Working as a Paralegal - A guide. taylorroot.com

Transcription

1 Working as a Paralegal - guide

2 Introduction Working as a paralegal provides an extremely rewarding legal career. Whether you have finished your LPC or BVC, but are not continuing as a trainee, or you have a few months to wait before your training contract starts, this is a great option to broaden your experience, start earning and develop a rewarding career. Overseas-qualified lawyers with no UK experience may also benefit from gaining paralegal experience. short-term paralegal contract within a City law firm or in-house can provide valuable experience combined with an income which will assist an individual in settling into a very expensive City whilst providing a springboard from which to gain other opportunities. The aim of this short guide is to highlight the opportunities for paralegals in commercial practice and answer some of the common questions that arise around the subject.

3 Do I need to have completed the QLPC? Typically, organisations recruiting paralegals seek LPC graduates. However, occasionally graduates and those candidates who have completed the BVC will be preferred. If you have studied the City electives this will definitely be advantageous, but not always necessary, as often paralegal roles can be administrative in nature. Q Will a Paralegal role lead to a training contract? Typically in the City firms, paralegal roles do not provide a route to gaining a training contract. This is because firms looking to recruit paralegals are seeking individuals to provide support to lawyers and are not seeking trainees. That is not to say that it never happens, however, some firms can be more willing to consider paralegals as trainees. Very occasionally training contracts are offered by large, wellrun legal teams within multinationals or banks, however, a paralegal moving inhouse should not make such a move believing that a training contract will be on offer. Obtaining work as a paralegal will undoubtedly become an invaluable addition to your CV, providing you with far more practical experience than you would ever be likely to gain from the LPC. In addition, the exposure to firm culture, particularly with the renowned global players will put you in good stead for future training contract interviews.

4 Q What is the role of a paralegal in private practice? Paralegal roles and the level of responsibility you receive vary considerably depending on the size of firm and practice area. The majority involve fee-earning work, from providing support on multi-million pound corporate takeovers to trial preparation in litigation. Roles such as these, during which your time will generally be billed directly to a client, are often referred to as feeearning or client roles. They may involve considerable overtime and tasks vary enormously from photocopying to conducting due diligence. However, if you are keen to be working as part of a team in the thrust of high profile corporate litigation and transactions, these are the roles for you. n alternative to fee-earning can be found in the role of a Professional Support Paralegal or Know-How Paralegal. These roles generally involve working alongside a Professional Support Lawyer (PSL), undertaking research, collating legal news and producing firm and departmental newsletters and bulletins.the underlying function of professional support is to keep lawyers up-to-date with legal developments and to ensure that a group s resources, such as precedent banks, are current. These roles may also offer the opportunity to become involved in marketing and pitching for new clients. Q What is the role of a paralegal in-house? Due to the sheer diversity in the nature and size of an in-house legal department, it is difficult to generalise about the role of an inhouse paralegal. In the same way that law firms require paralegals to undertake a variety of legal administration, professional support, research and fee earning, so too do in-house departments. In-house departments are generally substantially smaller than most law firms and as such paralegals gain excellent hands-on experience, a high degree of autonomy and flexibility combined with a wide scope of work so that, for example, an individual may work on a range of commercial agreements, employment, IP, corporate transactional and EU at any one time. There may also be opportunities where companies seek paralegals with sector specific experience, for example, a paralegal working in a media company may focus on IP and commercial contracts and investment banks will seek individuals with strong finance experience. Whilst a move in-house will certainly not guarantee a 9-5 role, there is often substantial flexibility in terms of hours, and overtime is likely to be more of a rareity than an expectation. That said, a paralegal who wants to prove him or herself should be prepared to put in a certain amount of time to ensure a job is done well.

5 Q What about career progression? Private Practice: Despite the fact that securing a training contract through a paralegal role is unlikely, obtaining work as a paralegal will undoubtedly be an invaluable addition to your CV, providing you with far more practical experience than you would ever be likely to gain from the LPC. In addition, the exposure to law firm culture, particularly with the renowned global players will put you in good stead for future training contract interviews. In-house: It is not necessary to be admitted in the UK (or at all) to progress in-house as a career paralegal. Flat hierarchical structures combined with broad workloads and autonomy mean that good paralegals with experience can progress and even fast-track their career within an organisation. Within the global multinationals and banks, opportunities also exist for excellent individuals (both qualified and non-qualfiied) who have proved themselves to move out of the legal department and into the business. Penny Parker Taylor Root

6 Q Do I need previous paralegal experience Private Practice: In addition to academic achievements, some previous legal work experience is a must. Ideally this will be within a commercial law firm or in-house legal department demonstrating that you have had exposure to, and an interest in, commercial law. For recent graduates this will often be paid experience gained between studies or can include vacation schemes. Unfortunately for commercial work, experience gained through probono initiatives is often not particularly relevant. Other non-legal but commercial experience may be considered, especially if this is gained within a professional service environment or within an area such as insurance and banking; this is because these are areas which require you to maintain a high degree of quality control, which is paramount within law firms. In-house: Occasionally corporates recruit paralegals with very little experience. However, it is more usual for a company or bank to require an individual with experience gained from private practice. In order to move into a corporate environment, the most relevant experience includes solid IP, property, IT, media and commercial, preferably gained from a top 20 international firm or US firm. Banks and Financial services require individuals who have excellent academics and experience in capital markets, including ISD experience, banking, funds and regulatory/financial services gained from the top international and US law firms. Whilst many paralegals commence their careers in temporary roles, it is extremely difficult for anyone with general practice or litigation experience to move inhouse. Lyndon Jennings Taylor Root

