Avantia Academy - Junior Legal Opportunities

SUMMARY

Avantia Law is looking to hire bright and entrepreneurial graduates through its Avantia Academy programme. Avantia Academy will take a cohort of outstanding graduates and put its students through a “legal bootcamp” – students will be instructed in drafting, commercial awareness and other important legal skills.  Currently the programme is in Beta Stage and Avantia Academy will be a singular day, similar to an assessment centre (but much more informative, relaxed and enjoyable!) The best graduates of the programme will have an opportunity to be hired by Avantia Law as junior legal staff. Eventually, the firm intends to expand Avantia Academy to a two week programme. Upon completion, graduates will either come work for Avantia Law, or be placed externally by Avantia with our clients or other legal service providers.

Avantia Academy is now accepting students for its third cohort – there are sixteen Academy places available and four roles currently on offer:

1. Document Review Paralegal
2. Funds Paralegal x 2
3. KYC Operations Assistant

If you pass the programme but are not selected for one of the current roles, we may shortlist you for when another role becomes available - many Academy graduates get a call from us after the initial assessment day. Out of the ten students who attended our last Academy, five were directly hired into Avantia Law either straight away, or in the subsequent weeks. Avantia Academy is a great place to kickstart your legal career after the completion of your formal studies.

THE FIRM

Avantia Law was founded in 2019 and takes a modern approach to law. It is half legal-tech/AI company, half alternative legal service provider - we provide document review, KYC/AML, and funds services as part of our legal offering.

The firm uses an innovative and cost-effective approach. It bills by the document or by the work product, rather than by the hour, which is more cost efficient for clients and creates a healthier working environment for its legal staff. The firm makes use of AI to speed routine processes and save costs for its clients – previously the firm worked with Oxford University to produce its machine learning and was formerly a member of Allen & Overy’s FUSE Cohort. The firm offers a white glove service and differentiates itself from competitors in the ALSP space by providing premium, centrally controlled work of a higher standard than other outsourced legal providers.

Avantia has lawyers all over the world and has hubs in London, the US, Continental Europe and Asia. It encourages a healthy work/life balance and is interested in fostering its employees as people rather than billable hour machines.

Avantia Law has over 80 blue-chip clients in the private equity and hedge fund space, nearly all of whom are listed and publicly regulated companies. Our lawyers work with some of the most interesting and high-profile clients in the M&A business.

THE ROLES ON OFFER

1) Document Review Paralegal – These paralegals will work with routine documents such as non-disclosure agreements, non-reliance letters, and engagement letters. Paralegals learn under the instruction of our lawyers, many of whom are former American/Magic Circle/Silver Circle lawyers. They track documents throughout their life cycle, draft first markups, negotiate with counterparties, manage inboxes, and more – the best paralegals often run accounts themselves nearly autonomously, only consulting with lawyers for signoff or unique/difficult questions and situations.

2) KYC Analyst – Please note that while we are not currently hiring for this role, we hire for this position very frequently and you might have the opportunity to join as a KYC Analyst in the weeks following the Academy. Our KYC team “work like detectives” to uncover any potential threats to our clients prior to the completion of a transaction. They scan counterparty documents, look for suspicious activity and note any politically exposed persons. They examine the corporate structures of counterparties, identify UBOs, and outline potential risks in legal memos. This role is excellent for building commercial awareness.

3) Funds Paralegal - Funds is Avantia’s newest workstream, with a focus on LP transfers. The paralegals who join this department will become keystone employees with the chance to shape the department going forward under the supervision of an experienced Funds lawyer. Duties will include sending out standard email templates, chasing clients and third parties for inputs, and plugging information into transfer documents.

