Paralegal - Adult Social Care

Are you looking to build your legal career in a role where your work helps support vulnerable adults and the delivery of essential services?

We're seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Paralegal - Adult Social Care to join our Legal Services team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to develop their legal knowledge and practical experience while supporting lawyers working on a wide range of Adult Social Care matters.

Working as part of a supportive and collaborative team, you'll contribute to the delivery of high-quality legal services that help protect some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

Working closely with colleagues across a variety of services, you'll play an important role in ensuring the effective delivery of legal and enforcement functions that have a direct impact on our communities.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

We support hybrid working, it's important to us that working arrangements are designed to enable our employees to excel and within this role you'll have the opportunity to work in a way that suits your lifestyle.

About The Role:

As part of the Berkshire Joint Legal Team, you'll join a specialist shared legal service across Berkshire providing expert legal support across Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care, Education, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Working alongside experienced colleagues from a range of disciplines, you'll benefit from a collaborative environment, opportunities to share knowledge and expertise, and exposure to a diverse range of complex and rewarding work.

Working alongside lawyers and colleagues across Legal Services, you'll provide practical legal and administrative support, helping ensure that cases are managed efficiently and work is completed accurately and within agreed timescales.

You'll help maintain case files and records, assist with legal research and documentation, and support the team in managing its workload. You'll need to be organised, communicate effectively and handle confidential information with care and professionalism.

Your responsibilities will include:

Supporting lawyers with the day-to-day management of adult social care legal matters.

Undertaking legal research and preparing relevant documents and correspondence.

Assisting with the preparation and organisation of case files and supporting documentation.

Maintaining accurate records and ensuring information is stored and handled appropriately.

Liaising professionally with colleagues and relevant stakeholders to support the progress of cases.

Monitoring deadlines and helping ensure work is completed within agreed timescales.

Providing administrative and paralegal support to help the team deliver an efficient and responsive service.

Handling sensitive and confidential information in accordance with Council policies and data protection requirements.

Contributing to effective team working and improvements to systems and processes.

You'll be organised, methodical and able to manage competing priorities while maintaining a high level of accuracy. You'll have good written and verbal communication skills, strong attention to detail and the ability to handle information sensitively and confidentially.

You'll be comfortable working both independently and as part of a team, with a proactive approach to problem-solving and a willingness to learn. You'll also be able to build positive working relationships, respond professionally to queries and adapt to changing workloads.

An interest in adult social care law and experience in a legal support, paralegal or local authority environment would be beneficial. You'll be keen to develop your knowledge and contribute to the delivery of a high-quality legal service.

You will have:

A good standard of general education, including GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and Maths.

Previous experience within a legal environment or a strong interest in pursuing a legal career.

Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Strong organisational and time management skills.

The ability to prioritise competing demands and meet deadlines.

Excellent IT Skills e.g Word, PowerPoint, DocuSign and any other related legal case management system.

A positive, flexible and customer-focused approach.

The ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.

A commitment to learning, development and continuous improvement.

Experience in adult social care, particularly within a local authority or a similarly complex environment, would be valuable for this role.