Paralegal Team Leader, Disputes - Leeds or Manchester

Addleshaw Goddard LLP; Leeds; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Addleshaw Goddard LLP is seeking a Team Leader for the Disputes sub-team, based in Leeds or Manchester with occasional travel to other UK offices. The role focuses on operational support and strategic growth, including line management of Apprentices, Paralegals and Senior Paralegals, and developing new business opportunities.

The role requires experience in disputes or supervision, excellent communication, and strong people-management skills.

Qualifications

• Experience in disputes work or supervisory leadership is essential.
• Strong record of managing and mentoring teams to deliver results.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage complex and changing workloads flexibly and efficiently.
• Demonstrated team-oriented approach and stakeholder collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Allocate resources and manage team capacity to meet client instructions.
• Ensure delivery quality and contribute to training and development.
• Develop and maintain QA processes for work within and outside the team.
• Define and manage significant fee-earning projects and act as a key contact for stakeholders.
• Lead Apprentices, Paralegals and Senior Paralegals; manage workloads and performance.
• Support recruitment, run team meetings, deliver ad hoc training, and deputise for the Senior Manager.
• Promote new business opportunities and contribute to team development and growth.

Skills

Team leadership

Disputes knowledge

Communication skills

People management

Flexible workload management

Job description

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

theTeam Leader is extremely varied and includes providing comprehensive operational support and contributing to the strategic growth of the Disputes sub-team. Each line manager has responsibility for a defined group of Paralegals or Apprentices aligned to the Disputes Group.

The Team Leader role has a focus on the Disputes sub-team but will also have some wider responsibilities within the TST. This role can be based in Leeds or Manchester, with occasional travel to the other UK offices, as required.

THETEAM

Launched in 2010,our well-established, high performing and busy Transaction Services Team (TST) help Addleshaw Goddard deliver a world class service to its clients. We were the first team of its kind in the UK and continue to innovate by delivering work in the most efficient way, saving our clients time and money, with our team being made up of Apprentices, Paralegals, Managers and Solicitors.

Our Paralegals and Apprentices focus on tasks that are found in a wide variety of legal assignments, but which do not necessarily need to be done by qualified lawyers, including process elements of transactional, advisory and contentious work. We use technology to deliver our work, which plays a key role in enabling Addleshaw Goddard to respond to client demand for more innovative and better value services. Innovation is key to how the Firm has evolved and adapted, and we aim to adopt a growth mindset in approaching tasks

Aside from a competitive salary and flexible benefits package, we have a focus on continuous development and progression, having created a career development framework and training programme specifically for the managers in the TST. As part of that framework, you'll have the opportunity to have a career conversation every 6 months to ensure we're supporting you to meet your development goals and to discuss your progression.

DUTIES

The following list of duties is not exhaustive but gives a flavour of what theTeam Leader might undertake:

Work Allocation and Operational Management

• working closely with the Group to allocate appropriate resource to client instructions and manage team capacity'
• responsible for efficient delivery and quality of work including training and development
• helping develop and maintain quality assurance processes for all work in and out of the TST
• scoping, defining and managing significant fee earning projects undertaken by the TST and acting as a key contact point for relevant stakeholders
• undertaking daily and weekly tasks and reporting relating to the operation of the wider Disputes sub-team

Line Management

• leading a team of Apprentices, Paralegals and Senior Paralegals.
• taking responsibility for individual paralegal and team development plans and proactively managing individual and team workloads and capacity
• managing the performance of the team, providing coaching and regular feedback, and carrying out regular career check-ins (either directly or through the Assistant Team Leader(s)) to develop, encourage and motivate those within their team
• working with the Leadership Team to provide a consistent approach to performance management issues and to ensure the resourcing needs of the whole team are considered

Team Growth

• responsibility for developing their aligned groups, including engaging with relevant fee earners and partners to promote the TST and proactively identifying and promoting new business opportunities
• working with Lawyers, Paralegals and Apprentices to identify work for the sub-team
• Proactively promoting new business opportunities to internal and external clients
• Contributing to the development of the sub-team and the wider TST
• analysing the way the team undertakes work, from initial enquiry through to delivery to find more effective ways of working through the better use of people, process and/or technology

Supporting the Senior Manager

• Assisting in the recruitment process
• Running team meetings
• Delivering ad hoc training
• Deputising for the Senior Manager

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED (BESPOKE TO ROLE)

• Applicants must have experience in at least one of the below areas:
• Disputes legal work, or
• Supervision or people management.
• Experience of defining work processes and "best practice" approaches is desirable but not essential.
• The skills to manage and motivate a team of high performing individuals.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• A clear ability to manage complex and changing work-loads flexibly and efficiently.
• A strong team orientation

OUR FIRM

Our story of international growth is built on a performance mindset, innovation and true collaboration. We believe results follow relationships, so we work closely with each other, and develop deep client connections to deliver.

Our award-winning culture balances high standards and hard work with genuine care – looking out for each other, supporting professional development, in a down to earth and inclusive environment. We do the right things in the right ways, combining commercial excellence and innovative thinking with teamwork. Together, we deliver excellence, achieve stand out solutions, and enable career-defining opportunities.