Corporate Paralegal

We are seeking a Corporate Paralegal to join our Legal and Compliance team, which comprises seven people across Corporate Legal, Information Governance, Assurance and Bids. You will report to the Legal Counsel in the Corporate Legal team. This role can be based at either our London or Oxfordshire office and requires working on-site at least three days per week.

You will spend the majority of your time in the Corporate Legal Team. This is a small team of three lawyers that work across a wide range of areas, including:

• Global company secretarial
• Major corporate projects, including M&A, international expansion, investment cycle deal readiness
• Intellectual property management
• Data protection
• Property
• Global mobility
• Disputes and litigation

You will support the Corporate Legal team to deliver across all these areas. This will involve working closely with other teams in the company, such as Finance and Commercial, as well as external law firms advising on complex matters.

The Corporate Legal team experiences peaks of activity at different points of the year. While there is rarely a quiet moment in the team, there will likely be times when you will be asked to support other parts of the Legal and Compliance team. For example, working with our Assurance Lead in the preparation for an external audit, working with our Bids Team to project manage and prepare compelling bid responses in tight time frames or working with our Information Governance Manager on Data Protection Impact Assessments and Data Processing Agreements.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Matter management: supporting the Corporate Legal Team to prepare corporate documentation, proofreading, liaising with internal and external stakeholders, obtaining signatures and updating records.
• Strategic projects: be a key player in the delivery of major projects, for example gathering evidence for due diligence in an acquisition or a dispute, managing trackers and project plans, assisting with completion.
• Knowledge management: researching legal issues using appropriate tools and informing the team, as well as ensuring that knowledge we have gathered from projects is stored in our legal knowledge repository.
• Stakeholder engagement: working with the leadership teams in our consulting body and Head Office to deliver projects.
• Continuous improvement: identifying opportunities for process improvements and assisting in implementing changes.
• Support to other parts of the Legal and Compliance team: this could include preparatory work for an audit, preparing data protection documents and assisting with bid responses.

Commercial contracts sit in the Finance and Commercial team and therefore day to day contracting does not fall into the remit of Corporate Legal, although you are likely to work closely with the lawyers in the Finance and Commercial team on complex deals, for instance deals involving a novel digital offering or complex intellectual property arrangements.

To be successful in this role, you will need to:

• Have strong academics with a degree from a top University
• Have great attention to detail
• Have strong interpersonal skills and generally be a pleasure to work with
• Be able to work independently and on your own initiative when appropriate, though having good judgment on when to escalate
• Have excellent time management and organisational skills, particularly as you will often be working across several matters at once
• Be able to communicate complex concepts clearly and sufficintly to non-legal audiences, both in oral and written communication
• Be able to digest large amounts of information quickly

We will consider applications from law and non-law graduates. For non-law graduates, having completed the law conversion course already is highly desirable.

Prior legal experience is not required, although interest in working in an in-house legal team in the professional services sector is essential.

Newton maximises the potential of our people, whether in client-based consulting roles, or in head office functions. The prospects for career and personal development in this role are no exception. Our business continues to grow, through our historically effective organic recruitment model and in addition our recent acquisitions and commitment to international expansion. This business growth, alongside our continual striving to add more value from every function of the business creates significant opportunities for those with the right capabilities and attitudes.

Supporting you starts from day one. New joiners often highlight the Newton energy and support they first encounter in the recruitment process and that continues through into their time at Newton. Once in role, you’ll get support from several sources – from stretching projects, on-the-job feedback and developmental guidance from senior leaders. You’ll have a dedicated and consistent Development Manager to support your career progression. You’ll receive regular appraisals and annual pay reviews.

We offer a highly competitive salary (£34,000 - £39,000) and our generous benefits package includes Life Assurance, Income Protection, pension contributions and 25 days holiday (not including bank holidays). We also operate a profit share scheme so that our people share in the success of the business. The profit share bonus is based on company performance and typically paid out in March and September.

Joining us also brings many social benefits. We have a full social calendar with Spring activity days, Christmas events, a 2-day Summer event and 4 Newton-sponsored weekends a year.