AddressWe have an opportunity for an Advisory Paralegal in HMRCs Solicitors Office and Legal Services (SOLS). SOLS is an integral part of HMRC. It is headed by the General Counsel and Solicitor, Alan Evans, and includes approximately 350 lawyers who advise on legal issues arising from HMRCs policy and operational work and who conduct the Departments litigation.
Our legal work is high quality and covers a broad range of subjects. In addition to tax, our legal work covers general public law issues for HMRC, including human rights, administrative law, data protection, freedom of information, in addition to criminal law, benefits and credits, international law, commercial law and ratings & valuations.
Our lawyers work in specialist teams handling specific areas of work. Each team tends to focus on either advisory work or litigation and the opportunities available in this trawl are for advisory work in one of the teams within our Business Tax & International Advisory Directorate (SOLS B). SOLS B has legal teams which advise on European and International Law, VAT & Environmental Taxes, Corporation Tax, Trading and Property Income, Capital Allowances, Stamps, Statutory Instruments, HMRCs Constitution & Functions and other Cross-cutting issues, Ratings & Valuations, Information Law, Customs and Excise including the Windsor Framework.
Our paralegals are an integral source of support for our lawyers. If you are successful you can expect to work on any of the following:
Research - Conduct thorough and accurate legal research to assist on a wide range of advisory work, including identifying relevant primary and secondary legislation, treaties and conventions; checking for any updates or amendments to such legislation and international agreements; researching relevant case law, precedents and discrete legal questions and preparing appropriate research briefings for lawyers.
Primary Legislation - Assist with and co-ordinating Parliamentary Bill work, including collating documents for lawyers to attend parliamentary debates; research for/input into instructions to Parliamentary Counsel; overseeing Bill timetable and related documents; where appropriate, initial reviews of Tax Information & Impact Notes, Explanatory Notes etc; preparing keeling schedules.
Secondary Legislation - Assist with work on secondary legislation, including assisting lawyers with Lawmaker (the statutory instrument template) and validation as appropriate; checking/drafting footnotes; being a further pair of eyes on final drafts; preparing keeling schedules and maintaining monthly list of statutory instruments in order to pro-actively offer help to lawyers; if appropriate drafting simple statutory instruments under supervision.
Administration - Complete various administrative tasks, including arranging/co-ordinating/chairing (where appropriate) meetings, drafting agendas, taking and circulating notes, managing calendars and scheduling appointments; helping with legal teams management information e.g. keeping team case lists up to date, maintaining digital case files, tracking deadlines, assisting in compiling team reports; co-ordination of data on Counsels fees expenditure and forecasting.
Knowledge Management - Input into, co-ordinate and monitor knowledge management, including assisting with disseminating know-how, uploading material onto SOLS' knowledge management databases; managing teams KM site; reporting of work and client training; and, where appropriate, drafting and/or updating practice notes.
Client care - Communicate professionally with clients to gather information, provide progress updates on case/advice, and respond to inquiries while maintaining confidentiality. Participate as required in client meetings and assist lawyers in communicating advice, strategies, and recommendations.
International litigation - Depending on experience, assist with/lead the co-ordination of international litigation (including any relevant transitional CJEU litigation): working closely with other SOLS/international litigation co-ordinators; extract and precis relevant issues to inform lawyers and assist clients in deciding whether to get involved; liaising with clients about involvement; liaising with other relevant stakeholders (SOLS colleagues including litigation support and relevant Government Legal Department teams).
Instructing Counsel - Supporting the preparation of Instructions to Counsel including drafting elements of the brief where appropriate e.g. introduction, chronologies etc; liaising with support teams if necessary, preparing enclosures to the brief and liaising with Counsels chambers.
Other - Other work as appropriate, for example: producing summaries of legal advice/statutory provisions; proofreading; taking notes at conferences with counsel etc; drafting/reviewing/organizing advisory documents, including tax opinions, reports, and recommendations, ensuring they meet the highest professional standards.
We are looking for intellectually capable, highly motivated self-starting people with excellent oral and written communication skills.
You need:
- a legal qualification and strong legal research skills, ideally with a good working knowledge of legal databases such as LexisNexis and Westlaw;
- to have strong written and verbal communication skills;
- to be very well organised and able to manage a busy and varied workload;
- to be proactive, flexible and maintain a professional manner in your dealing with colleagues, clients and wider stakeholders;
- to have the ability to work both independently and collaboratively;
- to be discrete and handle confidential information appropriately;
- to give attention to detail and have strong analytical abilities;
- to be able and willing to do a number of routine admin tasks;
- to have excellent IT skills (MS O365 suite including Word/Excel/Outlook/Sharepoint); to have good self-awareness and a commitment to using feedback to learn and develop.
Our Values
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact your designated recruiter to request accommodation.
