Paralegal (Agricultural Real Estate Team - Non-qualifying Role) - Oxford

Role Overview We are seeking a diligent and organised Paralegal to support our agricultural property/real estate team. The successful candidate will play a key role in legal drafting, client liaison, title investigation and lease review, under the supervision of a solicitor or other supervising fee earner. This role would suit someone with strong analytical and organisational skills who can work independently within agreed limits while managing multiple deadlines.

N.B. This is a non-qualifying role, not a trainee solicitor position or an offer of a training contract. Administrative and post-completion work are excluded, including Land Registry applications and requisitions, file administration and billing. These tasks are allocated elsewhere.

Key Responsibilities

Review leases and prepare draft lease summaries, transaction documents and substantive correspondence using approved precedents, for review by a supervising fee earner Liaise directly with clients to gather information, provide updates, and respond to queries in a professional and timely manner Obtain and review title information and property search results, identify legal issues and draft enquiries and title summaries for review by a supervising fee earner Monitor substantive pre-completion legal deadlines and outstanding legal issues on allocated matters, and escalate concerns promptly to the supervising fee earner; routine diary administration is excluded Support fee earners with legal research, due diligence and the preparation of draft legal reports and advice for retail clients, within delegated authority and subject to supervising fee earner review Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory and procedural requirements throughout all tasks Assist with pre-completion legal readiness by checking the consistency and completeness of draft transaction documents and identifying outstanding legal requirements, without undertaking administrative completion arrangements or post-completion tasks Skills and Experience Required Ideally, proven experience in a paralegal or legal support role, ideally within property/real estate law Practical understanding of commercial leases and legal drafting; specific job training will be provided Ability to analyse legal documents, identify material issues and produce clear, accurate first drafts and summaries under supervision.

Ability to review title information and property search results and undertake focused legal research, with appropriate training and supervision. Strong organisational skills in managing substantive legal work and maintaining clear records of legal analysis and client instructions. Good legal research, analytical and organisational skills Strong time management skills with the ability to prioritise a varied workload High level of accuracy and attention to detail Confidence working with numerical provisions in leases, including rent and service charge figures, and identifying points requiring specialist input.

Ability to use initiative and progress allocated legal tasks within agreed parameters, recognising when to seek guidance or escalate an issue. Confident and professional communication skills, both written and verbal, for liaising with clients and internal teams Desirable Previous paralegal experience in commercial real estate.

Experience of agricultural property transactions and lease review Prior experience working with both external clients and in-house legal teams Experience of IT systems, document management software, and dataroom platforms Personal Attributes Self-motivated with a proactive approach to problem-solving Reliable and trustworthy when handling confidential client information Team player who can also work effectively without close supervision Calm and methodical under pressure, particularly when managing competing deadlines Smart.

Bold. Together. We Are Freeths. Become part of the team at Freeths. View some of our recent highlights on our website here . We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. If you require any adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will be happy to support you.