Court Clerk Assistant

Who we are

We are one of the largest international law firms in the world. With over 30 offices across the globe, we strive to exceed the expectations of our clients, providing them with the highest-quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Our firm, work and people span jurisdictions, cultures, and languages. We offer our clients a truly international perspective. We believe every career should be rewarding and stimulating - full of opportunities to learn, thrive, and grow. That’s why we’re so proud of our inclusive, friendly, and team-based approach to work.

Our one firm global strategy is focused on targeted growth led by the needs of our core clients, those who we can best support with the breadth and depth of Clifford Chance expertise, across the sectors and geographies, which matter most to them.

You’ll find our clients in commercial and industrial sectors, the financial investor community, governments, regulators, trade bodies, and not-for-profit organisations. But no matter who they are or why they’ve reached out to us, we provide a world-class service every step of the way. And that’s possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit and conscientious approach to work that you’ll find across all of our teams.

Whichever area of the business you join, you’ll become an integral part an innovative, diverse and ambitious team of people. Clifford Chance is a place where the brightest minds and the best of colleagues meet.

The Role

As Court Clerk Assistant you will play a key role in supporting the London Commercial Litigation Practice, Court Service Manager with civil procedural matters.

You will work closely with our Litigation & Dispute Resolution (L&DR) team, providing specialist knowledge and assistance on civil litigation procedures, including electronic filings and CE-File system operations.

You will act as an advisor on procedural matters, contributing to the development of knowledge resources and supporting our lawyers to deliver excellent outcomes for our clients.

Who you will work with

Clifford Chance's global Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice has around 600 lawyers based in the UK, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the United States, who are experienced in the full spectrum of litigation, dispute resolution and regulatory issues that our clients face. Our highly qualified teams are focused on resolving high risk litigation, international arbitration and regulatory investigations.

Our global network provides an exceptional platform for handling major cross-border disputes and in recent years we have helped our clients to achieve success in some of the most complex international disputes and investigations.

We offer a seamless, integrated service across our network of offices for cross-border disputes and investigations, with expertise in individual jurisdictions but also an understanding of the interplay between different legal systems and regulations.

The work of our London commercial litigation team includes advising top UK and international corporations, banks and financial institutions on a wide range of complex, often cross border, disputes, including M&A disputes, banking litigation, group litigation, aircraft finance disputes and antitrust litigation.

Our London team group comprises 30 partners and around 130 associates with whom you will be working directly.

You will also work with the following:

• The global commercial litigation teams and other practice areas using the Courts of England & Wales

• For support and guidance, the KETL team, which including professional support lawyers and L&DR Information Officers

• Other practice area Information Officers

• Legal Costs team

• Practice Assistants

• Paralegals

• Business Professional Support services such as IT, mailroom and records

• The Best Delivery Team

What you will be responsible for

Your role will involve assisting and advising lawyers in relation to civil procedure and CE-File electronic filing. You will assist the Court Service Manager in relation to electronic filings, ensuring that filings are completed accurately and in a timely manner. You will also be involved in providing assistance to lawyers in relation to questions of civil procedure and the operation of the Courts.

We are looking for an outstanding candidate with knowledge of commercial litigation procedure and an in-depth knowledge of H M Court Service's CE-File electronic filing system and its operation, and familiarity with Court processes and rules.  You are likely currently to be working in a legal practice, the HM Courts and Tribunal Services or Counsel's Chambers. In all cases, candidates should be experienced in taking practical and pragmatic approaches to problems, be intellectually rigorous, and have a highly analytical approach to find solutions to resolve complex legal procedural issues.

Minimum Requirements

• You should have a general knowledge and understanding of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and various Court Guides as well as their applicability and intricacies.

• You should have a knowledge of the CE-File system and its operational requirements. You should know what documents are required to be uploaded onto the system and undertake those filings for the firm, as required during the system's operational availability. This will require you to be "on call" for potential out of hours filings.

The role is one of continual learning. Training will generally be gained through hands on working and experience, working closely with the Court Service Manager.

What you will do

Your role will involve:

• Having a good knowledge of the various paths along which civil litigation can progress and the differing procedural requirements for individual courts.

• Assisting and advising lawyers in relation to civil procedure and CE-File electronic filing.

• Assisting the Court Service Manager in relation to electronic filings, ensuring that filings are completed accurately and in a timely manner.

• Providing assistance to lawyers in relation to questions of civil procedure and the operation of the Courts.

• Having a good knowledge of the various paths along which civil litigation can progress and the differing procedural requirements for individual courts.

• Keeping up to date with developments affecting civil procedure and the development of procedural law more generally and ensuring that lawyers in the practice are aware of developments.

• Acting as a sounding board for, and specialist adviser on, civil litigation procedure, to colleagues and, where appropriate, dealing directly with clients.

• Liaising with and assisting colleagues in other practice areas and offices on issues affecting litigation.

• Providing internal educational talks and updates.

• Preparing materials for, and keeping up to date, certain L&DR internal knowledge resources in relation to civil procedure and associated key topics.

• Being responsible for notifying the L&DR London practice area of any planned downtime to the CE-File system and of applicable alternative filing processes which will be in place during such downtimes

Your experience 

You will have:

• Experience in a litigation-focused environment, such as private practice, HM Court Services, or Counsel's Chambers.

• A solid understanding of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), court processes, and the CE-File electronic filing system.

• Exceptional attention to detail, organisational, and drafting skills.

• Strong analytical abilities and a commercial mindset, with a focus on problem-solving.

• A collaborative approach to working with colleagues across diverse teams.

• Experience in mentoring or training junior professionals is highly desirable.

How we will support you

From your first day with us, you will have varied opportunities to grow and develop your skills and knowledge continuously. From formal training, informal coaching and mentoring through to skills-based and technical training and on the job learning.
 

Hybrid Working

This role follows our 'balanced' hybrid working approach and as long as business needs allow, you will be supported to work in a hybrid way with the expectation of working from the office for a minimum of 50% of your time.

Equal opportunities statement

At Clifford Chance, we understand that our true asset is our people. Inclusion is good for our team and their families, our firm and society.

We are committed to treating all employees and applicants fairly and equally regardless of their gender, gender identity and expression, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, social or economic background, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or age.  This applies to recruitment and selection, terms and conditions of employment including pay, promotion, training, transfer and every other aspect of employment.

We have a variety of flourishing employee networks. These networks are a place for colleagues to share experiences and advocate for change wherever they see an opportunity for improvement.

Our goal is to deliver an equality of opportunity, an equality of aspiration and an equality of experience to everyone who works in our firm. 

Find out more about our inclusive culture here.