Casework (Legal) Director

Job Description

The company
This is a rare senior leadership opportunity within a large, complex public‑interest organisation responsible for regulation and conduct in the UK's corporate and professional landscape. The legal function handles high‑value, high‑risk litigation and investigations involving complex financial issues, senior executives and major professional advisers. Matters are technically demanding and commercially sensitive yet fulfilling. The culture is collegiate and intellectually rigorous, operating within a relatively flat structure where senior lawyers are trusted to exercise judgement, challenge viewpoints and drive outcomes. Collaboration, credibility and delivery are valued more highly than hierarchy.

The role
This is a newlycreated Casework (Legal) Director position, sitting at the top end of the legalfunction. The role carries responsibility for leading and shaping a majorportfolio of complex litigation and investigations, while establishingstructure, identity and efficiency within a large multidisciplinary team thathas grown significantly in recent years.
You willlead a team of approximately 20-25 professionals comprising senior lawyers andforensic accountants, within a broader function of around 40 lawyers and 30accountants. While experienced practitioners handle the technical litigationday‑to‑day, this role holds full accountability for caseprogression, quality, resourcing and delivery.
This isnot a purely technical role. It is a senior leadership position requiringauthority, judgement, and the ability to bring order, pace and clarity tocomplex, long‑running matters.

What you'll need to succeed
The clearest measureof success in this role is case efficiency and delivery.
To succeed, you willbe expected to:

• Lead a clearly defined casework unit with full managerial accountability
• Introduce structure, routines and reporting in a previously matrixed environment
• Drive pace, prioritisation and outcomes across complex, contested litigation and investigations
• Make and own strategic judgements on:
• sufficiency of evidence
• investigative focus and direction
• use of external Counsel, expert witnesses and advisers
• Line‑manage senior team leaders, taking responsibility for quality control, performance management and professional development
• Build a cohesive and collaborative team identity, rather than a hierarchical one
• Improve processes and delivery while maintaining legal rigour
• Engage confidently with top‑tier law firms, audit firms and senior stakeholders
• Exercise judgement under pressure and challenge information where required

This role is only suitable for candidates who meet allof the following criteria:

• You must be a qualified lawyer in England & Wales with sufficient PQE
• Proven litigation background, including complex and contested matters
• Meaningful financial experience, such as corporate reporting, audit, financial misconduct, fraud or regulatory investigations
• Demonstrable experience managing and leading teams, including performance management and accountability for delivery
• A track record of improving efficiency, structure or outcomes in a litigation or investigations environment
• Confidence operating at senior level with external law firms, auditors and advisers

What you'll get in return

• A genuinely senior leadership position with real influence over people, structure and delivery
• Exposure to some of the most complex financial and corporate investigations in the UK
• The opportunity to build and shape a team, not simply inherit one
• A supportive, collegiate culture with highly capable, mission‑driven colleagues
• Work that is clearly and directly in the public interest
• Hybrid working (minimum 40% office‑based)

Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays