Knowledge Paralegal Interview

[Mirela Mihova]

Hi all,

I have an interview for a Knowledge Management Paralegal position at Clyde & Co on Monday (entry level) - has someone interviewed for such a role? I am not sure what questions to expect/prepare for - any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Mirela

 

[Jacob Miller]

Hey,

I haven't interviewed for a position like this but can give you some broad guidance for general preparations:

- Firstly, think through the role of a paralegal. Identify some of the key skill sets a paralegal needs (there is a reasonable degree of overlap with those required of a trainee, if that's any help) and how you've exhibited these in the past so you can exhibit the appropriate strengths
- Next, look at general competency questions for transferable skills
- Make sure your knowledge of the firm generally, as well as sub-teams and how paralegals operate within different teams, is on-point. Reach out to a few paralegals on LinkedIn to ask around - they're generally more than happy to help.
- prep some questions for your interviewer! Make sure these are genuine questions whose answers can't just be found on Google.

 

[Lumree]

Hi Mirela,

Being part of the Knowledge team means your role while take on a slightly different angle to a traditional paralegal.

In most firms, the Knowledge team is a business support team, lending their assistance to the fee earners. To bridge the gap between the team and the fee earners, certain teams have a Professional Support Lawyer (PSL). The PSL’s responsibilities will be to complete business and legal research, update the fee earning team on recent developments in the sector, and conduct training. As a Knowledge Paralegal, you’ll likely be working under the supervision of the PSL so you can expect to be assisting with these functions.

With the above in mind, my advice for the interview would be to bear in mind that your role would be quite holistic. Not only would you be assisting on the legal aspects of the job, but will support on Business Development functions too. In other words, keep in mind that your role would is to assist the law firm as a business itself and not just the client (this is great from a commercial awareness standpoint if you’re going for TC’s!)

Best of luck!