Costs Team Leader

Leeds – £50,000 - £60,000

Costs Team Leader – Medical Negligence

A leading national law firm with a strong presence across the UK is looking for an experienced and motivated Costs Team Leader to join its national Costs Team, aligned to its Medical Negligence practice.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Costs professional to take the next step into formal people leadership, leading, supporting and developing a team of Trainees, Law Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers.
Previous Team Leader or formal people management experience is not essential. This role would suit a strong Senior Costs Lawyer, Costs Lawyer or experienced Costs Draftsman who has demonstrated the ability to support, mentor or guide colleagues and is ready to progress into a leadership position.

The Role

As Costs Team Leader, you will be a key point of contact for senior stakeholders across the Medical Negligence teams, ensuring the Costs function delivers a high-quality service and supports strong recovery outcomes.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading, supporting and developing a team of Trainees, Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers.
• Providing technical guidance and support on complex costs matters.
• Supervising the preparation of Bills of Costs, court pleadings and associated costs documentation.
• Ensuring work is delivered accurately, consistently and within agreed timescales.
• Supporting colleagues with complex technical queries and providing clear direction and feedback.
• Managing competing priorities, workloads and stakeholder expectations across a hybrid working environment.
• Working closely with senior stakeholders to understand demand and ensure costs resource is aligned with the needs of the litigation teams.
• Driving best practice, continuous improvement and operational efficiency across the wider Costs function.
• Supporting quality, compliance, performance and recovery objectives.
• Attending and contributing to key stakeholder meetings.
• Using data and management information to support workload planning, reporting and service improvement.
• Motivating and engaging colleagues while creating a positive and collaborative team environment.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a confident and technically strong Costs professional who is ready to step into leadership, with the support and opportunity to develop their management skills within a nationally recognised legal organisation.

About You

The successful candidate will ideally have:

• A relevant costs or legal qualification, admitted by CLSB, CILEX, SRA or BSB.
• Strong experience within legal costs, ideally gained within a complex litigation, personal injury or clinical negligence environment.
• Previous Team Leader experience is not required. We are particularly interested in candidates who are ready to make the transition into formal leadership.
• Experience supporting, mentoring, supervising or guiding junior colleagues would be advantageous.
• Strong technical knowledge of legal costs and the confidence to provide guidance on complex matters.
• Good operational and organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities effectively.
• Experience working within a hybrid team environment.
• A strong understanding of high-value or complex costs work, including Bills of Costs, costs budgeting, detailed assessment and costs recovery.
• A good working knowledge of the Civil Procedure Rules and relevant costs regulations.
• Excellent attention to detail and a strong focus on quality, consistency and compliance.
• Strong communication skills, with the confidence to provide clear direction, feedback and technical guidance.
• The ability to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders and colleagues.
• A practical, solutions-focused approach to problem-solving.
• Confidence attending and contributing to stakeholder meetings.
• An understanding of time recording, costs systems and the importance of accurate data for forecasting and reporting.

Desirable

• Experience improving processes, quality standards or ways of working within a Costs or litigation support team.
• Experience using MI, performance data or KPIs to support workload planning and recovery.
• An interest in networking and business development activity.
• Previous experience mentoring or developing junior members of a team.

What’s on Offer?

• Competitive salary reflective of experience.
• Hybrid working with flexibility around office and home working.
• 25 days' annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Option to purchase additional annual leave.
• Generous and flexible pension scheme.
• Two paid volunteering days each year.
• Health and wellbeing benefits, including access to healthcare services and a digital GP.
• A strong focus on employee wellbeing, inclusion and professional development.
• The opportunity to join a supportive, collaborative and nationally recognised legal team.

The Opportunity If you're an experienced Costs Lawyer, Senior Costs Lawyer or Costs Draftsman who is ready to take the next step in your career, this could be an excellent opportunity to move into a formal leadership position without needing previous Team Leader experience.

You’ll have the opportunity to combine your technical costs expertise with people development, stakeholder management and operational leadership, with the support of an established national team.