Practice Development Lawyer Paralegal Assistant

We’re a national law firm with a local reach. Our philosophy is ‘Expert Hand, Human Touch’ – something you’ll find in the way we work with our clients and how we support our teams. But, we’re more than just a law firm – we’re a team, working together to help individuals and businesses navigate life’s ups and downs.

Whichever team you join, working here you’ll feel a part of our friendly and inclusive environment. We’ll value you for who you are and what you bring. We support each other and push boundaries to achieve incredible things, and make a real difference to our clients and communities.

The work we do has been recognised in the awards we’ve won. We’re committed to being even better, and our awards help to show we’re on the right track.

We recognise that the office 9-5 isn’t for everyone. That’s why we’ve introduced ‘Flexible by Choice’. Whether it’s working from home, in our offices, or a combination of the both, we trust each other to support our clients, colleagues and communities at the right time, in the right way.

We are looking for a Practice Development Lawyer (PDL) Paralegal Assistant to join our Knowledge Management Team. The Paralegal Assistant will work with our PDLs supporting our Complex Personal Injury (CPI) team.

The PDL Paralegal Assistant will work as part of a team or Paralegal Assistants primarily supporting our CPI PDLs but also providing paralegal support to our other PDLs across all of our practice areas. This role will be responsible for helping the PDLs ensure relevant and up-to-date legal technical knowledge is easily available to support teams in their day-to-day legal work, client relationship management and business winning activities.

• Support PDLs in their horizon scanning activities designed to keep abreast of the latest legal developments.
• Helping the PDLs to manage, develop and constantly review our knowledge content, with a focus on CPI, to ensure it delivers maximum value and to enable the ongoing development of legal technical skills.
• Supporting PDLs in their use of relevant KM resources, including CPI specific resources.
• Assisting PDLs in the provision of high quality legal technical support to lawyers.
• Supporting PDLs in the provision of legal analysis, guidance and advice to support the creation and delivery of internal and client/external-facing legal technical updates.
• Supporting PDLs as they develop and deliver a comprehensive legal technical training plan for CPI.
• Helping PDLs to set up and manage regular forums to promote knowledge sharing and develop legal technical skills and competencies.

• Experience in creating and drafting legal documents, ideally gained working with a CPI team.
• Proven ability to conduct legal and business research and analysis in line with specific requirements.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to manage and prioritise own workload, manage competing demands and meet tight deadlines.
• Service excellence focus with dedication to meeting and exceeding the expectations and requirements of both internal and external clients.
• A commitment to maintaining personal professional development and technical capability.
• Problem solving and the ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Attention to detail and high level of accuracy.

• 25 days annual leave, with the opportunity to buy additional leave
• Two fundraising days in a year to give back to the community (fully paid!)
• Westfield Health membership, offering discounted leisure and travel and refunds on medical services

We also offer a huge number of well-being initiatives to encourage positive mental health both in and out of the workplace as well as flexible working options to ensure that you are fully supported to work the way that best suits you. Our social responsibility programme is fundamental to who we are. We’re committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where our colleagues can flourish. We have a range of groups to celebrate our people across sexuality, disability, age, gender and culture.

We welcome applications from all diversity groups and backgrounds. We’re committed to enabling everyone to thrive and understanding and celebrating our differences is a key part of that. We’re proud of our work on the Disability Confident scheme, on the Race At Work Charter and as Stonewall Diversity Champions. We also have a range of networks for LGBT+, disability, generations, gender, social mobility, ethnicity, faith and culture to celebrate our people and to enable everyone to thrive.

As part of the Irwin Mitchell Group’s on-boarding process all successful applicants are required to complete the group’s employment screening process. This process helps to ensure that all new employees meet our standards in relation to honesty and integrity therefore protecting the interests of the Group, existing employees, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

Depending on the role you apply for we may carry out checks that will establish your eligibility to work in the UK, and criminal record check and financial checks with a credit reference agency will also be undertaken.

The employment screening process will fully comply with Data Protection and other applicable laws.

Irwin Mitchell LLP is an equal opportunity employer.