Matt Capes– District Crown Prosecutor/Legal Manager For CPS South East
My background
I’ve recently taken on the role of legal manager but I’ve been with the CPS for over 15 years. Previously I was a Senior Crown Prosecutor with the CPS managing a varied caseload. Before that I started my legal career at a defence firm in South London. Living in the South East, it’s a big deal for me to be able to work on cases and have a positive impact in my local area.
My inspiration
What brought me to the CPS was the sheer variety of work that you can get involved in and the opportunities to develop your career. As a legal manager I help my team make sure justice is delivered for victims of crime, which has to be your end goal.
My typical day
No day is the same as a legal manager but I usually start with urgent emails and making sure that everything can be covered by the team. I’ll often need to provide assurance reports, demonstrating that the cases we’re pursuing are under proper review and that important applications requests such as custody time limit extensions are being progressed efficiently. I’ll be liaising with my team throughout the day to pick up any issues that might arise and support them to carry out their roles. This can be anything from help with HR issues to questions about law and procedure.
I manage a team of eight lawyers, with different levels of experience from the very new to those who have been with the organisation for over 25 years. It’s important I’m able to give them all the support they need and that they feel they are part of a team.
My biggest learning
I’ve not been in a leadership role before but the support I’ve received from other legal managers and my team has been really positive. Our Learning and Development Team run a very helpful course for new managers and it has been great to speak to colleagues nationally who are at the same stage in their careers. It’s a busy role (not one where you’ll be bored by eleven!) with a real variety of issues to get involved with and you quickly realise that your team members are your greatest asset.