Paralegal

Practice Group / Department:

Legal Services Management - Newcastle

Job Description

We're Norton Rose Fulbright - a global law firm with over 50 offices and 7,000 employees worldwide. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service.

As well as the relevant skills and experience, we're looking for people who are innovative, commercial and value the work that they do. We celebrate multiple approaches and points of view and believe diversity drives innovation, so we're building a culture where difference is valued.

Legal Services Team Paralegal

We are seeking curious and enthusiastic individuals to join our Legal Services Team as a Paralegal.

If successful, you will be based in the Newcastle Office on a hybrid basis supporting the firm's thousands of lawyers across the globe and assisting us in delivering a full business law service to the world's preeminent corporations and financial institutions. Activities can range from assisting the lenders in respect of the financing of the world's largest offshore wind farm, to being the first port of call for a corporation which has suffered a cyberattack.

Joining us as a Paralegal offers opportunity to be immersed in the full breadth of work undertaken within a top 10 global law firm. You will be expected to make a valued contribution to the work of the myriad of teams we collaborate with and to be always curious, engaged, enthusiastic and proactive. In turn, we seek to provide unrivalled paralegal experience and strongly believe that there are no limits to what work our Paralegals can get involved in, subject to providing the right training and supervision.

The Newcastle office is our centre for legal innovation and technology, both of which feature in much of the work we do. This will give you the opportunity to get involved in cutting edge initiatives at the forefront of the commercial legal industry's transformation. As part of our commitment to innovation, we are increasingly integrating generative AI tools into our legal workflows. Our Paralegals are encouraged to develop awareness of how these technologies are shaping the legal industry and to engage with them thoughtfully and responsibly. Training and guidance will be provided to support this evolving area of practice.

The Role & Key Responsibilities

Working under the day-to-day supervision of Supervising Paralegals, and qualified lawyers with and outside of the Legal Services Team, the role will include but not be limited to the following:

Corporate

Work within the corporate practice can involve assisting with a variety of private M&A transactions, initial public offerings and secondary share issues, all of which may involve tasks such as:

• Contract reviews and reviews of general corporate documentation.
• Coordinating multijurisdictional due diligence exercises.
• Verification of investor documentation.
• Drafting, reviewing and managing documentation such as shareholder circulars, board minutes and tender forms; and
• General document management in virtual data rooms.

Disputes and Investigations

Our disputes colleagues form one of the largest disputes practices in the world, seeking to resolve some of the highest profile domestic and cross-border disputes and investigations. There are opportunities for Paralegals to be embedded within a case team and to assist with all manner of tasks, including taking notes of witness interviews and providing summaries of calls with counsel, managing exhibits and fact checking, managing disclosure logs and translation requirements and building court bundles.

Some of our team's largest matters involve conducting large scale e-disclosure / document reviews in the context of both civil and criminal matters.

Banking

In the banking space, our Paralegals are often expected to be integral members of transaction teams and will have the opportunity to be in the driving seat of the conditions precedent process. This process is at the heart of any debt transaction and is critical in achieving financial close on any deal. Common tasks include:

• Drafting conditions precedent checklists.
• Drafting security documents and various ancillary documents, including corporate authorities, notices and acknowledgments, legal opinions, CP satisfaction letters, fee letters; and
• Shepherding lender approvals and being the point of contact and coordination for all parties, including local counsel, in respect of the condition’s precedent.

Aside from the key practice areas of banking, corporate and disputes, the team are involved in various transactions and projects in real estate, data protection, employment and IP, to name just a few.

Key Skills and Experience

Essential

• Has attained an undergraduate degree or is working towards one.
• Excellent communication skills
• High levels of computer literacy, including an awareness of the role of generative AI in legal services, with a willingness to learn and apply emerging tools responsibly.
• High level of attention to detail
• Strong organisational, prioritisation and time management skills, with the ability to work either autonomously, co-operatively or with direction.
• A commonsense approach to new challenges and a desire to be challenged, learn and take on responsibility
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to deal with people at all levels.
• Ability to work well within a team and to be adaptable to changing work environments and demands, acknowledging that we work with colleagues and clients in different time zones which can require flexibility in the hours we work.

Desirable

• A graduate at 2:1 level or above
• Fluency in a second language
• Advanced IT skills (particularly in the context of working with structured data), including experience using or exploring generative AI tools in a legal or academic context.

Norton Rose Fulbright

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have more than 4000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare.  Through our global risk advisory group, we leverage our industry experience with our knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide our clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses.

Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices.

Law around the world

nortonrosefulbright.com

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, have a sense of belonging, and realize their full career potential. 

Our new enabled work model allows our people to have more flexibility in the way they choose to work from both the office and a remote location, while continuing to deliver the highest standards of service. We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive employment policies and provide access to programmes and services aimed at nurturing our people’s health and overall wellbeing. Find more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion here.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any tailored adjustments or accommodations, please let us know via EMEARecruitment@nortonrosefulbright.com