Legal Assistant / Junior Paralegal

Clarke Willmott; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A reputable national law firm in Bristol is looking for a Legal Assistant/Junior Paralegal to join their Lifetime and Estate Planning team. The successful candidate will provide support to senior fee earners, assisting in tasks such as client communication, diary management, and document production. Preference will be given to candidates with prior experience in a legal setting. The firm promotes a positive work-life balance and offers opportunities for personal development and progression.

Benefits

Comprehensive learning and development program

Flexible benefits

Wellbeing initiatives

Qualifications

• Previous experience in a legal environment or administration role preferred.
• Genuine interest in the legal sector and providing key support.
• Ability to work proactively and support colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Act as the first point of contact for clients and intermediaries.
• Manage diaries and email for fee earners.
• Assist with document production including Wills and Trust documents.
• Handle routine administrative tasks and maintain filing systems.

Skills

Excellent task management

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Proactive attitude

Job description

About The Role

We are seeking a Legal Assistant/Junior Paralegal to join our Lifetime and Estate Planning team to provide proactive and professional support to senior fee earners within the team.

This role is open to both full time or part time applicants and based from our beautiful modern city centre office, which is close to shops, restaurants, car parks and public transport links.

Our well-regarded Private Capital team holds consistent top tier rankings in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners and our client base includes a high proportion of high and ultra‑high net worth clients with complex financial arrangements.

Day to day, you’ll be successful in this role by:

Our team advise private clients in relation to their Wills and estate planning. Our clients are both UK based and international often with significant wealth and complex family and financial situations.

Typically, we will advise clients in relation to their Wills, ensuring they are both tax efficient and protect the family wealth for future generations. This will often involve the creation of trusts, both in their lifetimes and through their Wills, preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney and advising them on structuring their wealth in a tax efficient way and planning for the succession of their assets to the next generations.

Your regular duties will include:

• Being the first point of contact for clients and intermediaries including taking messages, answering the phones, assisting with routine queries, arranging meetings etc. and gathering any background needed and ID documents ahead of the meetings.
• Diary and event management for the fee earners.
• Managing the inboxes and post of the fee earners.
• Liaising with our billing team on the issue of invoices and ensuring they are despatched to clients promptly.
• Document production, including some audio typing, including preparation of client appointment letters, engrossed Wills and Trust documents, probate bundles, finalising or amending draft documents and production of some standard documents with guidance from your fee earners.
• Opening, closing files and archiving documents.
• Prompt naming and saving of scanned post into the files and obtaining original documents from our remote postal hub.
• Scanning documents correspondence (including outgoing post) into our document management system.
• Keeping filing and e‑filing up to date and accessible.
• Arranging payments in from and out to clients, beneficiaries and third parties, and transfers between accounts.
• Carrying out routine searches for ID and bankruptcy checks and land registry titles.

You will also be involved in other administrative activities both for your fee earners and others as required, including helping other administrators and secretaries during busy periods, and to cover absences from work.

Full training will be given, and you will work with close supervision whilst your skills develop. There may be opportunity to progress within the team in the future.

It is an integral part of this role that you comply with information security and all firm policies and procedures.

This role is right for you if:

Ideally, you will have previous experience of working within a legal environment or administration role, preferably in a Private Client team. However, if you have a genuine interest in working within the legal sector providing key support to fee earners, co‑workers and an excellent client experience, we would very much like to hear from you.

You will have excellent task management and communication skills to meet the needs and priorities of the team and the expectations of our clients. You will be able to work as an integral part of the team and support colleagues at all levels whilst also being able to work to your own initiative.

This role will suit you if you like to prioritise your own workload, work closely to deadlines, and can work with minimum supervision and under pressure. You will need to demonstrate from experience that you are exceptionally organised and proactive, that you have a flexible ‘can‑do’ attitude, and that you have the skills to work closely with various stakeholders and have direct contact with clients. Your fee earners will rely on you to manage their diaries, task lists and flow of client work and you must be able to juggle the needs of multiple people whilst managing any incoming calls so you must be able to prioritise tasks, communicate well and be resilient in a demanding role.

You will enjoy being in the office throughout the week and interacting with colleagues in your team and the wider firm. Once you have settled in then there may be opportunities for you to work from home some of the time once or twice a week, provided the responsibilities that come with the role can be fulfilled.

About Us

Who we are

You’ll be joining a national law firm that enjoys a strong reputation, made possible by our exceptional people – each chosen for their industry knowledge and passion for their field. We want to help you to reach your full potential, love the work you do and deliver the best results for your clients. It’s our goal to make you feel great about working with us, and we work hard to cultivate a culture that makes it easy for you to stay with us for many years.

Our Private Capital team is a highly skilled, multi‑disciplinary group comprising solicitors, tax and trust specialists, Court of Protection experts, and paralegals. The Bristol Lifetime and Estate Planning team includes 4 partners and a consultant and is supported by 7 solicitors and staff. The Bristol Lifetime and Estate Planning team works particularly closely alongside the Bristol Probate team which includes 2 partners and is supported by 6 solicitors and staff. We form part of a broader firm‑wide team of over 50 lawyers, non‑lawyer specialists, and paralegals. Renowned across all regions in which we operate, the team possesses extensive expertise in family business and capital tax planning, international estate planning, elderly care, mental capacity and social welfare matters, and Court of Protection issues, alongside its comprehensive work in Wills and probate.

As a firm we are known for providing a supportive and positive place to work, with an open and collaborative culture.

What we can offer you

A career at Clarke Willmott will feel different to other law firms. We thrive on our individual differences and diversity because as a team, we are united by our shared values and mutual respect. Working with us you will feel empowered, valued and free to be yourself in a safe and supportive environment.

Our mission is to help you realise your full potential whilst maintaining a positive work‑life balance. We provide a comprehensive learning and development programme and a range of wellbeing initiatives to support your career journey.

There’s no doubt we expect the best from our people and even the occasional extra mile. In return, your dedication and commitment to the continued success of the firm will be rewarded with a comprehensive range of flexible benefits.