Senior Paralegal

Black Lives In Music; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent music industry organization in Greater London is looking for a full-time Paralegal to support their legal team. The role involves managing legal documents, conducting research, and assisting with administrative tasks. Ideal candidates will have paralegal experience and strong communication skills. Competitive salary ranging from £40,000 to £50,000 with flexible hybrid working conditions and generous benefits including private medical insurance and performance-related bonuses.

Benefits

Performance-related bonus

Private Medical Insurance

25 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Qualifications

• Experience as a paralegal with a proactive approach.
• Experience in intellectual property is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Manage diaries and organise meetings.
• Prepare and maintain legal documents and trackers.
• Conduct legal research and draft various legal documents.

Skills

Excellent written and oral communication skills

Attention to detail

Problem-solving skills

Ability to work under pressure

Experience using Adobe Acrobat tools

Legal research capabilities

Education

Experience in a law firm or in-house legal team

Experience in intellectual property

Tools

Adobe Acrobat

Microsoft 365

Job description

This is an exciting and demanding full-time paralegal role in the business side of the recorded music industry. The role is broad ranging and covers significant day-to-day administrative as well as legal duties. The successful applicant will report to one of the team’s Legal Advisors whilst working closely day-to-day with the five-person Legal team as they provide integrated legal services for the BPI’s interrelated Communications, Content Protection, Digital, Events, Finance, Innovation, Membership, Public Affairs and Research departments.

The BPI follows a hybrid work structure where employees can work remotely, or from our office (in the creative Tileyard hub, King’s Cross, London), based on task requirements or personal work preferences. We anticipate that you will work from our office at a minimum of approximately one day per fortnight. You may be asked to work more from our office during certain periods and you can choose to work from our office at any time you prefer.

BPI may assign you to work outside London at various locations where the BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize etc are to be held. Whilst the BPI strives to offer employees flexibility and a good work life balance, in the run-up to the awards shows, and at other intense periods such as litigation, you may be asked to work longer or unsociable hours to assist the Legal team in meeting deadlines.

Key Responsibilities

• Helping to manage diaries, organise meetings including preparing meeting papers, taking minutes and managing deadlines.
• Organising and maintaining digital and physical legal files and bundles, and other documents such as suppliers’ data and payment documents.
• Helping to manage contract signature process for agreements, including third party agreements, utilising Adobe e‑Sign and alternative methods (e.g. email) when required.
• Preparing and maintaining document trackers.
• Gathering information and evidence for contentious matters.
• Conducting legal research and preparing concise internal notes.
• Drafting, reviewing, and finalising various legal documents, such as memos, reports, witness statements, and licence agreements and release forms.
• Assisting in copyright clearance.
• Checking Companies House’s registers for all companies of the BPI group.
• Performing general administrative tasks and providing overall assistance to the legal team.

Ideal Experience

• An established track record of working as a confident and proactive paralegal either in a law firm and/or with an in‑house legal team.
• Experience of working in the field of intellectual property would be desirable.

Key Skills

• A clear, diplomatic and articulate communicator, confident in ensuring you interpret instructions accurately and comfortable in being able to candidly advise and assist your legal colleagues.
• The ability to adapt and work inclusively with colleagues who have a wide range of expertise and working styles.
• The ability to work calmly, diplomatically and successfully to deadlines in high pressure situations where they occur, both on piecemeal and more substantive tasks.
• The ability to proactively anticipate and flag potential issues for solving with the wider Legal Team as you encounter them in your work.
• Professional written and oral communication skills, including the ability to draft legal documents, write reports, and communicate complex information clearly and accurately.
• Excellent self‑management able to manage busy workload and ability to multi‑task, prioritising and reliably managing effectively deadlines from different stakeholders in legal.
• Ability to absorb complex information, perform in-depth legal research, and find relevant precedents and legislation.
• Excellent attention to detail when analysing files, reviewing contracts, processing invoices, and maintaining accurate records and documentation.
• Problem‑solving skills and ability to react and adapt to changing priorities and new information in a dynamic legal environment.
• Experience using Adobe Acrobat tools and Microsoft 365 apps Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Sharepoint.

Salary and Benefits

• Salary of £40,000‑£50,000 per annum depending on experience.
• Performance‑related bonus.
• Three days of personal volunteering time per annum.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Permanent Health Insurance.
• Life insurance.
• A hybrid work environment with flexible working policies.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.

The BPI welcomes applications from suitably qualified candidates of all social backgrounds, including across all genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and those who identify as Deaf, disabled or from neurodiverse backgrounds.

The BPI is an equal opportunity employer and any decision to appoint will be made solely based on candidate merit and business need.

We actively encourage the best possible candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, race, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or political belief. We believe that representation matters, and we are passionate about developing a diverse workforce at all levels of the organisation. We warmly encourage applications from historically under‑represented groups, including but not limited to candidates from Black, Asian or ethnic minority backgrounds; members of the LGBTQIA+ community; people who identify as non‑binary or gender nonconforming; people with a disability; and people who are neurodivergent.

If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation during the process of application and selection, please do not hesitate to let us know when applying. Reasonable adjustments we can make include, but are not limited to, extra time during tasks, using a different video conferencing application, providing a British Sign Language interpreter or holding the interview at a specific time of day.

The BPI is proud to be a Disability Committed and Living Wage employer. The BPI is committed to offering an interview to Deaf and or disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job.

When you complete your job application form you will find a box at the bottom that says ‘Disability Confident Application’. Please tick this box if you identify as Deaf and/or disabled and would like your application to be considered as a part of our commitments under the Disability Confident scheme. If you have a requirement to apply for the role in another format, by video for example, please ensure that you advise us on your application form that you are submitting an application in an additional format and that you wish to be considered under the scheme. There may be occasions where it is not practicable to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job. In these circumstances we will limit the overall numbers of interviews offered and select the Deaf and/or disabled candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job, rather than all of those that meet the minimum criteria.