Paralegal - Banking

The role

We are recruiting a senior paralegal to join our Banking and Real Estate Finance team to assist with secured loan transactions for both borrowers and lenders, including investment and development financing and refinancing transactions. You will assist fee earners with transactions from inception, to completion and through to post completion. You will also have an opportunity to take on personal responsibility and manage your own caseload of transactions. The team consists of property lawyers undertaking property due diligence on financing transactions and banking lawyers dealing with a wide variety of transactional banking work including restructuring and insolvency transactions.

Role responsibility

• Opening files and client inception.
• Taking a proactive role in assisting fee earners in progressing large and complex banking transactions.
• Managing conditions precedent, liaising with the lender's or borrower's solicitor, offshore counsel and other members of the team and the wider Firm (e.g. Real Estate, Construction or Corporate teams).
• Assisting fee earners with preparation of loan and security documentation, preparing notices to banks, insurers, occupational tenants, process agent letters, officers' certificates, deeds of release, consents, waiver letters, board minutes, shareholder resolutions, reservation of rights letters  and ancillary documents thereto.
• Reviewing and amending constitutional documents and related formalities and ensuring compliance with filing requirements.
• Preparing standard form finance documents if based on a lenders or an in-house template form and preparing first drafts of longer more sophisticated loan and security documents.
• A keen interest in developing your marketing and business development skills.
• Contributing to know-how, including preparation/ review/ periodic updating of house style finance documents, regular attendance at LMA events and then sharing notes/ presenting on the subject matter to the wider BREF team.
• Overseeing and proactively managing/monitoring registration of security at Companies House and Land Registry applications by the post-completions team.
• Dealing with post completion matters, such as registration at public registered, creating bibles, dealing with client's particular post completion protocols and scheduling completed finance documents.
• Working fee earners to complete matters on time and within deadlines.
• Dealing with general enquiries from borrowers’ and lenders' solicitors.
• Contributing to the effectiveness of team workflow, including attending departmental and other appropriate briefings to assess current and future needs.
• Filing and file-keeping.
• Managing DocuSign sign-up process, preparing the necessary PG82 certifications as required.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate:

• Previous experience in a similar transactional banking paralegal role with experience across the tasks outlined above.
• Experience of completing Companies House and Land Registry forms and using relevant search systems.
• Excellent time management and organisational skills to enable efficient co-ordination of work.
• The ability to communicate with clients and others in a helpful and efficient manner, responding to client queries where appropriate.
• Proactivity in assisting the team, with the ability to take responsibility for projects.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• A pro-active and conscientious approach to work.
• Confidence in dealing with clients and other professionals on transactions.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work well within a team and establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues and clients at all levels
• An appreciation of risk management associated with Banking transactions.
• Proficient use of Office Suite software and DocuSign.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 25 days annual holiday
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Interest free Season Ticket Loan
• Private Healthcare
• Pension Scheme
• Staff Introductory Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme

About us

With almost 200 lawyers in one location, we ensure our clients have the right team to help them get from where they are to where they want to be. We advise major corporates and institutions as well as entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises which are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. As well as our significant business law capability, we are one of only a few London-based law firms with a large private wealth offering. Our clients find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.

Whether you are an ambitious and talented individual wanting to hit the ground running from day one, or an established professional looking for a new opportunity, Howard Kennedy is the firm where you can really make it happen.

We have earned a strong reputation for our exceptional and uniquely talented people who between them deliver outstanding results for clients. In a firm of our size, our strong team dynamic creates a thriving culture of creativity and entrepreneurialism. Howard Kennedy is a pragmatic and non-hierarchical environment where success is shared, and you are proactively encouraged to thrive at your own pace.

Our distinctive culture is built on fairness and respect. Guided by the firm’s values of talk straight, think smart and be yourself, everyone in the firm holds equal value, and everyone plays their role in supporting, encouraging and inspiring colleagues to do their best work.

At the same time, we recognise and reward individualism, celebrating the diversity of our people and supporting them to grow their practice and drive their own career advancement.

As well as client work, there is opportunity to broaden your horizons at the firm with fulfilling pro bono and charity projects. We have a regular social calendar full of wellbeing activities, charitable and social events too.