Paralegal - Professional Indemnity
Job Introduction
We are offering the opportunity for a paralegal to be a part of our well-regarded and highly successful, commercial litigation and professional indemnity teams in Manchester. We are a top 20 law firm, with numerous offices throughout the UK and Worldwide.
The Manchester teams comprise of 5 Partners, 2 Legal Directors, 2 Senior Associates, 7 Associates and 3 paralegals/trainee solicitors. The teams are part of the Professional & Commercial Risks - North Cluster with Partners and other lawyers based also in Leeds and Newcastle.
Role Responsibility
Specific responsibilities include but are not restricted to:
• Supporting senior fee earners in all aspects of high value and complex commercial and professional negligence litigation.
• Legal research and document preparation.
• Responding to ad hoc requests for information.
• Contacting the firm’s clients, providing a high level of client service at all times.
• Exercising full compliance with DAC Beachcroft protocols on billing and credit control and demonstrating a high level of financial management.
• Contributing to fee-earning and non-fee-earning activity as appropriate, e.g. knowledge sharing, training, assisting and preparing updates for clients and the team, legal research etc.
• Building an awareness of the firm's other services.
• Building effective internal and external networks.
• Handling confidential information in line with the firm’s data security protocols.
The Ideal Candidate
• A Paralegal, ideally with relevant professional indemnity or litigation/regulatory experience. LPC preferred but graduates (2.1 and above) will be considered. Previous experience as a paralegal would be helpful but is not necessary.
• Real interest in litigation
• Experience of working in a target driven commercial environment would be an advantage.
• Excellent commercial awareness and an interest in broader business issues.
• Strong communication skills both written and verbal. Ability to deal confidently and professionally with clients and colleagues on day to day issues.
• Excellent organisational skills, able to prioritise and manage tasks within set timeframes.
• Excellent relationship and client handling skills.
• Able to demonstrate a reasonable level of self-sufficiency, combined with an awareness of the boundaries of own competence/authority.
• Ability to adopt a commercial perspective rather than an ‘academic’ approach to legal issues.
• Change-oriented with a positive, flexible approach towards the implementation of new initiatives.
• Team-oriented and collegiate with a willingness to share knowledge with and support other members of the team.
• Excellent IT skills, including Word and Outlook.
• Fluent / native German speaking would be highly advantageous but is not essential for this role.
About the Company
We are a leading international legal business with over 2,400 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru, Central America, Argentina, the USA, Australia and Germany.
We are known for our market-leading presence in sectors such as Insurance, Health and Real Estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for the majority of the top 30 insurance and financial services companies operating in the UK. We are the asset management lawyers for the UK’s largest shopping centres and act for 9 of the UK’s top 10 housebuilders.
We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 155 Chambers UK 2019 practice area and individual lawyer rankings, including 30 rankings at 'Band 1' level. In Legal 500 UK, 2018, the firm received top tier ranking for 32 of its practice areas and 59 practice areas in the top two tiers. In March 2018, we were named as one of Legal Week's Best Legal Advisors for the third year running, achieving category-leading satisfaction scores for our commercial approach, service delivery, quality of legal advice, communication & responsiveness and overall relationships.
Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.
DAC Beachcroft is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from every sector of the community. We also welcome direct applications. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV. Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.
DAC Beachcroft