Corporate Paralegal

Allen & Overy; London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international law firm in London seeks a Paralegal to join their Corporate M&A Practice. The role involves supporting governance matters and requires strong writing and communication skills. Candidates should be self-motivated, detail-oriented, and ideally have LPC or SQE qualifications. This firm offers competitive benefits and a hybrid work environment.

Benefits

Occupational pension scheme

Private medical insurance

Onsite gym and wellbeing services

Qualifications

• Prior experience of working as a Paralegal or within a legal corporate department is an advantage.
• Hard working, enthusiastic, and a team player with a high level of initiative.
• Willingness to learn and interest in corporate governance.

Responsibilities

• Support AGM/annual reporting needs and governance matters.
• Assist with reviewing documentation and board papers.
• Manage document filing, indexing, and basic drafting.

Skills

Excellent writing skills

Strong research and organisational skills

Excellent attention to detail

Excellent communication skills

High level of computer literacy

Education

LPC or SQE qualifications

Job description

Social network you want to login/join with:

We are recruiting for a Paralegal to join our Corporate M&A Practice in London.

Department purpose
A&O Shearman advise across the broad spectrum of corporate work including public takeovers, private M&A, Private Equity, ECM, complex joint ventures, disposals and corporate restructurings, as well as general commercial, antitrust and corporate governance issues. We are a truly global adviser with an enviable geographic footprint. Our corporate team spans all of our offices and works seamlessly with a global community of relationship law firms. This platform provides our clients with the confidence that they will receive the highest quality advice in both their domestic markets and as they expand into new territories.

We are a leading adviser on strategic M&A transactions having advised on more than 1,380 deals worth over GBP817 billion in the last five years (source: Mergermarket). Our consistently high rankings in the corporate league tables highlight the strength of our practice. Cross-border work is where we excel and the majority of our transactions have a multi-jurisdictional focus. Strong teamwork and efficient working practices and uniform approaches enable us to manage cross-border deals effectively and seamlessly.


Role purpose
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Paralegal to join the London office’s Corporate department at Bishops Square. This role will support both our Governance team and, to the extent time allows, the Corporate Know-how team. The successful candidate will support our two Counsels with AGM/annual reporting and ongoing governance matters for approximately 30 FTSE clients. This will involve reviewing shareholder documentation, board papers and committee terms of reference and helping with BD plans for clients, including preparing for relationship meetings, and training sessions and events. This role will also provide additional support to the Corporate Know-how team and Knowledge Lawyers.
The successful candidate will be hard working, enthusiastic, and a team player with a high level of initiative, a willingness to learn and an interest in corporate governance. The role requires direct contact and involvement with A&O’s Corporate group, therefore excellent interpersonal, communication and writing skills are essential along with a high level of professionalism.

Role and responsibilities

Supporting on the AGM/annual reporting needs and governance matters

Assisting with reviewing documentation, board papers and committee terms of reference

Providing support with updating of articles of association

Document management including filing, indexing, and data entry, basic drafting and updating extranet documents

Collating information to assist with drafting/amending standard form precedents, practice notes and training materials

Carrying out research into technical legal issues and market practice information

Monitoring developments in relation to corporate law

Assisting with and responding to queries from fee-earners across the firm

Establishing, updating and/or maintaining the legal content of sector group intranets, extranet and client websites

Assisting with the preparation of, and writing articles for, the department’s internal legal update newsletters

Assisting with the administration of know-how system data bases

General paralegal duties and support

Key requirements

LPC or SQE qualifications are desirable

Prior experience of working as a Paralegal or working within a legal corporate department would be an advantage

Excellent writing skills

Strong research and organisational skills

Excellent attention to detail

Excellent communication, professionalism and interpersonal skills

Hard working, enthusiastic, team player

High level of initiative and a willingness to learn

High level of computer literacy, including appropriate use of AI tools

Proven ability to effectively manage a busy workload and cope under pressure

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing an onsite gym, wellbeing centre and GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, holiday entitlement increasing with length of service, holiday trading, season ticket loans and online discounts and lifestyle management services.

Our approach to hybrid working seeks to combine and maximise the benefits of effective remote working with the benefits of being in the office. Our current hybrid working arrangements require office based working for a minimum of 60% of your time (i.e. three days per week for a full time role) in accordance with our hybrid working policy.