Paralegal

About the Team:

About the Employment team

Consistently top-ranked amongst our peers for over two decades, we advise UK and multinational clients of all sizes, with most of our Partners independently rated as leaders in the field. Not only do we have the largest employment team in the UK, we have truly global reach as members of Ius Laboris, the world’s leading employment law alliance, and with our Asia Pacific base in Hong Kong and our Dublin offices.

We help clients realise the potential in their people and navigate their strategic HR and legal issues, with dedicated specialists in all areas of employment law and a track record of leading precedent setting cases on issues of the day.

Our experts advise on the full range of employment services:

• General employment – day to day queries e.g. disciplinaries and grievances, contracts and policies, flexible working, maternity rights, discrimination as well as strategic support and support on larger projects such as restructures and redundancies.
• Employment litigation – defending both high and low value Employment Tribunal claims made against employers (e.g. discrimination, whistleblowing, equal pay), bringing high value Employment Tribunal claims on behalf of employees and supporting with dispute resolution through mediation/ arbitration.
• High Court litigation – restrictive covenant litigation, team moves, obtaining/ resisting/ enforcing injunctions, claims relating to confidential information by a team regularly rated as the best in the UK.
• Trade Unions/Collective – advising employers on all aspects of industrial action, collective consultation, union recognition and works councils.
• Transactional support – supporting on the employment aspects (including due diligence and TUPE) of M&A, divestments and outsourcings.
•  Atypical working – advising on areas such as agency workers, zero hours contracts, employment status, apprenticeships, the gig economy.
• Global mobility – supporting employers with the relocation of employees for long term periods (covering employment, immigration and tax issues).
• Reward - covering employment tax, cash plan and incentives, shares and options and other aspects of employee reward.
• Health & Safety - implementing policies, conducting risk assessments and advising employers on their legal obligations.
• Senior Executives - high value litigation, bonus/ breach of contract claims and advice relating to entering and exiting businesses.
• Irish employment law - all aspects of Irish employment law.
• Northern Irish employment law – all aspects of Northern Irish employment law.
• Hong Kong employment law - all aspects of Hong Kong employment law and local coordination of matters across Asia Pacific.
• International employment support – coordinating and project managing advice from single country matters to global projects. For larger international clients, we are able to provide platforms to log/track queries. 

About the Role:

The overall objective is to provide support to the team in fee-earning, business development and billing capacities. Fee-earning activities may include research, note taking at meetings or investigations, involvement in court and tribunal cases - for example the preparation of trial bundles, disclosure, liaising with witnesses, briefing counsel, taking detailed notes of hearings/conferences with counsel and attendance at courts and tribunals. 

Other key elements of the role are:

• legal research
• assisting in the various marketing initiatives within the department including researching and assisting lawyers in preparing for conferences and other speaking engagements and meeting and greeting at firm marketing events
• providing assistance with billing, narratives and administration
• contributing copy for our websites and publications
• work on international projects

A typical day might involve conducting research on complex employment law issues for the solicitors and partners in the department, liaising with counsel and ACAS officers as well as more hands-on work such as preparing billing reports, fee statements and document bundles for tribunal hearings, reviewing and researching and drafting conference papers.

About You:

We are looking for an enthusiastic, proactive and hardworking Paralegal to join our busy Belfast team.

Candidates will have any relevant legal qualifications or previous legal experience. Candidates will also have IT, numeracy, practical and analytical skills, a clear communication style (both spoken and written), and above all, must be a team player with a passion to work with a fast-paced professional and friendly team.

The successful candidate must have excellent communication skills and a proactive ‘can do’ attitude. They must be highly organised, flexible, co-operative and willing. Prior experience and knowledge of Employment work would be advantageous but not essential as extensive training will be provided.   

Our ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Excellent drafting, analytical and communication skills as well as strong attention to detail.
• An ambitious, proactive, commercial, responsive attitude.
• A keen interest in developing your marketing and business development skills.
• A team player who is keen to support others to learn and who is keen to learn and develop their own skills

Additional Information:

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to supporting candidates throughout the recruitment process by supporting anyone who requires adjustments, in order to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. All applicants will be considered equally and fairly. If you’d like to request any adjustments throughout the recruitment process, or would like to discuss flexible working patterns, please email the recruitment team in confidence ([email protected]).