A day in the life of a Casework Assistant

A typical day as a casework assistant

I’ve worked at the Crown Prosecution Service for two years. I’m based in Leeds. I tend to work in the office twice a week and spend the rest of the week working at home. 

9am 

On a typical office day, the first thing I do is make myself a cup of coffee. If I fancy a treat, I’ll get myself a caramel latte and a bagel. I’ll then open my laptop and get started checking emails. The mornings in Operational Delivery Unit (ODU) are always busy. We have a rota for remands, which is dealing with any overnight arrests from CPS Direct - our out of hours service. It’s very fast-paced.

Once I’ve finished the remands, I’ll start on my day-to-day tasks. This includes bundling case files, making sure everything is ready for our prosecutors for trial and preparing courtroom numbers - allocating cases to specific rooms. My job is to make sure all the paperwork is ready for court and to chase anything that’s missing. 

In my role, I work closely with the police and His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service to make sure everyone has what they need at the right time. Court starts at 10am so if a prosecutor gets to court and is missing some paperwork they need for trial, I’ll be the one to chase that up.  

12:30pm

When my morning tasks are complete, I’ll take my lunch break. I like to go for a walk to get some fresh air and will often have a look around the shops. I also enjoy going for lunch with colleagues – we like to try a new cuisine each time we go for lunch.

I joined the Crown Prosecution Service because I’ve always wanted to be a solicitor. I studied criminology at university and after that, worked for an organisation supporting victims of human trafficking and sexual abuse. Working face-to-face with victims made me want to do more to deliver justice by working to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes. 

When I first saw this job, I didn’t realise that it could lead to a solicitor role. There are so many different opportunities in operational delivery – not just becoming a solicitor. For me, I like that you learn on the job and get to experience going to court, understanding the impact your work has in helping prosecutors to deliver justice. I was lucky enough to observe one of my cases through from start to finish in court. When the defendant was convicted, I had such a sense of achievement knowing I’d played a role in delivering justice. 

In the role I do, I am fortunate to work with solicitors who have given me plenty of advice. One of the best things about the Operational Delivery Unit is the different programmes you can join to learn about and help progress your career. I chose the Paralegal Officer programme which lasts a year. Every week, I shadowed a Paralegal Officer who is also acting as mentor to me. This has helped me better understand the role, and I’ve been getting to visit court more frequently. I’ve since joined the solicitor apprenticeship programme and the Paralegal Officer experience helps towards that. By the end of the apprenticeship, I’ll be a qualified solicitor and then I can start working as a Crown Prosecutor. 

It can be challenging studying and working at the same time but my manager is very supportive in helping me balance work and study. I am really enjoying my studies and I’m excited to learn more about criminal law as that’s the field I plan to specialise in. 

2pm 

In the afternoons I’ll do a lot of preparation for the next day – making sure I have everything I need to prepare bundles.

 It’s also a time to chat to the team. We’re a tight-knit group in the ODU and I really value friendships and support. We have regular all-staff Teams calls and we have an ODU call once a week. We also have team huddles for special occasions. People will bring in food - we have so many different cultures so we get to try lots of tasty things.  

5pm 

At the end of the day, I pack up and head off home. I usually go to the gym after work or head to a Pilates class. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I have university classes 6pm-8pm and then on Fridays and I’ll usually meet up with friends. One of the best things about the Crown Prosecution Service is having flexi-time – especially whilst I’m studying as it allows me to have a good work-life balance. Sometimes I volunteer for overtime for the Saturday remands rota which start at 7am and finish around 10am – so if I do volunteer, I can still enjoy a full weekend!