Assistant Managing Paralegal

Womble Bond Dickinson; Bristol; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm is seeking an Assistant Managing Paralegal to support their growing team in Bristol. This role focuses on managing workflows, quality service, and mentoring junior paralegals. Ideal candidates will have proven people management skills, proficiency in Microsoft Office, and a strong ability to solve problems and communicate effectively. The firm values diversity and offers a supportive culture to maintain a balanced work-life experience.

Benefits

Support for health and wellbeing

Flexible working options

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Qualifications

• Proven experience in people management, with a track record of leading teams.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and excellent communication skills.
• Planning and organizational skills to drive team performance.

Responsibilities

• Providing training and support to junior members.
• Managing workflows and quality of service.
• Supervising outgoing documents.
• Conducting 1:1 reviews and appraisals.
• Assisting with the recruitment process.

Skills

People management

Excel proficiency

Problem-solving

Communication

Planning and organization

Job description

It's no secret that we're an ambitious firm, and our vision and our culture truly reflects that. At the heart of this is an outstanding client experience, something that Womble Bond Dickinson prides itself on.

The Legal Solutions Centre (LSC) part of WBD Advance is an essential part of our business made up of over 100 paralegals, project managers, technologists, data analysts and lawyers. Whether delivering one-off requirements or on-going services, WBD Advance streamlines legal work and tackles complex business issues by delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions. The team handles everything from large volume projects and services, automation and process design, project and risk management, to knowledge and data management.

This growing team are now seeking to expand their Commercial Disputes sub-team in both our Plymouth and Bristol offices with the hiring of an Assistant Managing Paralegal / Assistant Team Manager.

What does each of the roles involve?

This role is all about supporting the Paralegals and Lawyers in our LSC team, so the management and supervisory skills that you bring are vital in this role. We will provide full training to bring you up to speed on any legal aspects so previous legal experience isn't a requirement.

Our Commercial Disputes sub-team act on behalf of leading utilities, infrastructure and retail organisations providing a comprehensive recoveries and dispute resolution service. Your role will see you working on a range of debt recovery matters producing pre-action letters, issuing, executing and completing claims through the County Court, enforcing Judgment Orders where necessary, drafting Statutory Demands, issuing Bankruptcy and Winding Up Proceedings in addition to dealing with strategic resolution of litigated consumer claims brought against our client.

You would work closely with the team to ensure that we are employing the most efficient processes, making use of the advanced technology available within the firm and making sure our paralegals are provided with the tools and training they need to deliver the best service we can to our clients. The ongoing training and development of our people is fundamental to WBD and you would play a key part in this through regular reviews, appraisals and team training.

There will also be opportunities for you to get involved with the wider projects within WBD Advance.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing training and support to the junior members of the team.
• Managing workflows, quality of service and performance goals.
• Supervising outgoing documents and correspondence.
• Conducting 1:1 reviews, appraisals and providing support to the team.
• Assisting with the recruitment process.
• Some financial management.
• Managing team holidays and other absences.
• Managing key relationships with both internal and external clients.
• Proposing and implementing new working practices to streamline efficiency.
• Working closely with lawyers to manage large scale projects and ensure team deadlines and KPIs are met.

What are we looking for?

If you've previously managed a team and are used to prioritising multiple streams of work to timescales, then this could be the role for you. Previous experience in litigation or law isn't a requirement for this role; what matters more to us are the supervisory and relationship building skills you'll bring with you. We're looking for a leader; someone who can communicate goals and targets to the team and will motivate them to achieve these as efficiently as possible.

You’ll also be highly organised, able to effectively liaise with a variety of different people and, last but certainly not least, able to make critical decisions in order to drive the direction of the team.

To be successful in this role you'll need as a minimum:

• Proven experience in people management, with a track record of leading and developing high-performing teams.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, including skills in Excel.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and excellent communication skills.
• Planning and organizational skills to drive team performance and achieve business objectives.

We are a multi-disciplinary team and our people have a wide range of skills and experience. Whether you've built your experience skills in a law firm or completely different sector, we'd love to hear from you.

What makes it great to work here?

We continually work hard to create an open culture that sets us apart from other firms. Our culture gives us much more of a human feel, emphasising that we’re more than just suits!

As signatories to the Mindful Business Charter, it's important to us that our people are able to maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work. We have a number of resources and initiatives designed to support health and wellbeing and we're very happy to talk flexible working.

Through our DEI initiatives we create an environment in which difference is valued. We have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group, led by our Board Sponsor, which works with our colleague networks (we currently have firm supported networks for race, ethnicity, and cultural heritage, LGBTQ+, disabilities, neurodiversity, families, and women's career development and we're in constant dialogue with our people about how we expand our networks to better support everybody). Find out more about DEI at WBD here. We encourage applicants from all social backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, gender identities and sexual orientations.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to all. If you have a disability or long term condition and need us to make any adjustments to give you the best possible recruitment process, please let us know by contacting the recruiter on the right hand side of this page. Please also let us know if you need this job advert or the application form in a different format.

We will offer an interview to candidates with a disability or long-term condition who meet the minimum criteria for this role. You can opt into this scheme within the application form. Your response to this question is only used for this purpose, is only visible to the recruitment team and is not used for data monitoring.

We are an in-house recruitment team and will always aim to fill our roles directly in the first instance. If you're an agency, please click here for ways that you can work with us.