Employment Paralegal in London

This job is with Bates Wells, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

We are seeking a Paralegal to join our leading Employment department. This is an opportunity to get hands-on experience of employment law and to develop your skills and experience in this area.

Key Responsibilities

The Role

• Document management including preparation of hearing bundles and reviewing and redacting data.
• Conducting legal research on a range of employment topics – producing written notes for fee earners, ensuring all other relevant information is considered.
• Drafting legal documents, ranging from employment contracts to Grounds of Claim / Resistance and witness statements.
• Drafting correspondence and advice notes to clients under supervision.
• Interacting with clients and providing client care.
• Reviewing documents and analysing the legal position for fee-earners.
• Supporting fee-earners during the litigation process at all tribunal and Court levels. This includes ensuring correct case management, handling documents, drafting applications to the Court and corresponding with Courts and Tribunals.
• Note-taking at client meetings and Court hearings.
• Checking legal forms and documents for accuracy.
• Proofreading legal documents.
• Supporting the department in running client-facing marketing events.
• Managing own workload and fee-earners expectations to deliver work on time.

Written communication:

• Producing legally accurate letters of advice to clients under supervision.
• Drafting correspondence to third parties including the Employment Tribunals.
• Circulating internal legal updates to fee-earners.
• Producing accurate attendance notes documenting telephone calls / meetings.
• Producing accurate memorandums documenting the results of research.

Verbal communication:

• Communicating directly with a variety of clients on a daily basis including senior officials and high profile clients under supervision.
• Taking instruction from fee earners.
• Communicating information back to members of the team following research / problems encountered.

Interviewing and advising:

• Taking attendance notes in client meetings.
• Completing any necessary follow-up work from meetings as instructed.
• Taking initial instructions from clients via the telephone / email, analysing the facts and identifying client objectives – recording these in a clear manner for the head of department.
• Regularly researching and reporting to fee earners on the likely methods of achieving the client objectives taking into account the law, personal priorities / commercial practicalities and timing considerations.

Development:

• Participating in team meetings.
• Attending internal training and external training as and when required.
• Keeping up to date with developments in law and practice so that standard of work is not compromised.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Key experience

• Degree educated, or equivalent.
• Previous Paralegal experience desirable.
• Ability to perform legal research.
• Knowledge of legal terminology and principles.
• The ability to analyse legal documents for accuracy.
• A spirit of co-operation and a positive 'can do' attitude.
• Commitment to the success of the firm.
• Good team player.
• Excellent English verbal and written communication skills are essential.
• Excellent organisational skills, ability to use initiative and to work well under pressure.
• The ability to work to tight deadlines.
• Good spelling and grammar.
• Ability to prioritise.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to relate to people at all levels.
• Ability to multi-task.
• A willingness and capability to serve client needs and handle client relations at the highest level.
• Personable but highly professional.
• Enthusiasm for working in a busy working environment.
• Flexibility to work outside normal office hours may be required from time-to-time.