Beachcroft widens net for staff to do fast-track litigation

Focused recruitment procedures and team-building exercises are the key to handling fast-track litigation claims, insurance specialist firm Beachcroft Wansbroughs suggested this week.The firm has reorganised its practice into three areas - commercial, litigation and a new 'mutual law' department, which will handle fast-track and other low-value insurance claims.

The division was formed after research by the practice showed that insurance clients thought law firms were responding too slowly to changes.A firm of consultants was drafted in to help the firm set up assessment centres to recruit 'proactive' staff for its Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester offices, which have gone open plan as part of the arrangement.Insurance partner Nathan Butcher, one of its architects, said the aim is to find motivated, positive people, and many of the new staff are legal practice course graduates unable to find training contracts.Three-strong teams within the division comprise a solicitor, a paralegal, and an administrator with the aim of using the right level of fee-earner for various tasks.All staff take part in training courses, covering legal skills and 'soft' skills.

The firm also runs weekly feedback sessions and regular outward-bound courses, which are aimed at building team spirit.Staff were also consulted on the new case management system, which the firm developed from scratch.Beachcrofts' finance director, Chris Charles, who co-created mutual law with Mr Butcher, said fast-track litigation was often an unsatisfactory business area for both clients and law firms.

'We realised that to come up with a successful solution for fast-track claims litigation, we needed to redefine completely the way we worked, the type of person we wanted, and the technology we needed to support them,' he said.Beachcrofts is now introducing some of 'the mutual law approach' to other processes within its litigation division.Paula Rohan