Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist - (2-Year Fixed-Term Apprenticeship)

Role summary/purpose of job As an Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist, you will be part of the Freshfields Hub team in Manchester. This team is made up of Legal Solutions Specialists, Legal Solutions Managers, Data Analysts and Hub Associates. There will be exposure to a wide variety of transactions and legal areas throughout your apprenticeship. Opportunities may also develop for short term secondments within the Global Centre.

You will be supervised by our Operations Manager and work as part of a supported and motivated team. You will be involved in the following areas: Working as part of the Hub team to provide varied legal services to global fee earners; Undertaking regular training across multiple areas of legal services and solutions; Developing skills with artificial intelligence, legal technology, data handling and data processing; Developing written and oral communication skills with a variety of stakeholders across the business; and Assisting with continuous improvement.

You can also participate in Freshfields Responsible Business activities such as supporting local charity initiatives, engaging with external audiences to talk about paralegal apprenticeships in Freshfields, and joining one of our many global diversity and inclusivity networks. Key responsibilities and deliverables The Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist will contribute to an inclusive working environment where all colleagues are treated with fairness and respect, applying the ‘Being Freshfields’ principles at all times.

The Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist will contribute to the Hub’s culture of quality, striving for excellence in standard of output and being a positive role model within the team. The Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist will work as part of a team carrying out a range of tasks to support our global client needs. Core operational tasks to support client mandates include, but are not limited to: Due Diligence contract reviews; Document review for an investigation or at the disclosure stage of a litigation; Document cross-checking, making document amendments; Proofreading of documents including contracts, agreements and transcripts; Document collation, version control and document review; Database entry/coding, database searching and database maintenance; Hard copy document management; Legal research (manual or electronic); and Creating and populating tables, schedules and agendas.

Bundle preparation (e.g. witness bundles and trial bundles) includes document searches to identify which documents are to be included in a bundle, bulk printing, arranging photocopying, copy-checking, indexing, file preparation and collation. If documents are stored electronically, it may also include database tagging and/or searching; This work will be carried out following established processes and using workflow and work allocation systems as required.

The Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist will maintain a daily log of all activity and a record of time spent. They will establish and maintain effective working relationships with all levels of Freshfields staff. They will identify and escalate issues in a timely and effective manner. The Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist will be expected to take an active role in their apprenticeship development by building a strong understanding of the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs) that underpin the academic programme and recognising how these relate to their day-to-day responsibilities.

With the support of the Operations Manager, they will proactively identify opportunities to apply academic learning in the workplace, reflect on practical experiences to strengthen their understanding, and gather evidence of competence to support the successful completion of the apprenticeship and achievement of programme outcomes. The Apprentice Legal Solutions Specialist will be expected to be proactive in the acquisition of skills using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and in the use of AI wherever reasonabl