Paralegal

We are a top 50 law firm with 194 partners and around 1,700 staff in total.  We have 13 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, perhaps most notably we were named National Law firm of the year at The Lawyer Awards 2019.

Our top ranking Commercial group “epitomises professionalism – they are just what in-house counsel require – very experienced; intelligent, commercially minded; and supreme negotiators” (The Legal 500).

We are looking to recruit an experienced paralegal to join our Birmingham office. You will be working as part of our Resource Solutions offering, in particular as part of the Spotlight team. If you want to find out more about the philosophy and approach of this innovative service for our clients – click here - https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/expertise/connected-services/resource-solutions

Your main responsibilities willbe to review commercial contracts and produce material risk reports for our clients. Although full training and support will be provided to you in regards to identifying the specific legal contractual issues you will need to address, this work is fast-paced and challenging. You will need to be able to prioritise and manage your workload and adhere to deadlines as appropriate. In return, we can offer you a positive, supportive environment and the opportunity to learn quickly and get involved in interesting, complex commercial work with appropriate supervision.

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.

In addition to the responsibilities outlined above, your day to day is also likely to include the following:

• Communicating effectively and confidently with clients and external law firms (both in writing and by telephone) to provide advice and deal with initial queries.
• Assisting qualified legal advisors in the department with various matters, which may include supporting the negotiation and agreement of commercial contractual positions or providing assistance on other tasks across the wider commercial team.
• Being available to accept opportunities for secondments to major clients.

• Degree and LPC or ILEX qualified.
• A minimum of 12 months previous commercial paralegal experience within a professional services environment – ideally in core commercial or another comparable area such as commercial real estate or corporate.
• Enthusiastic with a positive, can-do attitude.
• Experience of working to deadlines and managing different tasks/priorities in accordance with those deadlines.
• Excellent client care skills. Clients are at the heart of our work and that must be the focus at all times.
• Self-confidence and ability to demonstrate initiative thinking.
• Team orientated and hard-working. There can be busy spells so you will be expected to work collaboratively with qualified fee earners to ensure certain deadlines and client expectations are achieved.
• Good working knowledge of various IT applications – word, excel, outlook
• A high level of attention to detail and an organised, methodical approach.
• Ability to remain calm under pressure.
• Good organisational skills to ensure that the tasks are effectively scheduled and that urgent work is completed and returned within the specified (sometimes short) timescales.
• Good sense of humour and able to integrate within the smaller Spotlight team as well as working on one’s own initiative

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.