Apprentice Paralegal - Commercial & Litigation

Ready to build your career in law with a company that prioritises your growth? At South East Water, we are looking for an enthusiastic Apprentice to join our in-house legal team. We don’t expect you to have prior experience; instead, we are looking for someone who shares our passion for delivering a vital service to our communities. Grounded in trust and driven by excellence, this hands-on role will see you working right alongside our commercial and litigation solicitors. You'll manage contract lifecycles, conduct legal research, and support court preparation—all while bringing your own creativity and agility to how we solve problems and adapt to a changing industry. This is a two year apprenticeship, with fully remote training; at the end of the apprenticeship you will gain a Level 3 Paralegal Apprenticeship. Upon successful completion of your Level 3 apprenticeship, there may be an option to progress to the Level 6 Chartered Legal Executive standard.

Main responsibilities:

• Provide support to our Commercial solicitors by assisting in the end-to-end contract lifecycle, including drafting basic commercial agreements, non-disclosure agreements, and letters of intent using established templates and reviewing new contracts as necessary.
• Provide support to our Litigation solicitor as necessary, such as the compiling of legal documents and attendance at court hearings.
• Proactively monitor legal updates regarding commercial and procurement law and civil litigation to ensure the team remains compliant with procedural changes.
• Attend client meetings, conferences with counsel, or internal briefings to take formal minutes.
• Develop a deep awareness of information and resources available and proactively ensure that skills and knowledge are strengthened to enable progression.
• Minute taking at meetings as required.
• Conduct Legal Research as requested.
• General administration, such as contract preparation scanning, filing, archiving and maintaining electronic archives.
• Maintain the electronic contract archive, ensuring all executed agreements are correctly filed, indexed, and tracked for key renewal or termination dates.
• Maintenance of the Gifts and Hospitality register.
• Support the completion of administrative and legal records.

What you’ll need:

• Achieved 3 A-Levels at Grade 4/C (or equivalent) or a T-Level in Legal Services.
• Achieved GCSE Maths and English at Grade 4/C (or equivalent).
• Strong desire to progress towards legal qualification through continuing study, learning and attendance at appropriate courses is essential.
• Good time management skills supporting you to complete the apprenticeship.
• Self-motivated, committed and organised with excellent knowledge of the Microsoft or Google suites and transferable skills and competencies to the Google suite.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• A strong basis of computer/technological skills.
• A strong eye for detail and ability to meet deadlines in a fast paced environment.
• Candidates should demonstrate strong academic achievement and experience in organised administrative tasks or customer-facing roles.
• Evidence of clear written communication and attention to detail gained through studies or work experience is essential.
• A basic understanding of data privacy or research is desirable, but not essential.

Employees are required to be flexible and to be prepared to perform duties and other tasks within their capabilities. The nature of our business is such that the contents of any job profile are subject to change from time to time.

Grow a career with a meaningful purpose. We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That’s why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package:

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

What can you expect from your recruitment?

To apply for this position, please submit your CV on our career’s website. It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water. Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks. If this sounds like the opportunity you’ve been looking for, apply now!

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package: £19,030