Paralegal Assistant - Regional Areas

The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for delivering justice through the independent and effective prosecution of crime. As the principal prosecuting authority across England and Wales, our work is often emotionally challenging and complex. As such we employ over 7,000 individuals who think objectively, act professionally, show the upmost respect for others and continually strive for excellence.

We are looking for individuals who are committed to public service, making a difference in peoples lives and delivering justice. We are committed to delivering the highest standards in this complex and challenging field.

As a paralegal assistant, youre often the first point of contact dealing with enquiries and correspondence delivering excellent customer service to internal and external stakeholders. Youre responsible for providing casework support within your team, gaining insight into the important work of the Crown Prosecution Service along the way.

You build on your skills including communication, quality checking and time management to complete your work to a high standard and help achieve your teams goals and objectives.

You must have excellent written, verbal and digital communication skills including knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications.

As part of your application, you're asked to choose your preferred location. We make offers in merit order for each location, based on your first preference.

This is an in-person, court-based role. You are assigned to an office base, but your working week is spent at different courts within your chosen location, or occasionally the wider region. Hybrid working is not available for this role.

The court locations within each Crown Prosecution Service Area are listed in the information pack attached to the advert. These are provided as a guide to the courts you may attend and should not be seen as a fixed or exhaustive list, as allocations may vary depending on operational need.

Please note, we are currently advertising two paralegal assistant campaigns. You are only able to apply for one of them - either the paralegal assistant - casework or the paralegal assistant - regional areas. If you submit two applications we will accept your first submitted application and the second will be rejected.

Paralegal assistants provide vital administrative and casework support on the frontline of our service. You work with the paralegal team to prepare cases for the magistrates and Crown Court producing court documents and court listings, managing case files, drafting letters and briefing prosecutors. You liaise with criminal justice partners to ensure the smooth progression of cases and provide practical support to victims and witnesses of crime.

(61) Sam, Paralegal Assistant - YouTube

Your roles and responsibilities

• You attend court, to provide support for paralegal officers and prosecutors.
• You prepare casework and documentation for court, supporting our legal teams to operate effectively and efficiently.
• You ensure information received is recorded accurately so that it can be easily retrieved and accessed by the team working on the case.
• You provide excellent customer service when dealing with enquiries received by your team over the phone or in writing, so that the public and stakeholders can have confidence in the work of the Crown Prosecution Service.
• You ensure all work is produced to a high standard reflecting the values of the Crown Prosecution Service. You can read more about the Crown Prosecution Service and our values on our website.

If youre currently doing an apprenticeship within the Crown Prosecution Service and youre successful in getting this role, you must complete your apprenticeship course if the role is relevant.

To be eligible to apply for this opportunity, you must:

• be at least 18 years of age
• have excellent written, verbal and digital communication skills - including knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications
• have an interest in criminal law and public service

You dont need qualifications or legal experience for this role, a structured induction training plan is provided. Customer service skills are desirable but not required.

Our regional teams

The Crown Prosecution Service works across England and Wales, with 14regional teams prosecuting cases locally in magistrates' and Crown Courts.

Each of these regional teams are known as Crown Prosecution Service Areas they are led by a chief crown prosecutor whose paralegal, casework and prosecution staff work closely with local police forces and other criminal justice partners to prepare and prosecute local cases.

While the Crown Prosecution Service operates a hybrid working policy, some roles - including the paralegal assistant role - must attend court for the full working week to carry out their role and responsibilities. You must consider if the commute from your home to court is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. If youre successful, we will discuss this before you take up the post.

These posts are available within the following Crown Prosecution Service directorates and locations:

North East - reserve list only

West Midlands - reserve list only

East Midlands - reserve list only (If your preferred location is Derby, you will be contracted to Nottingham but will be based within Derby Crown Court)

East of England - reserve list only

London - reserve list only

Wales - reserve list only

North West - reserve list only

Mersey Cheshire - reserve list only

South West - 2 Posts

Wessex - 1 Post

South East - 1 Post

Yorkshire and Humberside - 3 Posts

Thames and Chiltern - 5 Posts