Paralegal

Weightmans is a Top 45 law firm with offices throughout the UK. Having been recognised as the leading legal employer at the annual Britain's Top Employers awards and achieved record rankings in Chambers UK 2017, we are immensely proud of the work we carry out for our clients and the culture we provide to our people.

Our national Large Loss team provides an expert, experienced legal service dealing with claims involving injuries of the utmost severity and more complex technical insurance work. Weightmans’ Large Loss team handles claims reserved at a minimum of £500,000, representing around £750 million of client reserves. The majority of claims we deal with are motor, but we also cover employers’ liability, public liability and product liability, as well as substantial dependency fatality claims. Typical cases involve brain, spinal and amputation injuries.

To assist partners and other senior lawyers with their caseloads of pre-litigated and litigated high value (£500k-£3m) defendant personal injury cases.

Key responsibilities

• Assist partners and lawyers with their case loads under supervision

• Assist in reviewing case upon instruction

• Assist in initial investigations and in reporting to clients/prepare internal strategy report as appropriate

• Review and analyse databases and make further investigations such as obtaining witness statements as appropriate

• Liaise with various parties such as other solicitors, insurers, experts, counsel, clients, police, HSE and witnesses to gather evidence

• Instruct various experts as appropriate

• Control Case Manager diary and action lists

• Attend at court hearings as appropriate

• Attend conferences and JSMs as directed by partner, subject to client approval

• Draft letters, reports, reserve sheets and action plans as directed

• Have direct contact with client as delegated

• Complete Client MI procedures and update Large Loss database

• Achieve set financial and chargeable targets

• Comply with relevant rules, policies and procedures

• Comply with CPR/rehabilitation protocol

• Keep up to date with legal developments in high value personal injury

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and you will be expected to perform other duties and have other responsibilities that fall within the wider remit of the role.

• Experience of defendant personal injury litigation work, preferably high value multi track

• Excellent knowledge of the CPR and litigation

• Excellent organisation skills

• Excellent time management skills

• Excellent communication skills

• Ability to work to strict deadlines and targets

• Ability to work as part of a team or on own initiative

Please note:

• Any reference to experience or PQE in our adverts or job descriptions is to be used as a guideline only. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and with different levels of experience who can demonstrate that they fulfil the requirements of the role.

• The successful candidate appointed to this role will be subject to our standard background checking process, and any offer of employment made is conditional upon successful completion of those checks. Further details can be obtained from the Recruitment team.