Placement Year Paralegal

Nash & Co Solicitors LLP; Plymouth; Hybrid; GBP 18,000 - 26,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

5 weeks holiday

Health cash back plan

Death in service benefit

Bonus scheme

Job summary

Nash & Co Solicitors LLP in Plymouth invites undergraduates to join a one-year Paralegal placement. You will work closely with partners on live matters, attend meetings, and gain hands-on experience in a top law firm.

The role offers structured support, exposure to multiple practice areas, and a clear path to develop practical legal skills. Successful applicants will have a strong academic record (2:1 in year one, predicted 2:1 in year two), excellent communication, teamwork, and a genuine

Qualifications

• Applicants should be current undergraduates with a 2:1 in their first year and a predicted 2:1 in their second year.
• Strong communication, teamwork, and enthusiasm for a legal career are essential.
• Keen interest in corporate, employment, property, or family law is valued.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with solicitors on live client matters and attend meetings.
• Assist with research to support ongoing cases and client matters.
• Develop practical understanding of how law is applied in a busy practice.

Skills

Excellent communication

Commercial awareness

Team collaboration

Willingness to learn

Education

2:1 in first year

Job description

Vacancy - Paralegal - Undergraduate Placement Year

Full time, Permanent, based in our Plymouth office

We are delighted to have opened our applications for a Paralegal undergraduate placement year student.

Are you ready to take your first significant step toward a successful career in law? At Nash & Co Solicitors, we’re offering an outstanding opportunity to gain real-world legal experience as a Paralegal through our Undergraduate Placement Scheme, starting on 1st September 2027.

This isn’t about shadowing from the sidelines. You’ll be a core part of our team, contributing to meaningful work, learning directly from experienced professionals, and gaining a genuine insight into life at a top law firm.

Closing deadline for the Placement role will be Wednesday 9th December 2026. Shortlisting will then take place with interviews scheduled for early 2026.

What You’ll Experience

During this one-year placement, you’ll become an integral member of one of our specialist teams. While the team you join will depend on our business needs at the time, we’ll aim to align your placement with your interests wherever possible. Our practice areas include:

Corporate and Commercial Law

Employment

Commercial Property and Development

Property and Commercial Litigation

Family Law

Private Wealth Services (Wills, Trusts, Tax Planning, and Probate)

Kaitlyn Roberts, was one of our Placement Students this year, working in our Private Client and Commercial property teams

No matter which team you join, your role will offer hands‑on experience and a genuine taste of legal practice. You’ll:

Collaborate with solicitors and partners on live client work

Attend meetings (and where appropriate, court proceedings), gaining invaluable insight into legal processes

Conduct research to support ongoing cases and client matters

Develop a solid understanding of how the law is applied to solve complex challenges

You’ll be working in a supportive, welcoming environment where your contributions will be valued, and your growth will be encouraged every step of the way.

More information about our Placement Year scheme

Kaitlyn spent the past year with us as a Paralegal. She spent 6 months with the Commercial Property team and another 6 months with our Private Client team, on her Placement Year from the University of Exeter. We recently sat down with Kaitlyn to find out how her year had gone.

Before you started your placement year at Nash & Co Solicitors, what did you expect the role to be like, and how has the reality compared?

Before starting the placement, I was unsure of what the role would involve, particularly how much time I would be working on active files doing legal work alongside experienced Solicitors.

The placement is structured in a way that you are employed as a Paralegal and are given the responsibilities associated with the role. From the beginning of my experience, I was working on current matters, attending client meetings and drafting legal documents.

What does a typical week look like for you, and what sort of work and responsibility have you been given?

In the Private Client department, a typical week involved attending client meetings varying from wills to estate administration to tax advice. I was also able to draft wills and letters of advice to clients, collate all information for estate administration files, and submit probate and Land Registry applications.

In the Commercial Property team, my week would include drafting and reviewing leases, liaising with clients over email, putting together sales pack, drafting or reviewing standard enquiries, and drafting reports on title for the client.

What was it like going from university into a law firm, and how were you supported while you found your feet?

Going from university into a law firm was quite a daunting transition as I had not worked in an office environment before, let alone a law firm, and so I didn’t have any experience to prepare me for what working in an office would be like.

I have been supported by both of my teams who helped the transition feel much easier, they were happy to teach and explain things through with me and were always available to answer any questions I might have.

What have you learned during your placement that you don't think you could have learned at university?

I have learned a lot of practical skills that we would not have been taught or exposed to at university. For example, how to communicate with clients, how to use the law firm’s case management system, understanding how transactions work from start to finish and what working in a law firm is like day-to-day.

These skills are so important for students who want to enter the legal sector to have yet are not touched upon during our studies. Having gained this practical experience will provide me with a more advantageous position in a future job by having these basic office skills behind me, combined with an understanding of how the law operates in reality.

Has the placement changed how you think about your future career in law or what you want to do after university?

I started my placement with a few areas of law that I was interested in, but I was open to trying different departments to help me understand which area I preferred. My time at Nash & Co has provided me with confidence that I want to pursue a career in law and it has given me clarity that I know which department I would like to continue in.

If a second-year Exeter student was considering applying for the placement at Nash & Co Solicitors, what would you tell them?

