Can not recommend - Solicitor National Legal Service Employee Review

I joined NLS in it's infancy during March 2018, I assisted in growing the Birmingham branch from me alone to over 20 people including paralegals, trainees, solicitors and supervisors. I left for other opportunities in mid-2022 but returned May 2024 as I felt at home here, supported with my team, I like working with NCDV and the diverse type of work I am able to undertake within Family Law. The current CEO is very hands on, ensuring he is visible & accessible to the team. Given the pace of some of the work we do I can train my colleagues in the law & advocacy quickly. IT is fantastic in terms of the case management system which is one of the reasons I returned. For the motivated, dedicated employees the path from admin work to supervising a team as a qualified solicitor can be as little as 3-4 years.

As the firm was much larger when I returned there was unexpected bureaucracy to navigate to get certain tasks done however, this has been shaken up and lots of previous barriers removed. Clear London-Outsiders divide for a long time but this is being eroded to give us non-Londoners the same opportunities & attention.

Supportive management nationally and regionally. Opportunity to work on complex and interesting cases Opportunity to assist with business development and marketing Flexible working Competitive salary at this level Hybrid working Staff are all genuinely nice people who are approachable and helpful. The firm encourages the offices to work together and share ideas and information Diverse staff and client base Opportunity to do legal aid and private work Ability to take on work from any area of family law and run a mixed caseload Management are always looking at ways to support staff and make NLS a better firm for all of us The firm assists many junior members of the team to progress and be promoted. We have a number of trainees and staff that are doing the SQE so that they can qualify and be promoted to solicitor roles. A number of solicitors have been promoted to deputy supervisor roles and there is clear room for progression.

I can’t think of any right now.