Paralegal jobs in United Kingdom

CMS are looking for a dedicated Assistant Paralegal or Paralegal to join our Legal Services Unit in our Sheffield, Manchester or Liverpool offices. The Legal Services Unit is the central paralegal team at CMS, assisting the associates and partners across the different departments in the UK offices on a wide variety of tasks and projects. This Paralegal role will be focussed on supporting our thriving Planning team. Please enclose a covering letter explaining why you are interested in a career as a Paralegal within the Planning Team at CMS.

About us

CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 80 offices in over 45 countries and 5,800+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective. We are passionate about building strong relationships with our clients, our people, and the communities we work in.

We take a bold, dynamic, and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by emerging technologies such as generative AI and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of working. Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.

About the role

CMS is seeking an Assistant Paralegal or an experienced Planning Paralegal to join our Legal Services Unit. The role is to support the UK Planning team at CMS which provides specialist advice on all types of planning and environmental matters across the United Kingdom.

Areas of specialism include energy and infrastructure, housing, commercial development, leisure, mines and minerals, retail, compulsory purchase, forward planning, enforcement and planning related litigation in all courts.

Our clients include local, regional, national and international development companies, energy generation companies, housebuilders, institutional clients and local authorities.

Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

1. Preparing draft legal obligations and highway agreements;
2. Preparing drafts reports to support large real estate transactions;
3. Detailed legal research to support busy fee earners;
4. Supporting on planning appeals including hearings and inquiries;
5. Supporting on planning related litigation in the High Court;
6. Large scale document management including establishment and management of data rooms as well as physical files;
7. Assisting with file opening and file administration.

About you

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with a strong academic background. You will have a keen eye for detail with the ability to use your initiative whilst working on multiple tasks. You will have excellent organisational and time management skills and the ability to prioritise conflicting deadlines. You must be an enthusiastic individual with exceptional communication skills and the ability to work well in a team. To be considered for the experienced Planning Paralegal role, you will also have experience of working as a Paralegal within a Planning legal environment.

A degree in law or equivalent qualification is preferred, but not essential. Alternatively, you may be working towards CILEX.

Full training will be provided on our systems and processes, and we also have an ongoing training programme to help develop both legal knowledge and soft skills. CMS has career development opportunities for individuals who demonstrate excellence and potential.

What’s in it for you?

We want to reward you today and help you plan for tomorrow. We appreciate that everyone is different, therefore we have designed a benefits system that offers choice and flexibility based on individual needs and lifestyles. To name a few, these include:

1. Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)
2. Flexible, hybrid working policy
3. Generous bonus scheme
4. Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)
5. Holiday exchange scheme
6. Private medical insurance
7. Enhanced parental leave
8. Reasonable adjustments and accommodation for disabled talent in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

If you would like to read more information regarding our range of benefits, please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

Equal opportunities

At CMS, we place diversity and inclusion at the centre of our culture and the heart of our organisation. As a firm we recognise, celebrate, and embrace the diverse talent our society has to offer because we know that to solve big problems, we need the best and brightest minds available to us. In support of this goal, we commit to actively breaking down barriers which stand in the way of those from diverse backgrounds and play our part in levelling the playing field.

As a Future Facing Firm, we strongly believe that a career in law should be open to people from all walks of life, because not only does diversity of thought and experience make our firm a stronger and more sustainable business, but it also makes it a more rewarding place to work.

When recruiting, we prioritise attracting talented people and we actively promote a flexible working environment which enables all our team members to thrive. If you see a role you are interested in, but don’t feel you meet 100% of the criteria we encourage you to still consider making an application. We also welcome applications from those who may be looking to return to the workforce after a career break.

We are proud to say our leadership in creating an inclusive working culture has been celebrated and recognised externally, including being listed for a number of years in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women and the Social Mobility Index.

We are a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer, and we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity throughout our recruitment process and in every element of the employee life cycle. If you require assistance, or if you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments as part of the recruitment process, please contact Steve Paine at TalentAcquisition@cms-cmno.com who will be happy to support you.

Ready to apply? Here are the next steps.

We look forward to receiving your application online via the CMS careers site. Please contact our Talent Acquisition team if you have any questions.

Please note that we have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.

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