Careers

Build your career in litigation.

Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd is a specialist litigation firm.

That means people who join us do not sit at the edge of the interesting work.

They become part of it.

Our lawyers work directly with clients, prepare real cases, attend court and develop their advocacy from an early stage – supported by experienced Advocates and with Director-level supervision behind them.

Real cases. Real clients. Real advocacy.

Responsibility with support.

We believe lawyers develop by being trusted to do the work.

Depending upon experience, that can mean:

• Working directly with clients
• Analysing evidence
• Drafting court documents
• Developing case strategy
• Preparing witnesses and experts
• Working with King’s Counsel
• Appearing in court
• Working on trials and appeals

Responsibility increases as experience develops.  But responsibility does not mean being left on your own.

The opportunity to develop. The support to do it properly.

More than passing the Bar.

The Isle of Man has a fused profession.

Manx Advocates undertake both advisory work and courtroom advocacy. Our training reflects that.

Trainees develop across the firm’s contentious practice while beginning to identify the areas in which their future practice may grow.

Broad foundations. Individual direction.

Building Advocates, not simply training them.

Our commitment to development does not end at qualification.

Matthew Wilshaw joined Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd shortly after being commissioned, as a newly qualified Advocate with no previous litigation experience.

He grew with the firm and is now a Senior Associate with substantial civil litigation, personal injury, clinical negligence, commercial and advocacy experience.

Victoria Watson progressed from undergraduate placements and paralegal work through Articles and the Manx Bar to qualification. She is now an Associate Advocate developing her own contentious practice.

Kofo Shittu and Lincoln Nelson are following that pathway.

The objective is not to produce identical lawyers.  It is to give talented people the experience, responsibility and support required to become confident Advocates in their own right.

Join as a trainee or junior lawyer. Develop your practice. Grow with the firm.

You cannot learn advocacy without advocating.

Courtroom experience is an important part of development at Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd.

Our lawyers gain appropriate advocacy experience as their skills and confidence develop.

They also work alongside experienced Advocates and, in suitable cases, King’s Counsel and other specialist counsel.

The result is exposure not simply to the theory of advocacy, but to how cases are prepared, developed and argued.

A collaborative firm.

We discuss cases.

We test arguments.

We ask for another view when it improves the advice.

Junior lawyers are expected to contribute to those discussions, not simply listen to them.

There is no contradiction between giving someone responsibility and supervising them properly.

We do both.

Experienced lawyers

Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd is not only interested in people at the beginning of their careers.

We welcome conversations with experienced Advocates and lawyers whose expertise complements our contentious practice.

For the right person, a specialist independent firm can offer the opportunity to develop an individual practice while working within a genuinely collaborative litigation team.

If you are interested in starting a conversation about joining our team, please send an email to vicki@advocates.co.im in the strictest confidence.

Working at Advocates Smith Taubitz Unsworth Ltd

We work on serious cases, but we do not believe that requires a needlessly formal workplace.

We want people to enjoy working with their colleagues, contribute their views and have the confidence to ask questions.

We expect high standards.

We also recognise that people have lives outside work.

Our aim is to provide an environment in which talented people can build successful long-term careers while remaining individuals.

Work experience & future trainees

We welcome expressions of interest in:

• Articles / training opportunities
• Work experience
• Student placements
• Graduate opportunities

We provide work experience opportunities for people in sixth form and above considering a career in law.  Please contact us by email to vicki@advocates.co.im to find out about current opportunities.

Non-Advocates

We are not presently seeking to recruit any non-legal staff.