Paralegal Team Manager

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The Legal Services Unit is CMS' centralised team of paralegals, currently numbering 100+ and continuing to grow. Due to growth in the team we are seeking additional LSU Managers to support the Partner head of the LSU and the Senior LSU Manager.

The focus of these roles will be a blend of day to day people management of the paralegals in the team, and ensuring effective delivery of all types of work undertaken by the team. You will be supported by a team of LSU Supervisors, who will report directly to you.

About us

CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 70 offices in over 40 countries and 5,000+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective. We are passionate about building strong relationships with our clients, our people, and the communities we work in.

We take a bold, dynamic, and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by technology and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of working. Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.

About the Role
In this role, you can expect to get involved in a variety of work including:

• Liaising with instructing fee earners to scope tasks and agree the budget and timing for completion;
• Allocating the work to the appropriate paralegal/s;
• Monitoring progress and overseeing all aspects of the work to ensure the work is delivered on time and is of the highest quality;
• Driving and developing service quality and implementing service levels:
• Team leadership and management - leading your own team of Supervisors and paralegals, including handling day to day people management issues such as wellbeing and performance; and assisting the Partner head of the LSU and Senior LSU Manager with all HR matters such as recruitment, career structure, reward, learning & development, and performance management for the team;
• Ultimate responsibility for the overall quality and delivery of work to the LSU's customers - and dealing with any issues or concerns;
• Assisting with the development and implementation of the LSU strategy;
• Overview of capacity and supply of LSU resource to manage and balance workload, including specifying and agreeing work with partners and lawyers;
• Ensuring utilisation of the team achieves or exceeds agreed targets;
• Promoting the services that the LSU can provide across the business and to clients, including, where required, taking an active part in pitches and tenders and development of bespoke workstreams using LSU resource to provide solutions to clients;
• Assisting the Partner head of the LSU and Senior LSU Manager with budgeting, resource planning and forecasting and management of utilisation and finances generally;
• Assisting with building, updating and delivering the LSU's annual budget.

About You

We will invest in your ongoing training and development to support your professional goals and help you to thrive in your role from day one. Our opportunities are open to all suitably qualified applicants, so to be considered for this role you must meet the following skills and experience:

• Well respected qualified solicitor (PQ3+; it would be an advantage to be dual qualified (Scotland and England & Wales) but not essential) or an experienced manager with well -developed management skills gained within a professional services environment and qualified to a degree level or equivalent;
• Experience of (i) managing and developing a team and (ii) implementing and improving processes including service levels would be beneficial;
• Excellent attention to detail, a customer service mindset and should be a completer-finisher;
• Good understanding of all practice areas and core activities and has credibility with staff at all levels;
• Ability to work highly effectively under pressure and experience of managing challenging and demanding situations;
• Ability to produce flexible solutions to meet the needs of clients and lawyers within the firm;
• Ability to communicate and promote the services of the LSU clearly and enthusiastically;
• Ability to enthuse and encourage the use of the LSU to clients, partners and staff;
• Ability to work with practice area leaders, partners and others (i.e. in Finance) to identify appropriate potential work for the LSU;
• Provide support and guidance to the team supervisors and team members more widely.
What's in it for you?

We want to reward you today and help you plan for tomorrow. We appreciate that everyone is different, therefore we have designed a benefits system that offers choice and flexibility based on individual needs and lifestyles. To name just a few, these include:

• Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)
• Flexible, hybrid working policy
• Generous bonus scheme
• Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)
• Holiday exchange scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Enhanced parental leave
• Reasonable adjustments and accommodation for disabled talent in accordance with the Equality Act 2010

If you would like to read more information regarding our range of benefits please visit our Rewards & Benefits page on our website.

Equal Opportunities

At CMS, we place diversity and inclusion at the centre of our culture and at the heart of our organisation. Not only does it make our firm a more rewarding place to work, but it also creates a stronger, more successful, and sustainable business where everyone feels comfortable and welcome.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, and we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities, whether visible or invisible. We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity as well as recruiting, retaining, and developing disabled talent at CMS. If you have a disability, or if you would like to discuss any accessibility requirements or adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact Ruth Kavanagh at TalentAcquisition@cms-cmno.com who will be happy to support you.

Ready to apply? Here are the next steps.

We look forward to receiving your application via our CMS Careers site. Please contact our Talent Acquisition team if you have any questions.

Please note that we have a preferred agency panel in place. Only applications submitted via the portal at the point of instruction will be accepted.

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