Role: Professional Support Lawyer
Location: Firm wide
Hours: Part time or Full Time, 21 hours – 37 hours
Term: Permanent
Vacancy Reference: 1166-BBL
We are looking for a professional support lawyer (PSL) with a strong breadth of experience in the Private Capital arena (covering Lifetime, Probate, Court of Protection, Tax and Trusts) who will be able to support the firm’s innovative KM strategy and will work with key stakeholders within their individual practice areas to identify, develop and deliver strategic support to drive the growth of the business.
Who we are
You’ll be joining a national law firm that enjoys a strong reputation, made possible by our exceptional people – each chosen for their industry knowledge and passion for their field. We want to help you to reach your full potential, love the work you do and deliver the best results for your clients. It’s our goal to make you feel great about working with us, and we work hard to cultivate a culture that makes it easy for you to stay with us for many years.
We work flexibly and you’ll be empowered to work where you do your best work, balancing your individual needs with the need for us to engage as teams and deliver excellent client service.
Most of our people choose to work in a hybrid fashion, working from home and attending our offices on occasion. Our offices are in Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton, and Taunton.
Day to day, you’ll be successful in this role by:
Not all PSL roles are created equal. Our PSL role provides a level of autonomy and responsibility which makes it stand out from the crowd. Working with the Head of Knowledge and the Private Capital Partners you will shape and define the priorities for your area. You will be an independent thinker with a commercial, pragmatic, and proactive approach.
The role could include:
- Identifying aspects of private client work which are of interest to intermediaries and clients. These will include topical and current issues surrounding inheritance tax and estate planning, elderly care/court of protection, other tax planning and estate administration.
- Identifying the practical consequences for clients of any change of law.
- Collaborating with key stakeholders to identify and prioritise business needs and develop a KM strategy.
- Drafting and maintaining standard form precedents, client information sheets, client appointment letters including policy guidance and practice notes.
- Engaging with lawyers to encourage the sharing of knowledge – to collect and share relevant legal knowledge.
- Arranging and hosting practice group knowledge sharing meetings within the team.
- Providing, or arranging for the provision, of appropriate training both in the legal sphere and in soft skills.
- Orchestrate an innovative new legal training programme – using a blend of learning delivery methods, consulting with Head of Knowledge and the Private Capital Partners.
- Produce monthly legal updates across all Private Capital practice areas ensuring that lawyers are kept up to date on relevant legal and regulatory developments.
- Acting as a trusted advisor to lawyers, providing research, advice and a second opinion on complex legal issues.
- Working with the Head of Knowledge to support implementation of new legal technology and innovation processes within your practice group.
- Reviewing client work in relation to market standards, introducing process efficiencies and best practice.
- In conjunction with firm leadership and Business Development teams, helping to set and support the agenda for thought leadership activities and client facing knowledge, such as, webinars, case studies, legal risk and horizon scanning updates and client training.
- Writing, editing, and producing a quarterly publication for financial intermediaries.
- Developing new products for financial intermediaries and clients.
- Producing this material when commissioned to do so, within the agreed timescales.
- Supporting the development and implementation of KM tools and systems
You could be working remotely and based out of any of our offices, but you will also work across all CW offices and some travel will be necessary, particularly at first as you build relationships and knowledge of your practice group.
This could be a full time or part-time role with a degree of flexibility to suit you. It could be between 21 to 30 hours per week spread over 3, 4 or 5 days (on a Part time basis) – although flexibility from you would be helpful. You will be the sole PSL for the division, but you will have support within the wider Knowledge Services Team. You will report into the Head of Knowledge and the Practice Area head.
This role is right for you if:
You will be an experienced Private Capital lawyer – solicitor, barrister or equivalent – with at least 4 years’ relevant post qualification experience.
You may have a broad Private Capital background or if you have become more specialised you will still be interested in all aspects of Private Capital law.
You will be proactive, self-starter and able to prioritise your work.
You will be able to work independently and collaborate across teams.
You will have crisp, clear, accurate drafting skills and enjoy educating and assisting others.
Our clients expect us to be down to earth and provide straightforward, clear, concise advice, so you will need to filter out unnecessary complications, jargon, and technicalities to focus on what is important to your fee earners and their clients.
You will be intellectually curious, enthusiastic about the law and keen to continuously learn.
You will be able to develop and nurture strong relationships with colleagues.
You will be aware of market best practice and the challenges that your lawyers and their clients face – this will help to drive process efficiencies and development within your practice area. At the heart of everything we do is high quality work and client service excellence.
Collaborating with a diverse team, you will be a natural relationship builder, with the gravitas, diplomacy, and expertise to collaborate, challenge ideas and influence senior lawyers while also encouraging and developing juniors to grow in their role.
We are looking for someone who is comfortable with technology and has an innovative mindset.
What we can offer you:
A career at Clarke Willmott will feel different to other law firms. We thrive on our individual differences and diversity because as a team, we are united by our shared values and mutual respect. Working with us you will feel empowered, valued and free to be yourself in a safe and supportive environment.
Our mission is to help you realise your full potential whilst maintaining a positive work-life balance. We provide a comprehensive learning and development programme and a range of wellbeing initiatives to support your career journey.
There’s no doubt we expect the best from our people and even the occasional extra mile. In return, your dedication and commitment to the continued success of the firm will be rewarded with a comprehensive range of flexible benefits.
Listen to what a few members of our team have to say about what life here at Clarke Willmott is really like, to see if it’s the right fit for you.
Apply
If you would like to apply for this vacancy, please send us your CV and covering letter using the form below (If you have any difficulties with the form, you can email your application to us at [email protected]).
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