Client Terms Paralegal - London

Exchange House Services Ltd - London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is seeking a diligent paralegal to support the General Counsel and Risk teams with engagement letters and client terms across matters. You will manage the lifecycle from request to filing, ensuring accuracy, compliance and timely escalation where needed.

You will liaise with partners, lawyers and business development to maintain records, log documents, and update matter registers while supporting audits and billing readiness.

Qualifications

• Degree educated or similar level.
• LPC qualified desirable.
• Previous paralegal experience desirable (with a preference for experience in a City practice)

Responsibilities

• Liaise with partner, lawyers and business development teams to obtain outstanding or missing engagement letters and client terms.
• Monitor and chase outstanding engagement letters and client terms to ensure complete records are maintained across all active matters.
• Review incoming correspondence and identify documents requiring logging or storage.
• Request updated terms where existing documentation is out of date or has expired.
• Review retrieved documents to confirm they are complete, properly executed, and meet the firm's internal requirements.
• Cross-reference client terms against the firm's standard terms of business to identify any deviations or bespoke provisions that require escalation to a supervising lawyer.
• Check engagement letters for accuracy, including correct client names, matter descriptions, fee arrangements, and signatory details.
• Flag any unsigned or incomplete documents to the relevant matter team.
• Upload all client terms and engagement letters into the firm's central repository in accordance with established naming conventions and filing protocols.
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date matter register or tracker recording the status of engagement letters and client terms across all active matters.
• Ensure documents are attached to the correct client and matter records and are accessible to authorised personnel.
• Apply appropriate key term tagging.
• Archive superseded or expired terms in accordance with the firm's document retention policy.
• Escalate any concerns regarding missing, conflicting, or non-compliant documentation to reporting manager promptly.
• Assist with periodic audits of client files to verify that engagement documentation is complete and correctly stored.
• Maintain and update internal tracking spreadsheets or databases to record the receipt, status, and location of all client terms and engagement letters.
• Respond to internal queries from matter teams and secretarial staff
• Liaise with the finance team to confirm that matter opening requirements, including signed engagement letters, are satisfied before billing commences.
• Provide regular status updates to supervising fee earners regarding outstanding engagement documentation.

Skills

Degree educated

LPC desirable

Paralegal experience

Education

Degree educated

Job description

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer: Your goals. Our ambition

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is a world-leading global law firm, where our ambition is to help you achieve your goals. Exceptional client service and the pursuit of excellence are at our core. We invest in and care about our client relationships, which is why so many are longstanding. We enjoy breaking new ground, as we have for over 170 years. As a fully integrated transatlantic and transpacific firm, we are where you need us to be. Our footprint is extensive and committed across the world’s largest markets, key financial centres and major growth hubs. We are immersed in the sectors and challenges that impact you. We are recognised as standing apart in energy, infrastructure and resources. And we’re focused on areas of growth that affect every business across the world. All of this is achieved by supporting the growth of our people, who help us deliver on our ambition – which is to help you achieve yours.

The Opportunity Key Responsibilities

• Liaise with partner, lawyers and business development teams to obtain outstanding or missing engagement letters and client terms.
• Monitor and chase outstanding engagement letters and client terms to ensure complete records are maintained across all active matters.
• Review incoming correspondence and identify documents requiring logging or storage.
• Request updated terms where existing documentation is out of date or has expired.
• Review retrieved documents to confirm they are complete, properly executed, and meet the firm's internal requirements.
• Cross-reference client terms against the firm's standard terms of business to identify any deviations or bespoke provisions that require escalation to a supervising lawyer.
• Check engagement letters for accuracy, including correct client names, matter descriptions, fee arrangements, and signatory details.
• Flag any unsigned or incomplete documents to the relevant matter team.
• Upload all client terms and engagement letters into the firm's central repository in accordance with established naming conventions and filing protocols.
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date matter register or tracker recording the status of engagement letters and client terms across all active matters.
• Ensure documents are attached to the correct client and matter records and are accessible to authorised personnel.
• Apply appropriate key term tagging.
• Archive superseded or expired terms in accordance with the firm's document retention policy.
• Escalate any concerns regarding missing, conflicting, or non-compliant documentation to reporting manager promptly.
• Assist with periodic audits of client files to verify that engagement documentation is complete and correctly stored.
• Maintain and update internal tracking spreadsheets or databases to record the receipt, status, and location of all client terms and engagement letters.
• Respond to internal queries from matter teams and secretarial staff
• Liaise with the finance team to confirm that matter opening requirements, including signed engagement letters, are satisfied before billing commences.
• Provide regular status updates to supervising fee earners regarding outstanding engagement documentation.

Please note, the work in this role would not constitute "qualifying work experience" for the purposes of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.

Qualifications / Skills / Experience

• Degree educated or similar level
• LPC qualified desirable
• Previous paralegal experience desirable (with a preference for experience in a City practice)

Team General Counsel and Risk

Working Pattern

Full time

Contract type Permanent

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to attracting people from all backgrounds and creating a respectful and inclusive culture where everyone thrives. We see this as essential to our success, including our ability to innovate and achieve sustained high performance. This is a key part of our Values—Human, Bold, and Outstanding. At Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, we align your growth and ambition with ours. We invest in your personal and professional growth and support you to achieve your ambitions. And you share responsibility for playing a part in delivering the firm’s growth and ambition too.

A leading global law firm, with over 6,000 people, we are in the world's largest markets, key financial centres and major growth hubs. We’re recognised leaders in demanding contentious matters, exacting regulatory work and complex public and private transactions. We’re immersed in the many challenges facing our clients. We’re invested and resourceful. We understand the part technology and digitalisation play in the delivery of legal services. We want to make a positive impact wherever in the world we operate. You’ll have the opportunity to engage with this with an open mind and curiosity. We are known for our diverse perspectives and renowned for our culture. Being human, bold and outstanding are more than our values: you’ll discover they are our lived experience. And by being ambitious for your growth and ours, we’ll achieve our goals together.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer: Your growth. Our ambition