4) KYC Operations Assistant - this is a very special opportunity for a junior professional to assist the head of our rapidly expanding KYC department with operations and day-to-day running of the department. If you are someone who found law interesting and may be seeking to work in or around law, but have reservations about becoming a lawyer, this is the role for you. This individual will be entrepreneurial, inventive, and eager to help the head of the department expand the business - this person should also be structured, organised and adaptable. Avantia Law has a very entrepreneurial culture - it has grown from five members of staff in 2019 to over eighty members of staff today; the founder of the Avantia Academy initiative was one of those first five employees and was a recent law graduate when she joined. This is your opportunity to fill a similar role and to grow an aspect of the business from the ground up.

SALARIES

Salaries for junior staff begin at £30,500 with regular opportunities for promotion, career development and advancement.

HYBRID WORKING

Paralegals are encouraged to come into our London Offices 2-3 times a week, to learn from lawyers and get to know their colleagues - but we do not have an office mandate and remote working is available. On occasion, you may be asked to come into the office for an all-hands meeting or training day.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND KEY DATES

We have designed the application process with graduates in mind. We know how frustrating the current graduate market can be and have designed a process which will not waste your time or our time and will give you the chance to prove your true skills in a meritocratic fashion.

The application process is conducted on a rolling basis, and we will close the ad when we have filled the sixteen Academy places. The process is as follows:

1) Apply - all you need to provide is a CV.

2) YOU MUST COMPLETE THIS SCREENING ASSESSMENT TO BE CONSIDERED. We will not open your application unless you have taken this assessment. This is not the Watson Glaser or any off-the-shelf product – all our tests are designed in house to truly assess your aptitude for legal work, and you will learn something just from taking them, even if you do not pass. This screening is 45 minutes long. You can take it at a time of your choosing, from home. IT IS RECOMMENDED that you download the accompanying documents for the assessment (you will see them when you click the above link) prior to starting the assessment and read them thoroughly before starting your attempt.

3) Nobody likes filling out long applications or cover letters, only to be filtered out by screening tests - therefore, we will only invite you to submit a cover letter if you pass screening. You will be notified via email and will have 2 days to provide us with a cover letter. While a cover letter is not required, it is encouraged, especially if you are particularly drawn to Avantia Law and want to explain why, or have circumstances or background information about yourself you wish to explain.

4) Those who pass the screening test will be asked to complete a longer form NDA and KYC assessment from home. The NDA assessment takes 2 hours, and you will have 24 hours to complete the KYC assessment, but it should only take a couple of hours to complete. This is your chance to shine and show us your critical thinking skills, regardless of your background or education. The assessment closely mimics what our legal professionals do on a day-to-day basis and may look daunting, but we grade them with the understanding that most of our candidates are beginners with little or no experience. We DO NOT EXPECT you to have previous legal knowledge or to get everything right - we’re looking to see how you think and how you approach legal work you have not encountered before.

5) Those who pass the assessment may be asked to complete a quick 10-minute phone screen if we have additional questions about your background or why you want to join us. Successful applicants will be invited to the Academy programme. Final decisions will be announced no later than 6th of September.

6) Avantia Academy will eventually be a two-week legal bootcamp, but we are currently running beta tests of single day intensive programmes. This day will consist of information about our company and different departments, legal exercises, and interviews with our department heads. Lunch will be provided and you will have a chance to meet our staff. One date will be held on the 12th of September, and the other on the 13th of September. In person attendance is strongly encouraged - however, if you are unable to attend in person, we may consider you for a role separately via video link.

We will inform you of the outcome within one week of your Academy date - everyone who does not pass will be informed (nobody will be ghosted!) and we do provide some form of feedback for rejected applications.

ANY QUESTIONS?

Please see the attached FAQ flyer

• 25 days holiday + UK Bank Holidays + 1 Day off for your birthday
• Remote first (anywhere in the UK) or choose to work from our lovely London Bridge office.
• Private healthcare or the option to use the budget to be reimbursed for other wellness activities of your choice
• Annual subscription to your choice of Calm or Headspace
• Early finish Fridays in the summer
• Pension scheme (enhanced after 1 year service)
• Enhanced family friendly policies after 1 year