Paralegal Officer in Northallerton

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Paralegal Officer to join Legal and Democratic Services supporting our fee earners on a wide range of legal matters on behalf of The North Yorkshire Council.

The role involves working on a portfolio basis, supporting the whole of the legal team as well as areas of particular specialism. We are recruiting a Paralegal Officer on an initial 6 months’ fixed term contract to provide paralegal support to the fee earners in our People Services (Childcare) team. The successful candidate may also be required to provide support to the wider Paralegal team as and when required.

Duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Preparation, production and updating of documents and other material for court or tribunal, including court bundles, previous proceedings if applicable, summons, video evidence, statements, viability assessments, social worker reports etc., ensuring all up to date information is included to be filed at the court or tribunal in time for hearings.
• Drafting care proceedings applications, placement applications and subsequent applications once case is in proceedings.
• Ensuring that all documents are filed with third parties/counsel/social workers.
• Preparation of draft orders, case summaries, summonses etc. prior to hearings.
• Reviewing information and draft orders from court following a hearing and taking appropriate actions such as renewing interim care orders or complying with a disclosure requirement and preparing and submitting legal orders for sealing.
• Liaising with chambers to book counsel, negotiate fees and arrange conferences/advocates meetings with counsel.
• Preparing draft briefs to counsel and keeping them updated at all times, assisting them with documentation as and when necessary.
• Liaising with various stakeholders in respect of documents to be filed at court or tribunal, advising on key dates, arrangements, and requirements to assist in case preparation.
• Providing administrative assistance to counsel at court or tribunal on an ad hoc basis.

Whilst it is preferable for applicants to have some knowledge or experience working in a legal environment or equivalent professional setting, it is not essential to have a legal qualification, as this role is primarily supporting our team of lawyers. The ideal candidate will have experience with prioritising and meeting deadlines, a good standard of organisational and people skills, excellent attention to detail and have a flexible, ‘can do’ attitude.

Legal Services is part of Legal and Democratic Services (‘LDS’) within the Central Services Directorate of North Yorkshire Council who provide a range of services to the County of North Yorkshire. The role of the Legal Service team is to support the provision by providing a comprehensive and efficient legal service to the Directorates, the Council’s Executive, full Council, Committees and Members, and external clients.

The postholder will be based at one of the locality offices of The North Yorkshire Council but will also be required to attend County Hall, Northallerton from time to time. There is also scope to work remotely from home some of the time in line with our Corporate Hybrid Working Policy.

If you enjoy working in a busy but rewarding environment, where you will be trained and gain experience to support the whole range of legal work carried out by The North Yorkshire Council, we would love to hear from you.

What we can offer you:

You will benefit from a supportive management system and ongoing personal development and performance management. As an organisation, we strongly believe in promoting a work-life balance, with flexible working opportunities and modern technology you will be able to deliver your role to suit both your personal and our business needs. In return for your hard work and dedication to our service, we can offer you the chance to be part of a strong and supportive team. You will benefit from a variety of competitive employee rewards such as generous leave entitlement and local government pension scheme. We also offer exceptional company benefits such as salary sacrifice schemes in technology, professional qualifications, and green car schemes as well as discounted retail offers, health schemes to name but a few.

More information can be found in our Total Rewards Brochure. If you believe you are what we are looking for, we would like to hear from you. For an informal discussion and more information, please contact Laura Wood, Paralegal Team Leader at laura.wood2@northyorks.gov.uk

Key Dates:

Closing Date: Monday 23rd February 2026
Interviews: W/C 2nd March 2026