Experienced Paralegal or Solicitor

Shakespeare Martineau is a Top 50 law firm that combines creativity, commerciality and clarity. We work with blue-chip companies, leading organisations, high street brands and individuals across the country.

As enterprising and original thinkers, we’re driven to create exceptional experiences for our clients and our people. We handle personal and business-critical issues and game-changing deals across many dynamic sectors. It’s stimulating and rewarding.

We’re hardworking and deeply ambitious about creating opportunities for our employees; to move forward and achieve our ambition together. We provide an environment in which you’re supported to reach your potential.

Our people have a blend of excellent technical and business skills with the talent to do things differently.

Here you’ll find top quality work, cutting edge training, high profile clients, and supportive colleagues. We think it could be time you joined us.

Our Volume & Consumer Business has a long-standing experience of working with some of the most successful and influential businesses in the UK and also internationally. Our specialist teams combine expertise with a sound understanding of the commercial landscape to provide exceptional solutions for every aspect of our clients’ corporate requirements.

Our Clinical Negligence team is based in London and Leicester and deals with claims arising where people have been injured as a result of medical negligence. We advise clients who have suffered physical, mental or economic loss as a result of this negligence and guide them through the initial investigation into their claim and thereafter proceeding through the pre-action and post issue phases of County and High Court litigation. We also regularly attend out client’s inquests. Our specialist team have dealt with thousands of claims against hospital trusts, private healthcare providers, care homes, individual GPs and dentists on a variety of different injuries ranging from low to high severity, with particular expertise in relation to fatal claims, amputations, brain injury and multiple injuries.

The role:

We are looking for an experienced Paralegal or a Newly Qualified ‘NQ’-2yr PQE Solicitor to join our London-based LIME Clinical Negligence team, part of the firm’s wider Volume & Consumer group.

Your key duties will be:

• liaising with clients in a professional and empathetic manner
• providing assistance on a broad range of Clinical Negligence work
• with appropriate supervision, to assist on large complex claims, and you will also be building up your own caseload of less complex matters
• attending Court hearings
• assessing medical records
• instructing experts and considering their reports
• drafting Letters of Claim and considering the responses
• instructing Counsel
• attending conferences with Counsel
• preparing cases for the issuing of Court Proceedings
• assisting with litigated cases
• attending Court hearings

Skills and experience you will have:

• previous experience of doing Clinical Negligence work within a law firm (for Newly Qualified candidates, relevant experience gained during your training contract is essential)
• strong IT skills
• the ability to manage files effectively
• an understanding of office financial procedures
• working to strict deadlines

Key competencies you will need:

• a desire to specialise in Clinical Negligence
• a desire to enhance existing client relationships through day-to-day activity and to build your own relationships
• a high degree of initiative and the ability to cope in a demanding environment
• excellent organisational and prioritising skills
• the ability to work in a busy team
• excellent communication skills

About you – you will be:

• highly enthusiastic, willing to go the extra mile and be happy to go beyond the job description
• respectful towards others and have a positive, willing and ‘can do’ attitude
• keen to learn, interested in driving your own career progression and be proactive in taking ownership of this

Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here.

Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.