Experienced Paralegal or Solicitor, Social Housing

Role

Are you a conveyancer looking for a new challenge?

Forbes Solicitors are looking for Experienced Paralegal or Newly Qualified Solicitor to join theHousing and Regeneration (Property) team at our Walton Summit office in Preston. This is a full-time role working 36.25 hours per week, Monday to Friday within the home ownership sub-team of the Housing & Regeneration Property Department who act for Registered Providers of Housing across the country.

This is a great opportunity for a conveyancer or NQ Solicitor with experience in property to transition into a growing area of property law. If you have worked in property law previously, either as a residential, commercial or real estate legal assistant or paralegal, this role will be of interest to you.

The successful candidate will have residential property experience and training will be provided in specific Housing Property work types in which Forbes Housing Group have a particular sector presence. Whilst the role will be working to the fast-paced, client focussed and high standards of a law firm, the role will also provide a sustainable work-life balance.

The Role

The role will be responsible for delivering successful outcomes such as:

• Handling a varied case load of Property matters consisting of, effective and efficient chargeable (legal based) work that contributes to the delivery and completion of the full range of home ownership transactions for social housing clients (including shared ownership and open market plot sales, right to buy and right to acquire transactions, lease extensions, surrenders and re-sales of residential properties, property and land disposals) and auctions;
• Provision of written and verbal advice in non-contentious property matters;
• Communications with clients, and third parties to progress files;
• Supporting the Head of Department with the delivery of the departmental strategy and business objectives;
• Contributing to increasing the resilience of the team including development and training of other team members
• Ensuring compliance with internal and external business requirements including ISO:9001 quality control, SRA Principles / Code of Conduct, deadlines;
• Monitoring and reporting on own financial and business performance to deliver work in a profitable manner;
• Contributing towards internal continuous improvement, innovation and knowledge sharing;
• Inter-departmental support and collaboration on joint files, projects and events;
• Contributing to the development of the departmental business plan;
• Building positive relationships with current/prospective clients and enhancing the firm's profile, to drive business growth;
• Contributing to business development including training events, articles/newsletters, tenders and Chambers & Legal 500 submissions, etc.

The Person
If you are interested in this role specifically or just working at Forbes Solicitors, please do head to our website to learn more about us.

We are looking for someone who has previous experience as a residential conveyancer.

We will be progressing applicants to the next stage based on applications demonstrating the following knowledge, experience, and skills:

Essential

• be SRA or CILEx qualified or have demonstrable transactional experience as a Paralegal within social housing property/residential conveyancing;
• previous experience handling property/social housing sales and purchases;
• demonstrate excellent knowledge of property law;
• proven experience of handling own caseload, working to and managing deadlines, alongside the capability to generate fees in accordance with agreed targets;
• demonstrate excellent client care skills and experience in providing professional and competent legal advice in accordance with SRA Code of Conduct;
• have proven competence in their IT skills (Outlook, Word, and other systems experience);
• have the ability to work as part of a team;
• align with the Firm's values;
• ability to manage their own caseload to meet tight deadlines;
• have excellent attention to detail and organisational skills;
• have good communication skills, both written and verbal

Desirable

• previous experience working directly with Housing Associations and within a Home Ownership team.

The Firm

At Forbes Solicitors, we believe in creating a supportive and collaborative environment where our team members can thrive and develop themselves and each other. We offer a comprehensive range of legal services and have offices across the North, with deep roots in Lancashire. Our team are known for its genuine, practical advice and passion for achieving the best results. We are real people who listen to each other and work together to deliver exceptional service.

We are proud to have been awarded UK Employer of the Year: Silver (250+) at the Investors in People Awards 2024 and the Firm is ranked as a Legal 500 Top Tier Firm with Tier One ranking in Social Housing and a Chambers and Partners Leading Firm.

We are a values led Firm and are looking for people who embody our values: authenticity, striving for exceptional results, and unity in teamwork to join our award-winning Firm.

The Benefits

We are dedicated to supporting our people and offer a range of benefits, including:

• 33 days annual leave, including bank holidays, increasing with length of service;
• Annual leave purchase scheme (Subject to T&Cs)
• Enhanced family friendly policies and pay for Maternity, Paternity and Adoption;
• Enhanced sick pay;
• Celebration and Volunteer leave;
• Ongoing professional development and progression opportunities;
• Profit share scheme;
• Additional long service awards;
• Subsidised tuck shops;
• Staff discount on Firm services;
• Health care benefits (Health Cash Back Plan and Mental Health Counselling Services);
• BUPA (Solicitor positions only, for self, not dependents);
• Retail and gym membership discounts
• Recruitment and legal department referrals (Subject to T&Cs)
• Annual Events;

Forbes is an Equal Opportunities and Disability Confident employer, accredited to Investors in People and ISO 9001 Quality Management certified. We support the principle of equal opportunities in relation to any opportunities which we might provide through the engagement of employees; the provision of services to clients; and the appointment and engagement of suppliers. We are committed, wherever practicable, to maintaining a workforce which broadly reflects the local community in which we operate.

We kindly remind all recruitment agencies to respect our policy which prohibits the acceptance of speculative CVs, and not submit candidates for a role that we advertise, unless explicitly instructed to do so. Any candidates that are submitted on a speculative basis will not be considered an introduction. Our dedication to this process is part of our commitment to equal opportunities for all applicants.