Family Paralegal

Position: Paralegal
Job Type: Full-time, Permanent
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm (5pm on Fridays)
Location: Office-based (no remote working)

Job Summary

We are seeking a hard-working and ambitious paralegal to join the award-winning, Legal 500 and Chambers ranked Family department at Crane & Staples LLP.

The successful candidate will provide comprehensive support to our Family Department, assisting with client interactions, case management and various administrative tasks.

As one of the few firms in the area to cater to both private and public law, working at Crane & Staples offers an excellent opportunity to gain experience in a diverse range of cases, including divorce and finance, private children law, care proceedings, and Legal Aid matters.

Please note that the high-level, complex cases we deal with means that the candidate must be prepared to work on matters that may be of a sensitive or distressing nature.

Responsibilities

This role covers a range of responsibilities supporting the family department, including:

Client Interaction

• Respond to new enquiries from potential clients by telephone, email, and in-person.
• Explain our services, including our fee structure.
• Carefully check and verify ID documents and copy bank statements in person.
• Answer clients’ queries where possible and pass more complex queries to the lawyer.
• Attending Court hearings, conferences or other external meetings to support the client and take notes.
• Providing pre-proceedings support to clients who are involved with child services.

Supervised Fee-earning Work

As you progress within the team, you may be offered opportunities to take on some fee-earning work under the supervision of the solicitors in the department. This could include:

• Meeting with clients to take their instructions.
• Drafting statements and letters of advice.
• Dictating letters and documents.

Case Management

• Onboard new clients by opening a file on our system, sending initial documents, and ensuring forms are correctly completed.
• Liaise with the lawyer handling the matter.
• Make applications.
• Liaise with authorities and other parties.
• Send out letters and documents on the lawyer’s behalf.
• Keep clients updated when appropriate.
• Manage files, ensuring all documents are in the correct folders.
• Create, organise and update documents including Court bundles, briefs, statements and exhibits, using the appropriate software.
• Sort, scan and distribute incoming post to the relevant team member.

Technology and Software

At Crane & Staples, we use sophisticated technology and software to provide a seamless experience for staff and clients. For this reason, this role would suit someone who is proficient in using IT such as Microsoft Office. Full training will be provided to use the following software:

• Partner for Windows: Case management for producing and managing documents and correspondence.
• Microsoft Office: Emails, Excel, and Word.
• Microsoft Teams: Telephone calls and video meetings.
• Oyezforms: Legal forms.
• InfoTrack: Client on-boarding system.
• Bundledocs: Create, organise and amend court bundles.
• Various online interfaces: For dealing with courts and other authorities.

Employee Benefits

• Annual Leave: 25 days (in addition to bank holidays), with three days to be taken within the Christmas week or at the discretion of the Partners. An extra day’s leave on your birthday (or the nearest working day).
• Workplace Pension: Enrolled in the Legal & General workplace pension scheme.
• Additional Staff Benefits: For a full list of staff benefits and more about our firm’s values, please click here.

Experience and Qualifications

This role would suit someone with previous experience working in a busy law firm, particularly in a family department.

However, we have also seen success in this role from students and graduates, who have benefited from the hands-on training they receive to gain valuable work experience and begin their legal careers. We would therefore also welcome applications from graduates with a particular interest in family law for this role.

Attributes

This is a varied role that involves administrative and communication skills. The ideal candidate will:

• Be friendly, personable and confident talking to a variety of different people, ranging from vulnerable clients to senior barristers.
• Have strong written communication skills.
• Have excellent organisation skills and be able to organise files/papers and email inboxes as well as staff schedules, appointments and deadlines.
• Show enthusiasm and a willingness to learn and work on different cases, carrying out a range of tasks.

Transport

• Occasionally, the paralegal may be required to travel to external meetings, such as local court hearings or client conferences. Therefore, having access to a car or familiarity of public transport routes would be beneficial. Travel expenses are reimbursed.
• Parking: The firm will reimburse 50% of parking fees in Welwyn Garden City town centre car parks.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, please send a CV and cover letter to Karen Angel, Office Manager, at k.angel@crane-staples.co.uk