Job Title: Knowledge Assistant – Charity and Social Enterprise
Reports To: Charity and Social Enterprise Professional Support Lawyers
Why Bates Wells?
Making a profit is core to all businesses but our goal is to combine this with a real social purpose. Our values are pivotal to us, they shape our decisions and the way we live and work.
We focus on positive social impact as much as we focus on being a successful law firm. Our top tier legal advice is coupled with a real desire to drive change and we were the first UK law firm with B Corp certification, awarded to businesses that balance purpose and profit.
Today, our clients are diverse – from corporate household names, to public bodies, to start ups. We’re also the firm of choice for thousands of charities and social enterprises. We continue to lead the market we helped to shape.
Bates Wells challenges what is possible in legal expertise delivery.
The role
To thrive in this role you will have a commitment to supporting fee earners by providing them with the resources they need to provide excellent advice to clients.
Key responsibilities
Supporting the other members of the Charity and Social Enterprise Professional Support Lawyer (PSL) team, your responsibilities will include:
- Updating existing precedents and creating new precedents
- Updating existing Practice Notes and creating new Practice Notes on specialist areas of law affecting our charity and social enterprise clients
- Maintaining the charity and social enterprise section of the firm-wide knowledge bank and contribute to strategies for improving knowhow sharing
- Contributing to dissemination of knowledge via departmental knowhow meetings and other internal training sessions, particularly in planning and taking minutes from these sessions
- Providing high quality support to other fee earners by carrying out legal research and responding to queries
- Assisting with and participating in client events when required
- Coordinating and contributing to newsletters and briefings for clients and wider publication
Specific tasks may change over time, so we’ll need you to be adaptable and flexible as we continue to meet our clients’ needs.
About you
- You are a graduate with experience as a paralegal and/or a Law Degree, or graduate level legal qualification (such as the Graduate Diploma in Law or equivalent) – a postgraduate level legal qualification such as the Legal Practice Course is desirable for this role, but not essential.
- You have excellent technical legal knowledge and an interest in learning about charity law.
- You have excellent written and verbal communication skills including a focus on attention to detail.
- You understand the importance of good knowledge management and knowledge sharing processes in a law firm.
- You are a team player – there is a place for individual effort but we value a collaborative approach.
- You see the value in Bates Wells as a career choice and view Bates Wells as a high quality employer.
- You share our values and want to make a difference.
- You want to feel that you are a part of the Bates Wells experience and ‘belong’.
- You are not afraid to test assumptions and challenge.
- You want exposure to a variety of challenges that will allow you to innovate.
- You are technically excellent, commercially minded and have great people skills.
About us
- A one firm approach means working together and improving to achieve common goals and to provide a consistent Bates Wells experience.
- We are driven by our values and the Bates Wells Way.
- We work with exceptional clients to offer the very best work.
- We want to have a positive impact on our people who are our greatest asset so that they can have a positive impact on others. Purpose is baked into our partnership deed.
- Looking for better ways of working is always our priority.
- We promote a strong work/life balance with 25 days holiday with the opportunity to buy more and a ‘Summer in the City’ early-Friday-finish.
- We have an agile working environment – this means you might sit next to a different colleague every day or choose to work from our rooftop garden if you are in the office. We are currently reviewing our policies to enable a hybrid model moving forward.
- Our culture encourages clear and honest dialogue and cross-team support
- The firm review salaries annually as part of the appraisal process in July of each year. However, we encourage our staff to engage with their supervisors throughout the year on feedback and objective setting.
- We recognise success and contribution at any time of the year through our Recognition Scheme
- Our benefits and wellbeing package includes firm matching pension contributions, private medical insurance plus a medical benefit cash plan, discretionary bonus arrangements, life assurance, subsidised gym memberships, lifestyle discount scheme, firm-wide profit sharing scheme and an on site café.
- Everyone gets a bonus if there is one - a proportion of the LLP profit is distributed to our people when we exceed our financial thresholds.
- We are committed to your wellbeing and offer physical and mental support in the way of subsidised gym membership, private health care and in-office Mental Health Awareness Ambassadors.
About the Charity and Social Enterprise and Professional Support Lawyer (PSL) teams
Our top ranked Charity and Social Enterprise department handles the most complex, high profile and high value matters for charities, philanthropists and businesses. The depth and breadth of our practice, the range of our technical knowledge and our personal commitment to serve the sector as a whole mean that we act for clients of all sizes across the whole spectrum of non-profit activity.
The PSL team sits within the department and comprises five experienced solicitors (two co-leads, two senior PSLs and a junior PSL) supported by a knowledge assistant. We work collaboratively, communicating regularly and meeting up as a team every Tuesday. Most of the team work part time and are currently largely working from home.
We support a growing team of fee earners working across a broad and exciting practice. Our main areas of work are:
- Providing knowhow resources (precedents, practice notes, checklists, examples of previous work)
- Designing and delivering internal training
- Updating colleagues and clients on legal developments that affect the sector
- Dealing with one off technical queries from colleagues
- Contributing to sector consultation responses and helping fee earners influence policy within the sector.
How to find out more about us
Don’t forget to review our website (https://bateswells.co.uk/) and ask around about us to find out more and whether we’re the right fit for you.
NB We will normally have at least 2 interviews – to test your skills and competencies to work with us and to see if your values align with ours. |
