Litigation Paralegal/CILEX (Potential Training Contract) in City of London

Location: City of London / Hybrid

Salary: Competitive, depending on experience

Type: Full-time

OTS Solicitors is recruiting an ambitious Litigation Paralegal / CILEX / Legal Services Officer to join our growing Litigation Department. We particularly welcome candidates with a strong litigation foundation who wish to develop a long-term legal career.

This is more than an administrative support role. You will work closely with experienced fee earners on active litigation matters, gain substantial practical experience and take increasing responsibility as your capability develops.

We welcome applications from experienced paralegals, litigation caseworkers, CILEX, Legal Services Officers and SQE candidates with relevant litigation experience.

The position and level of responsibility offered will depend on the candidate's experience, technical knowledge, practical ability and attributes demonstrated during recruitment. Exceptional candidates demonstrating the required knowledge, performance, judgement, commitment and professional development may progress towards a Training Contract, subject to eligibility, business requirements and successful performance reviews.

We seek someone committed to developing their litigation expertise, taking greater responsibility and building a successful long-term legal career.

The role offers hybrid working, with three days per week in the office and two days working from home.

The Firm

OTS Solicitors is a Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 recognised City of London law firm, providing specialist services across Litigation, Family, Employment, Immigration and Commercial law. Recognised as one of the UK's leading law firms for businesses and individuals, we are known for our client-centred approach, specialist expertise, authoritative advice, personalised service and commercially focused support.

As a growing City firm with a strong reputation, OTS Solicitors offers ambitious legal professionals a dynamic, supportive environment to develop their careers. We prioritise professional development, offering those who demonstrate ability, initiative and consistently high standards opportunities to strengthen their technical knowledge, client-management skills and responsibilities as the firm grows.

The Role

The successful candidate will support our busy Litigation Department across a broad range of civil litigation and dispute resolution matters, including landlord and tenant and housing-related litigation.

You will gain practical experience in live litigation, including client liaison, court preparation, disclosure, drafting, bundles, counsel support and procedural deadlines. As your capability develops, you may take greater responsibility for progressing matters and managing aspects of a caseload under supervision. We seek a calm, organised, commercially aware and intellectually curious individual with ambition to excel in litigation. We expect high standards and are committed to developing those who demonstrate ability and ambition.

Key Responsibilities will include:

• Opening new files and assisting with client care, compliance and AML procedures.
• Maintaining accurate, organised and audit-ready electronic files in accordance with the firm's risk, regulatory and file-management requirements.
• Assisting with and, where appropriate to your experience, managing a high volume of litigation matters, including landlord and tenant disputes and other dispute resolution cases.
• Managing case administration, including file updates, correspondence, document storage and entries across case management systems and digital platforms.
• Liaising professionally with clients, courts, counsel, experts, witnesses and third parties to obtain information, chase documents and progress matters.
• Acting as a key contact between clients and fee earners, ensuring enquiries are handled professionally and efficiently.
• Responding promptly to enquiries via telephone, email, the website and other channels, gathering information needed to assess and progress each enquiry.
• Booking an agreed target number of suitable leads into fee earner consultations, ensuring appointments are accurately recorded, confirmed and diarised.
• Ensuring client information, documents, forms and consultation paperwork are complete, organised and available to fee earners in advance.
• Following up prospective and existing clients, communicating next steps and ensuring a positive client journey from initial enquiry through instruction and ongoing matter progression.
• Welcoming clients attending consultations, ensuring they are comfortable and the relevant fee earner is promptly notified and prepared.
• Supporting fee earners across multiple caseloads and coordinating departmental work.
• Drafting and checking correspondence under supervision, including pre-action and without prejudice correspondence.
• Assisting with settlement agreements and other litigation-related agreements.
• Preparing court documents, including claim forms, particulars of claim, defences, directions questionnaires, witness statements, chronologies and bundle indexes.
• Assisting with disclosure exercises, including collating, reviewing, indexing and organising documents, preparing disclosure lists and uploading documents to electronic bundles and court portals.
• Preparing court, hearing, trial and electronic bundles.
• Filing and serving documents in accordance with court deadlines and procedural requirements.
• Preparing draft briefs and instructions to counsel.
• Taking accurate notes during conferences with counsel, client meetings, hearings and remote hearings.
• Preparing attendance notes, hearing timetables and post-hearing action notes.
• Supporting fee earners before and during interim hearings, trials and other court appointments.
• Recording time, assisting with billing, tracking disbursements and preparing fee estimates where required.
• Maintaining and improving precedents, checklists and internal workflows, supporting efficient processes and excellent client service.
• Supporting junior colleagues and participating in training and knowledge-sharing where appropriate.
• Taking increasing responsibility for matters and case progression as your experience and capability develop.

About You

We are looking for someone with the foundation, attitude and ambition to develop into an excellent litigation professional. You should take pride in your work, seek to understand the legal and strategic reasoning behind each case, take responsibility, learn from feedback and continually strive to improve.

You should have:

• Experience within a litigation department or comparable legal support role.
• A sound working understanding of the Civil Procedure Rules, court processes, procedural deadlines and accurate document preparation.
• Practical experience assisting with correspondence, court forms, witness statements, bundles and disclosure.
• Strong organisational skills and excellent attention to detail.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and work effectively under demanding litigation deadlines.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence communicating with clients, courts, counsel and other professional third parties.
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office, document management systems and electronic bundling platforms.
• Professional discretion, resilience and a calm approach under pressure.
• The ability to accept constructive feedback and apply it promptly.
• Initiative and confidence to identify what needs to be done rather than waiting for instructions.
• A strong work ethic and genuine desire to develop your litigation knowledge and professional capability

Approximately two years' litigation experience is preferred. However, we will consider candidates with less experience where they can demonstrate a particularly strong litigation foundation, technical ability and the attributes necessary to succeed in the role.

This role has been designed to provide meaningful professional development rather than simply repetitive paralegal work. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop through direct involvement in live litigation, working closely with experienced lawyers and progressively taking greater responsibility as their knowledge and capability increase. Career development may include progression through more senior paralegal or fee-earning responsibilities and, for the right candidate, potential progression to a Training Contract.

A Training Contract is not automatic or based simply upon length of service.

Any decision will take into account factors including:

technical legal knowledge;

quality and accuracy of work;

practical litigation ability;

judgement and professional conduct;

reliability and ownership of work;

ability to manage deadlines and responsibility;

contribution to the department and wider firm;

progress against development objectives;

performance reviews;

relevant professional qualifications and eligibility; and

the firm's business requirements at the relevant time.

For someone with the right foundation, drive and ability, however, the position provides a genuine opportunity to build a long-term career within a growing City law firm.

What We Offer

This role offers substantial practical litigation experience in a supportive, growing department, with exposure to live matters, client contact, court preparation, dispute resolution and civil litigation.

We offer:

• Hybrid working, with three office days and two days working from home.
• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Hands-on fee-earner support and involvement in case progression.
• Increasing responsibility as capability develops.
• Regular feedback and professional development.
• Training and mentoring from experienced legal professionals.
• Opportunities to improve departmental systems, precedents and processes.
• Excellent career progression opportunities as the firm grows.

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