Legal support recruitment: the people who keep your firm running

LEGAL Support VACANCIES

Clients judge a firm by the whole team: the paralegal who keeps the file moving, the legal secretary who makes sure nothing is missed, the administrator who keeps the practice running. The best are usually settled in a firm and not looking, so finding them takes more than an advert.

Cathedral Appointments is a recruitment agency based in Exeter, with a presence in Plymouth and Taunton, recruiting for South West organisations since 1988. We recruit legal support staff for law firms and in-house legal teams.

Talk to Ellie Connor on 01392 575691.

What we recruit

Legal support roles across the practice areas a firm is built around, including corporate, family, employment, tax, intellectual property and criminal law, and firms with a focus on particular sectors, such as farming and agriculture. We recruit legal support only, not fee-earning roles such as solicitors.

• Paralegals and legal assistants. The people who support the fee earners and keep each file moving.
• Legal secretaries and administrators. Legal secretaries and legal administrators. The people who keep a busy practice organised and its clients well looked after.
• In-house legal support. Support roles inside businesses large enough to have their own legal resource.

Who we recruit for

Law firms across Devon, Somerset & Cornwall, from small partnerships to larger firms with several specialisms, and businesses with their own in-house legal teams.

What’s shaping legal hiring

Two things are shaping who employers need, and how they hire.

AI is becoming part of the job. A global survey of 700 legal professionals commissioned by legal software provider LEAP and reported by Legal Futures in March 2026 found 31% of UK respondents using legal-specific AI tools daily or as a core part of their work, and 62% using them regularly. Firms increasingly want support staff who are comfortable with the technology.

Hiring is picking up unevenly, and the South has lagged. The KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs for October 2026, published on 10 October, found permanent placements rising across the UK for a second month, but the South of England was the only English region where they fell in September. Competition for highly skilled workers continued to push up starting pay.

However you need to hire

Permanent. A paralegal, legal assistant or legal secretary to join the firm for the long term. See permanent recruitment.

Temporary and contract. Cover for leave, a busy period or a gap in a team. See temporary support and contract solutions.

Senior and leadership roles

The people who run the practice behind the fee earners are leaders too, and Cathedral Appointments recruits them. These searches are often confidential.

• Practice and operations leadership. Practice managers, heads of legal operations and office managers.
• Legal support leadership. Heads of legal support, senior paralegals and team managers.

Talk to Ellie Connor on 01392 575691.

How we work with you

• We start by understanding your firm. Not just the role: your clients, your practice areas, your culture and what makes you different from the firm down the road.
• We meet every candidate first. In person or on Teams, so the people we put forward match what you need, and want what you offer.
• We check what matters. Experience, qualifications and references.
• We stay in touch through the offer and the first weeks. A hire only counts once they are in the role and settled.

Questions we get asked

Do you recruit solicitors? No. We focus on legal support: paralegals, legal assistants, legal secretaries and administrators, in law firms and in-house legal teams. We don’t recruit fee-earning roles such as solicitors.

Can we hire someone without legal experience and train them? Often, yes. Many firms take on legal administrators, assistants and paralegals with little or no experience, if they show a positive attitude and strong client service skills, and support them towards further qualifications. We can find people who are ready to learn.

Do you recruit for in-house legal teams? Yes, for businesses large enough to have their own legal resource, as well as for law firms.

Which areas do you cover? Devon, Somerset & Cornwall, from our office in Exeter, with a presence in Plymouth and Taunton.

Your contact

Ellie Connor, Recruitment Consultant.

Ellie leads our legal support recruitment and works with law firms and in-house legal teams across Devon, Somerset & Cornwall.

Ellie Connor - 01392 575691 | ellie@cathedralappointments.co.uk