Paralegal/Secretary

Commercial Property and Residential Property, Bournemouth

Paris Smith LLP is one of the South’s leading law firms with a clear strategy and vision for the future. We are committed to ensuring that clients have a positive experience with the Firm, and to inspire our people to reach their full potential aligned to our values. We are based in offices in Southampton, Winchester and Bournemouth with 46 partners and employing 173 members of staff.

Recognised as an “outstanding Property team” and a leader in the South of England, our Property Lawyers have a well-earned reputation for providing sound and pragmatic legal advice across all Property matters.

The Role

We are looking for a talented Paralegal or an experienced Secretary looking to progress to a Paralegal position to join our Property team in Bournemouth and underpin one of our Property Partners, whilst also supporting one of our Residential Associates. This is a general Commercial and Residential Property role which will include secretarial and administrative support as required. The successful candidate will work for a range of clients including financial institutions, national businesses, private investors, developers, private landowners and private landlords, as well as private clients buying and selling residential properties, carrying out a range of high-quality work.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Reviewing initial instructions from clients;

•Carrying out initial communication (verbal and written) with all parties including clients, other side Solicitors, lenders, and brokers;

• Identifying early issues on instructions and advising on options available;

• Investigation of title, searches, planning position, enquiries and any ancillary documentation;

• Raising enquiries as appropriate of the borrower's solicitor;

• Drafting various Property documents; contracts, leases, transfer, security documents with supervision

• Dealing with hard copy documents and e documents by way of DocuSign,

• Dealing with transfer of funds and completion of other fee earner files.

• Preparing Reports of Title and Lease Reports;

• Carrying out pre completion searches and dealing with completion; and

• Attending to registration of the applicable documents with HMRC, Companies House and Land Registry (as applicable) within the relevant time periods

The Candidate

The key attributes for this role are:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal

• Highly organised

• Excellent attention to detail

• The ability to work well, sometimes under pressure, to tight deadlines

• A good team player

• Flexible and proactive approach

• Previous experience of dealing with Property transactions

• Good IT skills, particularly in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.)

• A desire to learn and develop