Bevan Brittan is a UK-Top 100 commercial law firm
providing a comprehensive range of legal services from offices in
Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and London.
The firm advises businesses across construction, energy
& resource management, higher education and financial services,
complementing the firm's market leadership within housing, local
government and health & social care.
We currently employ over 600 people, including over 90
Partners, and our award-winning teams provide construction,
commercial, corporate, property, regulatory, employment and
litigation (commercial and clinical negligence) legal advice.
Bevan Brittan is named among 'The Times Best Law Firms
2023' and has recently either won or been shortlisted for a number
of prestigious awards.
We are driven by our 4 values: Relationships, Results,
Reputation and Responsible. These give us a sense of purpose and
ensure we always work collaboratively with clients and colleagues,
continually improve, make the right choices and act with integrity.
Bevan Brittan is an equal opportunities employer and
welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.
The team
Housing is one of our core markets and focus areas for
growth. The Bevan Brittan Housing Management team has experienced
significant growth over the last couple of years and is now one of
the largest housing management practices in the country. Our track
record of delivering high quality advice means that growth is set to
continue, with a number of major tender wins adding to an already
impressive list of clients based across the country.
We advise a considerable number of registered
providers, ranging from many of the top ten largest providers in the
country at one end of the spectrum to smaller, specialist providers
at the other and everything in between. We assist our clients to
tackle anti-social behaviour, tenancy fraud, unlawful occupation,
disrepair claims, access issues and rent arrears as well as
assisting them to manage changes to legislation and the
consequential effects that changes in government policy have on
their organisations.
Whilst the majority of our work is for housing
associations, we also increasingly provide housing management
services to a range of other types of organisation including local
authorities, care providers, the NHS, universities, charities, and
private landlords.
The role
We have an excellent opportunity for a full time
Paralegal to join our team. Some litigation legal experience would
be helpful but it not essential.
The role will involve supporting the Solicitors and
Partners within the team with their caseload, but will also offer
the opportunity to work independently on a number of varied tasks
and matters in appropriate cases. The clients you will be advising
will mostly be housing associations, local authorities and
specialist supported accommodation providers. Full support and
supervision will be provided.
The successful candidate will work very closely with
our dynamic and passionate team of Housing Management lawyers to
advance cases to court or to settlement. The work will be varied,
challenging and interesting, as well as providing the opportunity to
attend court, to see cases through from start to finish, and to get
involved in advisory work as well as litigation. Examples of the
types of work that the successful candidate will need to undertake
are as follows:-
Drafting notices in line with client instructions
Drafting County Court claims including possession
claims and injunction applications
Engaging with clients and witnesses and preparing
witness evidence for court
Attending client meetings and assisting colleagues to
provide advice on case strategy
Arranging service of documents on Defendants via
process servers
Liaising with Counsel, opponents and the Courts
Preparing trial bundle indexes and bundles
Arranging case conferences, witness meetings and
conferences with Counsel
The role will also include contact with clients to take
instructions and progress cases.
What we are looking for from you
The successful candidate will have the following attributes:-
A genuine interest in social housing and housing law
Competent in all IT applications, including Word,
Excel and Outlook
Strong attention to detail and a clear communication
style (both written and verbal)
Good time management skills and the ability to manage
and prioritise a range of tasks
Commitment to good customer service
Good empathy skills and the ability to deal with a
range of different personality types when working with clients and witnesses
Commitment to meeting or exceeding personal targets
Willing to listen and learn
Good team player with a willingness to assist colleagues
Self-motivated, enthusiastic, committed and approachable
Ability to remain calm and professional when under pressure
Work-life balance
Where possible, we want to offer all Bevan Brittan
people flexibility to work their week in a way that suits them - we
operate a hybrid working model based on the needs of our clients,
teams and that of the individual. Our core business hours are 9am -
5:15pm Monday to Friday, however we are open to individuals working
more flexibly around those times and would welcome a conversation
with you if you have any questions.
We offer a substantial benefits package to all
employees including:
A minimum of 25 days holiday (plus the option to buy
up to an additional 5 days)
Discretionary bonus scheme
Generous pension scheme
Private medical insurance through Vitality
Biennial private health assessment through Nuffield Health
Life assurance
Access to Employee Assistance Programme
Cycle to work scheme
Responsible business
To us, being a responsible business is second nature; a
core part of Bevan Brittan's identity, running through our culture
and embodied by the clients we serve. We want to demonstrate our
commitment to these causes through actions rather than words;
colleagues from across the firm are already heavily involved, living
and breathing the four pillars of our Responsible Business strategy:
Community Engagement -Each lawyer has the opportunity to undertake pro bono
legal work for local charities and not-for-profit organisations.
We also play an active role through our local office communities,
in 2022 we fundraised and donated a total of £80,000 to our four
regional office charities, with each charity receiving £20,000 to
help fund their vital services.
Environmental Sustainability- Bevan Brittan is proudly a carbon neutral firm. We
have achieved the UN's Climate Neutral Now accreditation and our
environmental sustainability plan is focused on achieving our net
zero carbon target.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion- We have a strong and vibrant diversity programme
that gives colleagues across the firm an opportunity to take part,
led by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee and
supported by our Ambassadors, who drive engagement in our strategy
and raise awareness across the firm.
Wellbeing -We are proud of our open culture, where colleagues
feel empowered to speak openly about physical and mental health
issues and to seek out support when needed. We have trained 21
colleagues across the firm as Mental Health First Aiders and
established a programme of initiatives including our informal
'coffee with' scheme.
Collectively, these four pillars ensure we look after
our colleagues' wellbeing; offer an environment in which all can
progress on merit, regardless of personal circumstances or
background; give something back to the communities in which we work;
and protect the environment.