Pinsent Masons Vario boasts an award-winning paralegal resource within the Centre of Excellence (CoE) as part of our Managed Legal Services offering. The CoE, is home to a mixture of lawyers and paralegals who are employed by Pinsent Masons, but whom are available to work with clients and their legal teams in a manner tailored to them. Last year, the hard work of the paralegal aspect  was recognised at the National Paralegal Awards. We had individuals nominated for awards in the categories of Best Employment / HR Paralegal and Best IP Paralegal and we won the award for Best Firm for Paralegal Development.

We recently sat down with Doug Edwards, a Paralegal Team Lead within the CoE, to find out more about his experience working within our award-winning paralegal offering.

What does a typical day as a Paralegal Team Lead look like?

A typical day as a Paralegal Team Lead is both varied and rewarding. I balance my own paralegal work with managing and supporting my team.

As the first point of contact for work requests and allocation, I communicate with lawyers and paralegals to ensure that work is distributed effectively. As well as this, I do still also get to take a lead on exciting paralegal matters myself.

The CoE puts a strong focus on enabling Team Leads to both deliver complex paralegal work, and undertake management responsibilities, rather than forcing you to choose. Currently, I’m working on developing and coding a document automation app for a banking client, alongside another matter where I’m drafting a suite of collateral warranties on a construction matter.

Additionally, I supervise the work outputs of the paralegals and apprentices in my team, providing them with feedback and guidance to ensure we can deliver high quality outcomes for clients. I also hold weekly team meetings and lead performance review conversations with paralegals, where I focus on their development and career progression.

What advice would you give to someone considering to join Vario as a Paralegal?

As part of my role within the CoE, I have to interview paralegals looking to join our team, so I’d like to think that the following advice would help somebody in that position:

Do your research

Learn about the firm’s values, and how the CoE fits into that. Show your interest and enthusiasm for working at Pinsent Masons, and how you can help contribute to Vario’s success within the organisation.

Highlight your skills and experience

Be prepared to demonstrate with examples in your application and interview, why you have the necessary attributes to become a great member of the paralegal team. Having prior legal experience is great, but don’t let a lack of legal experience put you off.

From my experience, if you can evidence and communicate the core attributes of being a paralegal, then you’ll be a strong candidate. Time management, attention to detail and being a good team player are all things you can get from an office admin or retail background, so don’t panic if you’ve not worked in a legal environment before.

Be yourself

Be authentic and honest in during the interview process and show your personality, values, and motivations. If you do this while you explain why you want to join Vario and what your career aspirations are, you’re more likely to come across as confident.

What has been your most rewarding moment so far?

The most rewarding part of my role has been supporting the paralegals within my team and witnessing their growth as a result of this.

I’ve had the privilege of working with plenty of talented paralegals and seeing so many of them go on to achieve their career goals has been a real point of pride for me. You have to manage the support you provide to suit the individual’s own person goal, whether it’s securing a training contract, taking on more responsibility, or moving into a leadership role themselves.

I’m proud to be part of a firm that values and champions paralegals and provides them with the opportunities and framework to advance their paralegal careers.

What sets Vario apart from traditional law firms?

Some firms see paralegals as a stop-gap on the way to becoming a trainee solicitor, but Vario invest in their paralegals to provide them with a clear and rewarding career path. You can develop from an Apprentice to a Manager, and in my own role as a Team Lead, I’ve benefitted from a comprehensive management training programme. This was designed by Pinsent Masons’ own learning and development team and has equipped me with the skills to recruit, coach and mentor other paralegals.

Paralegals also develop legal knowledge and expertise within the CoE from the wide range of technical training courses, as well as from the guidance and supervision of a supportive lawyer team. You’re able to cross-skill within different practice areas and still take the lead on complex but common tasks by using playbooks as part of a “one best way” approach. This helps our paralegals to diversify their legal skillset and collaborate with the wider firm in ways not possible in some traditional law firms.

Vario also looks after their paralegals in a personal capacity as well as a professional one. We are committed to the Mindful Business Charter which promotes a healthy and positive work environment, where colleagues are respected and protected from burnout. The Paralegal Managers really buy into this and have provided all of the Team Leads with the guidance, feedback and support needed for all of us to develop our legal careers.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in becoming a member of Vario’s CoE, then get in touch to see if we can help further your legal career. Equally, if you think that our award-winning paralegal team can help your business and legal team, then contact us to find out more.

Pinsent Masons Vario also offers a flexible paralegal service in addition to the CoE. The first falls within our Flexible Services branch and provides high quality paralegals to clients in order to supplement their legal team on a short-term assignment basis. If you want to find out more, then please get in touch to discuss how we can help your business.