Forsters is a Central London-based law firm which delivers exceptional legal results to its clients who are principally from the real estate and private wealth sectors. Whatever our client’s objectives, we take a collaborative approach to find solutions tailored to the client’s specific needs. We believe our engaged and friendly manner, combined with the delivery of concise, clear and commercially led advice helps to build long lasting relationships with our clients. Forsters has 70 partners and over 500 members of staff.
Job Title
Knowledge Development Lawyer
Department
non-contentious Construction
Job Summary
We are recruiting for a Knowledge Development Lawyer to join our renowned Construction department. This is a new permanent and part-time position for someone who can commit to 3 or 4 days a week. You must have experience in non-contentious construction matters ideally from another top tier firm.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Knowledge Resources and Precedents
* Keeping a watching brief on developments in current law, best practice and market trends and creating appropriate and engaging knowledge materials to assist the Construction group in providing exceptional outcomes for clients.
* Establishing and managing a practice group Knowledge Hub platform (hosted on SharePoint), developing materials that are focused, relevant and stored in a methodical and consistent way to ensure they are easily accessible and shared with other practice groups as relevant.
* Assisting fee earners with technical legal and matter management queries and ensuring that the resulting know-how is captured and shared across the group.
* Developing a reputation as a go-to expert.
* Encouraging knowledge sharing to reduce duplication and improve consistency.
* Maintaining and updating the centralized precedent bank, including liaising with business support functions as to precedent management and security, identifying and reviewing appropriate external precedents for use and publicizing them to the groups and leading on the delivery of precedent automation, where appropriate.
* Drafting and updating checklists and other resources designed to mitigate risk and establish consistent processes and practices across the group.
* Liaising with Library and Information Services on resources and other library issues impacting the group.
Legal Training
* Chairing monthly know-how meetings for the group, establishing agenda, liaising with speakers, contributing as necessary.
* Design and delivery of structured training programmes tailored to different levels of qualification (and for support staff where relevant) to support their continuing professional development and ensure that we are applying consistently high standards. To include establishing ongoing programme designed to support the paralegal team within non-contentious Construction and contributing proactively to training programmes across the wider firm.
* Identifying and working with appropriate internal and external speakers for specialist training delivery, including liaising with other legal groups to deliver appropriate training as well as with professional services firms to ensure our fee earners have a deep understanding of the markets in which our clients operate and promote relationship building.
Legal Tech
* Proactively monitoring legal technology in the market, evaluating benefits as against cost, seeking out potential use cases to achieve efficiencies within the non-contentious Construction group and feeding back to Head of Knowledge and relevant partners.
Client and Business Development
* Liaising with BD&M in relation to the production of high quality knowledge-focused website and social media content of relevance to our clients.
* Proactively raising the external profile of knowledge at Forsters through attendance at, and participation in, relevant events and forums.
* Where required, liaising with the BD&M team on the preparation of client materials and directory submissions.
Firmwide Knowledge Sharing and Managing Risk
* Working together with the Head of Knowledge and other KDLs within the firm to ensure a consistent approach being taken across practice areas.
* Regularly attending, actively participating in and promoting the work of the firmwide Knowledge & Learning Forum.
* Liaising with Risk & Compliance in relation to SRA requirements and other matters requiring escalation/firmwide policy review.
* Assisting with firmwide knowledge and innovation projects as required.
* Supporting diversity and inclusion, CSR and pro bono activities.
Other
* Collecting regular feedback on knowledge function to inform future projects.
* Assisting with onboarding of new joiners and trainees and in the graduate recruitment process as required.
* Structuring time and priorities in accordance with the Construction group’s business plan and providing input into it.
Personal Attributes and Skills
* Experienced lawyer with strong sense of commerciality alongside technical excellence.
* Clear understanding of how a law firm operates as a business.
* Focused on delivery of high quality service to colleagues and clients alike.
* Confident presenter with ability to think creatively to maximise audience engagement.
* Strong problem-solving, project management, risk management and mitigation skills.
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with people at all levels of seniority.
* Self-motivated individual with a proactive approach.
* Calm and efficient under pressure.
* Flexible as regards to time and duties.
* Good attention to detail and strong organisational skills.
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