Experienced barrister seeks personal assistant

Gain exposure in employment, public and general commercial law

Philip Engelman is a practising barrister at Cloisters. He seeks a full-time personal assistant to support his professional activities. The role will probably be for a year.

The position is ideal for someone who has a keen interest in a legal career, before they commence their vocational training and/or pupillage/training contract.

Person description

Professional

Typing ability is essential, as you will have to take notes of court proceedings and conferences with clients, as well as dictation of opinions and pleadings. Familiarity with IT is also important, because the duties will include dealing with Microsoft Office, scanning of all documents and preparation of electronic bundles in PDF format.

It would be very useful if you have a UK driving licence and are over 25-years-old because of insurance conditions.

Ideally, you should live in London because of the need for early starts when going into chambers or court.

Administrative

You will be expected to undertake some administrative duties.

Personal

Philip Engelman is a wheelchair user and you will be required to help him travel to and from court, as well as support in transferring him to and from chairs and other personal assistance. Because of the personal nature of the help required, it is unlikely that this post will be suitable for a woman.

Good character

Because of the confidential nature of the material you will be dealing with, and in the light of Philip Engelman’s professional responsibilities, you will need to demonstrate that you are of impeccable good character. Furthermore, because Philip sits as a Recorder (part-time judge) it is a pre-requisite that you have no previous convictions. Good character and integrity of the highest standards are required.

Place and hours of work

A barrister’s work is unpredictable. It comprises advisory and drafting work (“paperwork”), the holding of conferences and attendance at court. It is not possible to predict the precise nature of the work, and thus the demands that will be placed upon you.

Generally speaking, unless required to be in chambers or at court, work will take place at Philip's home in London, Docklands.

The hours will generally be 9am–6pm, but you may be asked to start earlier if in court or conference. The successful candidate will start on 1 January 2019.

Pay

Payment will be made through Cloisters against invoice. Payment is at the rate of £12 per hour. You will be self-employed.

How to apply

Please send a CV and covering letter, preferably in PDF format, by email to: pe@cloisters.com

For further information, please visit the website: https://www.cloisters.com