Knowledge Development Lawyer
Department: Litigation Services and Dispute Resolution - Managed Legal Services - Project Management - Project Management - 3805
Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time
Location: Birmingham
Reporting To: David Houston
Description
Are you an experienced Real Estate Knowledge Development Lawyer/PSL, or a proactive and enthusiastic Real Estate lawyer looking for a new career move? Do you have a passion for adding real value through the generation and transfer of knowledge? Real Estate is one of the firm's largest groups, covering a wide range of matters including property development, investment property, joint ventures and landlord and tenant issues. As the Knowledge Development Lawyer, you will be an integral part of the real estate team working alongside related practice areas such as construction, planning and real estate litigation.
The successful candidate will be joining an established Knowledge function sitting within our Knowledge Management team where you will work closely with stakeholders across the Real Estate team to progress an effective knowledge-sharing culture. We are looking for someone to work full-time or part-time 3/4+ days a week.
The Real Estate Knowledge Development Lawyer will provide support to the team in these key areas.
What you will be doing:
Know-How Support and Development
* Working closely with and providing guidance to the Real Estate senior leadership team to develop practice and sector-specific knowledge;
* Keeping on top of all changes to legislation, procedure and case law that might affect the teams work for clients and disseminating these to the team through updates and training;
* Supporting the fee earners’ client work with technical legal knowhow, tactical advice and practical application of the law to their matter;
* Developing and keeping updated team know-how resources such as precedents and checklists (in respect of best practice and changes of law).
Business Development & Client Services
* Supporting and driving business development initiatives including the launch of products to market for clients;
* Liaising with fee earners and contributing as required to the production of articles, case studies, briefings, newsletters or other materials for circulation to clients or to be published;
* Keeping the team up to date on competitors’ offerings and assisting in research required by the team for client delivery and new client opportunities.
Internal Training
* Identifying training priorities and undertaking relevant training sessions with the team on changes to law, practice and precedents;
* Identifying and arranging internal and external speakers to deliver specialist training topics.
Innovation/Business Efficiency
* Identify business and client needs for legal technology or other tools to provide cost-effective solutions;
* Supporting standardisation of documents via precedents and clause banks playing a key role in the document automation of chosen precedents or tasks.
What you will need:
* Ideally, you would currently be a fee earner with at least 8+ years PQE at an equally reputable firm with a keen interest in transitioning into a Knowledge Lawyer/PSL role. Previous Knowledge Lawyer/PSL experience would be an advantage but not strictly necessary.
* Sound legal knowledge of the team's practice areas property development, investment property, joint ventures, landlord and tenant, residential conveyancing is essential, as is a solid understanding of and interest in knowledge management.
* The ability to digest, analyse and succinctly communicate complex issues with clarity to both internal and external clients.
* Commercial awareness and enthusiasm about business development.
* First class drafting and communication skills.
* Experience developing and delivering client and / or in-house training
* Highly IT literate, confident user of MS Office and legal and business information systems with experience of SharePoint or similar platforms.
* Interest in or experience of legal technology, including document automation, AI based tools (e.g. Luminance), e-signatures (e.g. Docusign) and extranet sites (e.g. HighQ Collaborate).
Key competencies you will need:
* The ability to respond promptly to requests for work including research, expertise, training materials and other information.
* To be highly organised, with sound judgment and attention to detail.
* To be self-initiating and take a pro-active approach towards projects; seek direction and advice as needed but also prepared to take ownership and progress tasks independently.
* The ability to communicate effectively and clearly in a multi-cultural environment.
* Credibility, and the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders.
* Confidence to work within virtual team setting.
* A strong understanding and ability to promote connections between other business units.
Benefits, Agile Working and Additional information
We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work. We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we’re keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it.
We have hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester, London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Southampton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Lincoln and Sheffield.
Want to find out more about our amazing benefits?
Additional information: Please be aware, for some vacancies, where we receive high numbers of applications we may need to bring the close date forward.
Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here.
Equal opportunities
Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
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