I would highly encourage them to apply for the placement because it is the best way to see if the firm and a career in law are the best suit for you before fully committing to something after graduation. It has provided me with a base layer of valuable experience which I will use for the rest of my career and enabled me to discover which area of law I want to pursue.

It doesn’t matter how much prior experience you have – I personally didn’t have any, but the firm were very supportive in teaching me everything I needed to know.

It is also important to know the interview process is not as daunting as you may think, it is more about getting to know about you as a person and whether you are good fit for the firm and vice versa.

Laura Farrell is spending the current year with us as this year’s Placement Year Paralegal. working with our Family team and our Corporate Employment team.

Who We’re Looking For

We’re seeking bright, proactive students with a genuine enthusiasm for pursuing a career in law.

To apply, you’ll need:

At least a 2:1 in your first year of study, and

At least a predicted 2:1 in your second year

We value excellent grades, but we’re also looking for qualities that will genuinely set you apart. If you’re hardworking, collaborative, and eager to make the most of this opportunity, we’d love to hear from you. The ideal candidates should demonstrate:

A positive attitude and an eagerness to embrace new challenges

A strong ability to work as part of a team

Commercial awareness and an understanding of the bigger picture in legal work

Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal

A commitment to providing exceptional client service

A sharp eye for detail and a methodical approach to tasks

Outstanding time management and organisational abilities

A genuine desire to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to the team

Why Choose Nash & Co Solicitors?

At Nash & Co, we’re passionate about investing in future talent. Our placement programme isn’t just about observing—it’s about giving you the tools, experiences, and support to develop the skills you’ll need for a successful legal career.

You’ll work on meaningful tasks alongside dedicated professionals, gaining an authentic understanding of what it takes to thrive in a dynamic law firm. With our guidance, you’ll leave your placement year with invaluable experience, stronger confidence, and a clearer sense of your future path in law.

Because of the nature of the job, and the opportunities to learn from lawyers throughout the year, the job is based here in our office in Plymouth. It’s not available for remote or hybrid work.

If you’re ready to take on real responsibility, immerse yourself in challenging work, and make a positive impact, this placement could be the perfect next step for you.

Salary & benefits

We offer a highly competitive salary, 5 weeks holiday per year, a health cash back plan, death in service benefit, and a healthy bonus scheme.

Outside of work, we organise various events for our people throughout the year and live and work in undoubtedly one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Plymouth is a lively city, and has recently been named in PwC’s report as the number one city in the UK to live.

It’s vitally important to usthatourpeople can maintain healthy and happy lives, both in and out of work; we have a number of resources andinitiativesdesigned tosupporthealth and well-being.

This really is a two-way relationship. Our clients benefit from your hard work, your expertise, commitment and experience. In return, you’ll be an important and valued member of the firm, and we’ll do whatever we can to make sure that you have access to the resources that both you and your family need to thrive.

You can find out more about the benefits of employment at Nash & Co Solicitors, by clicking here .

Our values

Everything that we do at Nash & Co Solicitors, is done with these values in mind.

Be Fair – we do not expect you to work ‘silly hours’, in fact we discourage it. In our view, work is part of our lives, not all of it.

Be Kind – we are committed to being kind to both clients and our people. This helps to create an environment where our people produce their best work, and our clients return time and again. We should always be supportive, compassionate and act thoughtfully.

Be Transparent – we should always be transparent about costs, timescales, and the work that we do for clients. We should be in regular contact with our clients, keeping things understandable and avoiding legal jargon wherever possible.

Be Honest – if something goes wrong, or circumstances change, we should always communicate this with our clients as soon as possible.

Be Brilliant – We should constantly challenge ourselves to be better, think bigger and work to find creative solutions to clients’ challenges.

Diversity and inclusion

At Nash & Co Solicitors, diversity and inclusion naturally underpins how we as a firm live our values and everything we do. We believe that everyone has a voice, and that everyone’s voice counts. We know that the rich diversity across our firm makes us stronger, more innovative and creative, which helps us to better serve our clients and communities. We are committed to providing an inclusive working environment and culture across our firm, where everyone can feel comfortable coming to work.

Diversity of perspective, thought, background and culture combine to make us the one of the top law firms in the area; and because of this, we actively seek to build balanced teams. We welcome the unique contribution that you will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

Our environmental and community commitments

We have a range of long‑term environmental commitments, particularly with ocean‑based charities and organisations - the Ocean Conservation Trust, the National Marine Aquarium, Surfers Against Sewage, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Plymouth is known as Britain’s Ocean City, and we want to do our bit to help look after the seas and rivers that surround us. We’re also running our own rewilding and tree planting scheme in our grounds and the adjacent public park, to encourage wildlife to thrive. You can find out more about our environmentalcommitments here .

Here at Nash & Co we have always believed in doing whatever we can to help and support our local community, and this will always be an important part of the firm. From buying Christmas presents for young carers across Plymouth to paying for our staff to enter half marathons, 10k and 5k events. From doing beach cleans and street cleans to cycling the equivalent of Plymouth to the South of France and organising bake sales and charity quizzes etc. Supporting our community is something that we’re all really passionate about and more than happy to do. Click here to find out more about the work that we do in the community .

Because of the nature of the job, we would need you to be in the office at all times. It’s particularly difficult to learn from senior lawyers, or others in your team, when you’re working from home and they’re in the office.

In the event that we make an offer to you, and where relevant, we may conduct pre‑engagement screening checks. These