Paralegal

We are a top 50 law firm with 190 partners and around 1,700 staff in total.  We have 12 locations in the UK and a significant international network.  Our clients include some of the largest financial, automotive, telecoms and technology businesses in the UK.

We champion diversity and inclusion, and our mission is to attract and nurture a diverse group of people and to create an environment and culture that is genuinely inclusive, in which every member of staff feels valued for their contribution.  We have been awarded Gold status in the Law Society Diversity and Inclusion Charter in recognition of our commitment to this.  We were also the first major law firm to achieve “Gold Standard” Investors in People.

We have received numerous accolades which reflect the quality and efforts of the firm, most recently we were named National Law firm of the year at The Lawyer Awards 2019.

Our Employment team is widely respected for providing an excellent service and delivering pragmatic and timely legal advice to its highly regarded client base. It’s a collaborative unit, operating on national lines.

We work differently here and pride ourselves on our commercial edge. We aim to act as an extension of our clients’ business and understand how they operate – partnering with them to drive improvement and add value in many different ways – not just by delivering legal advice.

The team primarily works with employer clients on a mix of contentious and non-contentious matters. We also have specialists in advocacy, corporate work and business immigration.

Our Manchester team has grown significantly this year with the addition of Emma Morgan, partner and Amy Anderson, associate. The team handles the full range of employment instructions and also deals with business immigration.

We are looking for a Paralegal with an interest in Employment Law to join us in Manchester. You will be a key member of the team with the opportunity to work alongside our employment experts to deliver a general mix of work. You could be called upon to assist with everything from employment tribunal cases, day-to-day telephone queries from our clients, to training seminars, and corporate support.

You will be the only paralegal in the Manchester team - managing your own caseload and running your own files.

You will provide invaluable assistance and have a fantastic opportunity to build and develop your technical expertise and legal skills.

We are a values-driven business – our values are at the core of the firm and we evaluate how we behave in accordance with these values through a competency framework. This role is considered to be at competency Level 1 in our internal framework

• Responsible for assisting with the management of employment matters on behalf of employer clients.
• Managing your own workload, which will include contentious and non-contentious work
• Drafting, reviewing and analysing tribunal documents, including ET1s and ET3s, disclosure and bundle documents and statements
• Drafting of general documents and letters, contracts of employment and associated documents
• Preparing training materials for clients
• Reviewing and drafting Policies, Handbooks and Contracts
• Assisting clients in negotiations with regard to termination and addressing issues such as: Settlement Agreements, disciplinary and grievance issues and procedures
• Managing client reporting systems
• Networking including seminars, conferences and social events

• You will be a graduate with the LPC or studying towards your CILEx qualification
• Must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in employment law and want to learn and progress
• Ideally have gained at least 12 months commercial experience within Employment law or another commercial practice area and have experience of handling your own case load
• Good organisational skills to ensure that the tasks are effectively scheduled within working time available, and that urgent work is completed and returned with the specified timescales
• Solid drafting skills
• A methodical and organised approach with keen attention paid to every detail
• Commercially aware and highly client focussed
• Excellent communication skills
• Self-confident and ability to demonstrate initiative
• Ability to grasp things quickly and easily
• Enthusiastic, energetic with a positive, can do attitude
• Good working knowledge of various applications – word, excel, outlook, digital dictation
• Ability to adapt to change, new practices and remain calm under pressure and find solutions

Shoosmiths is a committed Equal Opportunities employer promoting equality of opportunity. This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.