7 Q If I dont have experience, how can I get it? If you are short on legal experience, gaining that first break can feel like a catch-22 situation - you need initial experience in order to gain further experience. One way to build and develop your CV is to take on temporary or project-based assignments. Many firms and in-house legal departments find themselves requiring extra paralegals to assist with closing deals, preparing for trial and to work on projects. Often these tasks may only take a week or two to complete and be very administrative. However, this can be a way to gain valuable experience. lternatively, some paralegals start off their career in other support roles and move into paralegal roles over time. Essentially there is no easy answer to this question, but perseverance and a flexible attitude as to the work you are happy to undertake will go a long way. re there any specific skills or languages Qthat would be advantageous? It is no surprise that much of the work in the City is international and often crossborder in nature. s such, Western European languages are often in demand, and there is also a growing demand for Eastern European and sian languages in response to the increasing project and development work in these regions. In addition to academic qualifications, many paralegal roles will require the use of databases, although no prior experience will usually be required. More likely is a requirement for strong MS Office skills, particularly Excel, as spreadsheets are often used to keep track of trial bundles and other vast collections of documents. Some roles will also require paralegals to edit information on an intranet or website. The ability to use online legal research facilities will also be expected.

8 Q What salary can I expect to earn? Private practice: Salaries vary depending upon the size of the firm, type of company and location. The table below indicates the average salary ranges found in the main commercial firms in London. Commerce & industry: Salaries for paralegals in commerce & industry range from 22,000 for a junior individual with very little experience, and may reach up to 50,000+ for someone with several years specialist in-house experience. Financial services: Salaries are substantially higher ranging from 25,000 for someone with say 6 months private practice experience within banking and capital markets up to 60,000+ for a career paralegal with 3/4+ years specialist experience in capital markets/isd negotiation. On top of this, financial services also pay bonuses of 10-20% up to 50%+. Level Range Typical Practice LPC 20,000-26,000 23, years 22,000-31,000 26, years 25,000-34,000 28,500 5 years + 28, ,000 + Commerce & industry LPC 22,000-25,000 23, years 25,000-28,000 27, years 28,000-36,000 31,000 5 years + 36,000-50, ,000 + Financial services LPC 25,000-30,000 28, years 27,000-33,000 30, years 29,000-37,000 35,000 5 years + 40,000-50, ,000 +

9 Q What sort of organisations should I apply for? The role of a paralegal can differ enormously between organisations whether in private practice or in-house. The largest law firms have sizable teams of paralegals who undertake a range of work. However, trainees in whom these firms have made a considerable investment, will undertake the more challenging work. Smaller firms, and some of the international/us firms in London, tend to have fewer support staff and trainees and as such, paralegals can often find that they are taking on the tasks of a trainee. n important consideration is also which practice area you find interesting and would like to work in. Sometimes your options will be limited by any experience you have, but you should also identify the areas that offer the right work/ life balance for you. Transactional roles usually involve a great deal of overtime and can regularly run into your evenings and weekends, whilst a role in an employment group, for example, could be less demanding in terms of hours. Toria Walker Taylor Root

10 I m only available for a short period, will I Qbe able to secure work? Many firms and organisations require paralegals for shortterm contract and temporary assignments in order to assist with specific projects. We may be able to secure such roles, so please do contact us if you require further details. Q When should I apply for paralegal roles? Generally speaking the paralegal market is very reactive - firms and companies tend to recruit paralegals as the need arises. It is for this reason that it is most sensible to apply about a month before you will become available and ideally once you have gained some experience, be it paid or voluntary.

11 Nick Root Taylor Root Established in the 1980s, Taylor Root is now widely recognised as being one of the world s leading legal recruiters. Operating out of offices in the UK, Dubai, sia and ustralia, we are ideally placed to assist law firms, banks and companies with their legal recruitment on an international basis. Taylor Root has a strong track record in the recruitment of: Heads of legal and Legal advisers; law firm associates and partners; Contract/locum lawyers; Paralegals; Company secretaries and Compliance professionals. Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group. The SR Group is a specialist recruitment consultancy dedicated to raising standards in the business environments that we serve. The sectors we cover include tax, legal, human resources, marketing and executive search, dealing with a substantial number of the world s leading professional partnerships, multi-national corporations and international banking groups as well as small to medium sized developing organisations. For more information on working as a Paralegal or to find out more about the market please contact: Private Practice Rachel Thakur E: rachelthakur@ Commerce & Industry Michelle Davies E: michelledavies@ Banking & Finance sha Morzaria E: ashamorzaria@ Danielle Murdoch E: daniellemurdoch@ Penny Parker E: pennyparker@ Helena Ottersbach E: helenaottersbach@ London 95 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4HN T: +44 (0) Singapore Level 21 Prudential Tower 30 Cecil Street Singapore T: Taylor Root is a member of The SR Group Dubai Suite 614, Liberty House DIFC PO Box T: Melbourne Suite Collins Street Melbourne, VIC 3000 T: +61 (0) Hong Kong 1918 Hutchinson House 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong T: Sydney Level 12, 25 Bligh Street Sydney NSW 2000 T: +61 (0)