Paralegal - Residential Property

Description:

We are looking to recruit a Paralegal to be part of our in-house legal team focussing on housing and property matters.

Hyde is one of the UK’s leading and award-winning providers of affordable homes in London, the South-East and surrounding areas. We provide and manage 50,000 homes to over 100,000 customers. Our ethos is simple, by providing customers with a safe and decent home it allows them to realise their potential, enjoy their environment and contribute to their community.

Under supervision and learning support, you will carry out a paralegal caseload of matters for the Hyde Group, primarily a variety of claims and counterclaims in the context of housing property repair litigation, as well as broader matters such as property, development, investment, and corporate governance.

You will work as part of a team of six lawyers (specialising in property matters) within a wider legal department of 18 lawyers and legal professionals, ensuring quality legal practice and value for money for the Group.

You will assist the lawyers with appropriate elements of their cases, such as research and preparing documentation. You will carry out legal administrative tasks as allocated by the leadership of Hyde’s legal team, such as preparing trial bundles, arranging for the renewal of professional subscriptions and accreditations, invoicing and administrating the recharging of legal work.

Responsibilities

In each case under supervision from the lawyers in the Legal Team and under the direction of the line manager or other supervising lawyer:

* assist with the delivery of legal services to the Hyde Group (including where the group provides legal services to third parties as part of wider property management services) meet agreed KPIs and ensure value for money.

* assist as required with a variety of housing management, disrepair and other matters as allocated by the Senior Lawyer leading each team within the Legal Team and seek to achieve optimum outcomes for the Group.

* preparing advice to instructing clients on the merits or otherwise of housing and other claims and where appropriate, advice on quantum.

* supporting internal clients with transactions, drafting agreements for review, reviewing transactional documentation and matters.

* support client officers from internal Hyde teams to carry out appropriate legal case work, maximising capacity to retain legal cases in-house ensuring value for money without compromising case outcomes.

* support client officers to resolve claims without need for litigation (in appropriate cases), ensuring that litigation is the last resort.

* author and deliver appropriate training on legal principles, practice and ways of working to internal clients and wider teams within the Group.

Ancillary to the above carrying out legal administrative tasks such as preparing trial bundles, proof reading and amending documents, reviewing and creating schedules of documentation, arranging meetings with clients, taking attendance notes, arranging for the renewal of professional subscriptions and accreditation, coordinating the payment of invoices, administrating the recharging of legal work.

In collaboration with other members of the legal team and wider compliance and governance teams, ensure that all Group legal services have effective and innovative policies, procedures and systems covering all aspects of work.

Ensure these are operated properly in conjunction with the Risk Management frameworks, including Health and Safety, Data Protection and demonstrate effective controls and compliance with all statutory, regulatory and policy requirements relating to the management of the group.

Key Skills & Experience

* You must have experience in a legal administrative capacity in connection with the type of matters set out above.

* You must have experience in managing you own caseload under supervision and working to agreed levels of billing and time recording.

* An effective communicator, both orally and in writing, having a good command of written English.

* High level of commercial awareness and ability to adapt to changing needs of the business.

* Ability to work under pressure, conducting a high volume of cases against tight deadlines, with a strong delivery focus.

* Flexibility is required to meet the organisations business needs and deadlines.

* A collaborative and collegiate approach embracing the opportunity to coach and support other team members and work in a team.

Diversity and inclusion are integral to the Hyde Group, we strive to build and nurture a culture where inclusivity is the norm and not an initiative. Many of the greatest ideas and discoveries come from a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds and experiences, and we’re committed to cultivating an inclusive workplace which reflects our customer profile and where everyone is proud to be unique.

Hyde is a disability confident employer and we are here to support you with any reasonable adjustments that you need throughout the recruitment process.

We reserve the right to close this advert as soon as a suitable candidate has been identified