Paralegal - Banking & Finance

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000

Job description

Overview

Penningtons Manches Cooper is a leading UK and international law firm which provides high quality legal advice tailored to both businesses and individuals. We address the specific objectives of each client through our flair and technical expertise and offer a personal service founded on a strong team ethic.

With 130 partners and over 880 people in total, today, we have UK offices in the City of London, Basingstoke, Birmingham, Cambridge, Guildford, Oxford and Reading while our overseas network stretches from Asia to Europe through our presence in Singapore, Piraeus, Paris and Madrid.

Our continuing commitment to excellence is backed by a track record which dates back nearly 300 years. We pay great attention to matching your requirements with the right skills, delivered cost effectively and within the appropriate timescale.

Among our clients we count multi-national corporations, public companies, professional partnerships, banks, and financial institutions as well as private individuals, owner managed businesses and start-ups. We are conscious that our culture and close working relationships are vital assets, and we are determined to maintain these as we increase in size.

Our broad international focus is supported by well-established links with law firms throughout the world. Penningtons Manches Cooper is a member of Multilaw and the European Law Group, networks with representatives in over 100 countries, and many of our lawyers play leading roles in various international bodies.

The Department

The Banking and Finance team advises on a broad spectrum of funding arrangements – from day to day banking and finance transactions to complex, cross-border international trade and investment projects and this role will support those members of the team who are based in our Reading, Birmingham and London offices. The team’s clients include high profile financial institutions, overseas lenders, private banks and private investors. In addition to acting for our own lending clients, we are often called upon to assist other teams within the firm (e.g. corporate and property teams) in the financing aspects of their transactions.

Responsibilities

The role will support the corporate team in Reading, working closely to assist with:

• Onboarding arrangements for clients and preparing engagement letters;
• Preparing ancillary documents and forms and managing documents generally as part of the transactional process;
• Managing the conditions precedent process;
• Preparing documents for completion of transactions;
• Checking and proofreading documents;
• Supporting the Banking & Finance team to ensure outstanding service to clients;
• Preparing and managing payment instruction forms and invoices; and generally assisting the smooth running of the team and the flow of transactions.

Essential & Desirable Criteria

• Experience working within a Banking & Finance team or similar;
• Experience with Property / Real Estate transactions desirable;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to manage a busy workload and excellent organisational skills;
• Ability to work both alone and collaboratively with other team members;
• Confidence in client-facing communications;
• Attention to accuracy and detail;
• IT literate, confident user of MS Office;
• Collaborative team member with ability to quickly build relationships with a wide range of people;
• Receptive to facilitate and support change;
• Sound organisational skills; flexible, pragmatic and problem-solving approach;
• Comfortable working under pressure with the ability to plan and prioritise work; appreciation of fee earner needs and constraints; commercially aware.

At our firm, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a priority and at the heart of everything we do. We actively want to attract a diverse workforce and welcome applications from everyone, from all backgrounds. We are committed to promoting an inclusive culture where everyone can be their full selves and experience being seen and heard.

The firm operates a hybrid agile working policy allowing employees to work from home (or another UK location) for at least 50% of their time. Individuals can also apply for other flexible working options, either at the time of recruitment or during the course of their employment.

We ensure that there are equal opportunities and treatment for all job applicants and employees, at all stages of the recruitment process and employment, regardless of age, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and social background. We aim to provide adjustments for people who have a disability, long-term health condition (including mental health) or neurodiversity. If you would like to request an adjustment, please contact [e-mail]