Legal Assistant

Overview
We are looking for someone to come and join our Legal and Compliance team, which works closely with the business and provides advice and assistance on a range of matters. Whilst this role will be focused on advising on operational aspects of the business' lending activities, it will also include working on matters relating to commercial law, data protection, property and litigation. It is a highly visible role within the business and you will have the opportunity to work with a wide range of different business stakeholders.

Key responsibilities

• Populating and amending standard lending documents to reflect client circumstances.
• Working with the Group General Counsel and Legal Counsel on other commercial matters as needed and assisting with maintaining product templates.
• Assisting with litigation when needed.
• Liaising with external professional advisers (including legal and insolvency practitioners).
• Working on projects as needed in connection with the wider business and the Legal and Compliance team objectives.
• Collaborate with other members of the Legal and Compliance team to deliver training to the wider business.
• Taking part in training programs to enhance your knowledge of the industry and your legal knowledge.

WHY US?
This is a great opportunity to learn new things and get high quality experience of working in an in-house legal function and a lending business.

The Legal and Compliance team helps to manage legal risk for every area of the business. Although we are a small team, we are highly visible to our colleagues and collaborate with teams from all areas of the business to help deliver the funding our customers need – whether that be working with the Sales team, the Underwriting team, Risk and Recoveries or the Relationship Management team and many others. You will have the chance to showcase your skills on a regular basis and build your own relationship with them.

You will also learn about every aspect of what we do along the way – not just from a legal perspective. Everyone shares responsibility for making our team and the business a success. We encourage people to step out of their normal role and responsibilities and take part in wider strategic projects that go beyond just the process within our team. You will also have the opportunity to involve yourself in business wide initiatives such as our CSR Give a Day or Mental Health and Wellbeing initiatives.

Characteristics & Behaviours

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?:
Curiosity and willingness to learn – Attention to detail – Strong communicator
Maybe you are already working in a law firm or other in house team. Perhaps, you are currently working in a role within a lending business where you are used to understanding and assessing legal risk. Either way, the most important things are a willingness to learn along with the ability to embrace the wide variety of work that will come your way. We are looking for someone who will relish the challenge of a changing environment and a broad range of legal topics.
Curiosity
about what we do and how we do it is vital, and a key part of our learning process which helps us to be better partners with the business.

We advise the business on a variety of issues and our advice plays an integral part in every day business decisions. As you get to know the business, you will appreciate that we all look out for each other and therefore
attention to detail
and helping to spot if something doesn't look right or if you think something has been missed, is important. You will need to be happy to speak up, raise the issue and then help work with others to find a solution.

You will also need to be a
strong communicator
– building solid relationships with every part of the business we work with is key to the team's success. It is also really important that you can help the business make the decisions it needs to, by being able to explain technical points in away that means people understand what they need to do and why.

The days can be very fast moving, so the ability to stay calm under pressure whilst maintaining your focus and priorities is essential. We also want people to challenge our way of thinking and we are continually looking to improve what we do and how we do it – if you want to contribute to a positive work environment and are confident coming up with ideas and solutions to challenges, then you will feel at home in our team.

Location wise, we need someone who is able to get to either our Bristol or Edinburgh office at least twice a week.