Construction Paralegal

Ridge and Partners LLP; Birmingham, Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Built Environment Consultancy is seeking a Construction Paralegal to join its Legal & Insurance Team. The role involves providing contract support on commercial agreements and requires a pragmatic approach to legal training. Ideal candidates will have construction industry experience and strong communication skills, contributing to a dynamic in-house legal department.

Benefits

25 days annual leave

Volunteering days

Mental Health support

Medical insurance

Flexible working

Performance bonus

Qualifications

• Minimum 6 months of Non-Contentious Construction experience in a Paralegal role.
• Some drafting experience of contract clauses.
• Familiarity with published forms such as JCT, NEC, RICS, RIBA.

Responsibilities

• Reviewing bespoke client appointment contracts.
• Negotiating and drafting appointment contracts.
• Liaising closely with project teams during contract formation.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Commercial understanding of the construction industry

Education

Strong academic background

Job description

Construction Paralegal

London, Oxford, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Reading, Cheltenham or Winchester

This is aPermanent,Full Timevacancythat will closein a monthat 23:59 BST.

Your opportunity

Ridge is currently seeking a Paralegal to join its Legal & Insurance Team, predominantly to provide contract support in relation to Ridge’s commercial agreements including professional service appointments.

The opportunity

This is a great opportunity for someone with construction industry experience who wants to establish a progressive career in the in-house legal department of a growing business. That person will be able to demonstrate a pragmatic, commercial approach to applying their legal training.

Role and Responsibilities

You will join a team of experienced lawyers who will offer support from day one. Over time, your role and responsibilities will include the following:

• Reviewing bespoke client appointment contracts
• Negotiating and drafting appointment contracts and their associated framework, collateral and downstream agreements
• Reviewing and negotiating NDAs
• Liaising closely with project teams during contract formation, ensuring compliance with internal protocols
• Collating and updating precedent clauses and documents
• Interpretation of Ridge’s insurance policies
• Contributing to internal know-how and best practice materials
• Contributing to internal legal features and bulletins
• Supporting business development in the legal sector for Ridge’s Expert Witness function

Experience and Skills Required

• Previous Non-Contentious Construction experience in a Paralegal role, minimum 6 months
• Consideration will be given to other legal backgrounds and/or the requisite skills and experience
• Some drafting experience of contract clauses
• Excellent attention to detail, and strong communication skills (written and verbal)
• Strong academic background
• Must be flexible, organised, and self-motivated team player who is able to work within the team to achieve common goals
• A commercial understanding of the construction industry

You will have experience of reviewing bespoke appointment contracts for professional services and be aware of the role of associated documents such as framework agreements, collateral warranties, letters of reliance, novation agreements, letters of intent, sub-contract / sub-consultant contracts, NDAs, and possess the awareness to consider all such documents in the context of relevant insurance provisions and the business’s commercial exposure.

You will be aware of published forms such as JCT, NEC, RICS, RIBA etc and have some familiarity with the Construction Act. You will have a basic understanding of regulatory compliance issues including Data Protection and Subject Access Requests.

You will have the ability to deal with a wide range of people across the business and the confidence to operate relatively autonomously in a highly commercial environment. If necessary, you will use your judgement to manage a workload in order according to commercial importance to the business and to meet multiple and often prompt deadlines. You will be keen to grow your in-house career and enjoy the opportunities that Ridge has to offer.

About us

We are Ridge, a Built Environment Consultancy. We help our clients transform the quality and sustainability of the built environment.

Our 1,000+ people bring a vast range of skills, delivering a professional mindset, gritty discipline and a genuine passion to every one of the thousands of projects they undertake each year. They’re the foundation of our success - they drive our vision, embody our values and separate us from the competition.

Come and join us if you’re hungry to be part of an exceptional team - if you put quality first - if you’re motivated by ingenuity and if you’re always aspiring to be the very best.

Your benefits

The benefits package we have put together for you supports every aspect of your life.

Annual
leave

A healthy holiday allowance that starts at 25 days pa, plus the option to buy, carry over or sell.

Community
spirit

You can take three volunteering days each year to spend time on causes close to your heart.

Mental
health

Mental Health First Aiders are here to support you, backed up by Unum’s Help@hand app.

Financial benefits

A path to peace of mind: life assurance, pension scheme and income protection.

Physical
wellbeing

Your health is a priority for us too, so we offer medical insurance, private GP access and discounted gym membership.

Flexible
working

Our flexible approach to hybrid working is there to suit you, your family and your team.

Career development

A pathway at Ridge that’s focused on your professional, personal or educational aspirations.

Extra
benefits

Performance bonus, car allowance and more based on your role - and progression.

We believe that everyone performs their best when they feel like they belong and can be their true selves at work. As an equal opportunities’ employer, we will support you to ensure you have everything you need to be successful and achieve your best in your career at Ridge. If you’d like to discuss accessibility, accommodations or adjustments during your application and selection process, please let us know and we will work with you to ensure you feel included and supported.

A polite note to Recruitment Agencies
We enjoy great relationships with our agency partners within our framework, and fully believe in the value of a blended approach to finding the best talent. However, we are recruiting for this role directly and aren’t seeking support from agency partners at this time – any unsolicited CV introductions won’t be honoured, and we won’t grant candidate ownerships on any introduction that you make for roles that haven’t been briefed and released to you by our Talent Acquisition team.