Clinical Negligence Paralegal

Bevan Brittan is a UK-Top 100 commercial law firm providing a comprehensive range of legal services from offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds and London.

The firm advises businesses across construction, energy & resource management, higher education and financial services, complementing the firm's market leadership within housing, local government and health & social care.

We currently employ over 600 people, including over 91 Partners, and our award-winning teams provide construction, commercial, corporate, property, regulatory, employment and litigation (commercial and clinical negligence) legal advice.

Bevan Brittan is named among 'The Times Best Law Firms 2023' and has recently either won or been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards.

We are driven by our 4 values: Relationships, Results, Reputation and Responsible. These give us a sense of purpose and ensure we always work collaboratively with clients and colleagues, continually improve, make the right choices and act with integrity.

Bevan Brittan is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.

The team

Our Health and Care: Resolution team operates across England with four offices, offering advice and assistance to health and social care organisations across a broad range of issues including clinical negligence and human rights claims, inquests, Court of Protection and public law matters.

We are one of ten firms that act for NHS Resolution, putting us at the heart of claims and complaints brought against the NHS. Our clinical negligence team is highly regarded for its work acting on behalf of NHSR, NHS Trusts and primary care organisations in the defence of clinical negligence cases. In addition, we undertake healthcare and clinical negligence work for a range of private insurers.

The role

An opportunity has arisen for a paralegal to join our Health and Care: Resolution team. The role will involve providing efficient and pro-active paralegal support to a team of busy lawyers.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide assistance to solicitors undertaking pre-litigated and litigated matters
• Undertake pre-litigation investigation and advisory work
• Provide ad hoc legal services support to our clients
• Support the development of relationships with NHS Resolution/Insurer clients and Trust/Insured clients
• Liaise with Primary Care practitioners of various specialties and backgrounds

What we are looking for from you

The ideal candidate will have the following skills and experience:

• Previous paralegal experience, including managing litigated cases
• Familiarity with court processes
• Some prior clinical negligence experience / medical background would be advantageous
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills
• Highly organised individual with excellent time management skills and the ability to assimilate information quickly and present it succinctly
• A collegiate approach to team working and the ability to build and maintain successful relationships
• Pragmatic, common sense approach to tasks, and the confidence to think independently when necessary
• Good IT skills

Work-life balance

Where possible, we want to offer all Bevan Brittan people flexibility to work their week in a way that suits them - we operate a hybrid working model based on the needs of our clients, teams and that of the individual. Our core business hours are 9am - 5:15pm Monday to Friday, however we are open to individuals working more flexibly around those times and would welcome a conversation with you if you have any questions.

We offer a substantial benefits package to all employees including:

• A minimum of 25 days holiday (plus the option to buy up to an additional 5 days)
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Generous pension scheme
• Private medical insurance through Vitality
• Biennial private health assessment through Nuffield Health
• Life assurance
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to work scheme

Responsible business

To us, being a responsible business is second nature; a core part of Bevan Brittan's identity, running through our culture and embodied by the clients we serve. We want to demonstrate our commitment to these causes through actions rather than words; colleagues from across the firm are already heavily involved, living and breathing the four pillars of our Responsible Business strategy:

• Community Engagement - Each lawyer has the opportunity to undertake pro bono legal work for local charities and not-for-profit organisations. We also play an active role through our local office communities, in 2022 we fundraised and donated a total of £80,000 to our four regional office charities, with each charity receiving £20,000 to help fund their vital services.

• Environmental Sustainability - Bevan Brittan is proudly a carbon neutral firm. We have achieved the UN's Climate Neutral Now accreditation and our environmental sustainability plan is focused on achieving our net zero carbon target.

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion - We have a strong and vibrant diversity programme that gives colleagues across the firm an opportunity to take part, led by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee and supported by our Ambassadors, who drive engagement in our strategy and raise awareness across the firm.

• Wellbeing - We are proud of our open culture, where colleagues feel empowered to speak openly about physical and mental health issues and to seek out support when needed. We have trained 21 colleagues across the firm as Mental Health First Aiders and established a programme of initiatives including our informal 'coffee with' scheme.

Collectively, these four pillars ensure we look after our colleagues' wellbeing; offer an environment in which all can progress on merit, regardless of personal circumstances or background; give something back to the communities in which we work; and protect the environment.