehicle charger
• Free onsite parking and refreshments
• Staff events including support to the Community and staff social events
• End of the month lunch

Somek and Associates is proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Please make us aware of any adjustments you may need to support you through the recruitment process