Professional Support Lawyer

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals based in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally across four principal practice groups: property, corporate services, litigation and private client advisory.

We are defined by our Next Level Law proposition. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.

Next Level Law is also applied to our people. Our collegiate culture means everyone is encouraged to achieve their next level in everything they do.  RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 5th best law firm to work at in 2024.

With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.

Established in June 2020, made up of over 100 litigation specialists, and over 150 people in total.  The teams are:

• Property Litigation
• Commercial Litigation (including (Re)insurance, Intellectual Property, Debt Recovery, Insolvency and Restructuring and Public Law Disputes)
• Shipping and International Trade (including Marine Insurance and Logistics)
• Construction and Engineering
• Regulatory and Corporate Defence (including health and safety, trading standards prosecutions, food law and public inquiry work)

(In addition, the firm’s Private Client, Family, Social Housing, and its Employment team also advise on contentious matters.)

While the successful candidate can choose to base themselves in any of our 7 offices (Bristol, Cambridge / Ipswich / Norwich / Chelmsford / London / Sevenoaks) they will be expected to travel to any of the other locations from time to time as required to perform their role.

**Up to 12 month maternity cover**- Permanent potentially considered

This is a role supporting the Litigation division of the firm within its established Knowledge Management department comprising a number of other PSLs and library manager.  The role will have a particular focus on:

• Keeping the team updated on relevant legal and procedural updates by preparing and circulating regular relevant internal updates.
• Curating existing know how resources and producing new resources as well as dealing with fee earner queries.
• Working alongside others to identify and develop areas of best practice.   
• Delivering (or arranging for others to deliver) technical and other training to the teams and to clients.
• Assisting with broader departmental business development activities, including profile raising and keeping ahead of developments, innovations and technology.

• Knowledge sharing initiatives and designing/being responsible for the delivery of technical training to the team.
• Updating the firm's precedent database and creating new resources as well as creating best practice procedures.  Applicants are not expected to have knowledge in all areas of law covered by the Division.  With other PSLs at the firm in the corporate and property divisions, then a focus on commercial/contract law would be advantageous.
• Producing materials for client update bulletins, articles, webinars and podcasts on legal developments.
• Supporting the delivery of training and current awareness updates to clients and intermediaries as required.

Professional Skills:

• Applicants should also be comfortable developing seminars for public presentations, training fee earners at all levels. 
• Applicants will have both a deep understanding of the skills and knowledge required for litigation and dispute resolution law and practice as well as the ability to convey complex concepts in a confident and user-friendly manner.

The successful candidate will have significant experience as a litigation lawyer in England & Wales, either in private practice or within an in-house team, as well as an excellent academic record. Previous experience in a PSL role is desirable but not essential.

General skills required:

• Strong communications skills
• Ability to use discretion
• Excellent IT skills, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.  Previous experience of using alternate presentation software (such as Prezi) and webex (such as Adobe Connect) would be an advantage.
• Positive and enthusiastic approach to teamwork
• Adaptable and flexible
• Self-motivated, ability to use initiative and provide pro-active support to fee-earners
• Ability to remain calm and work under pressure to meet strict deadlines
• Commitment to ongoing learning and development.

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth. Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays (rising with service up to a maximum of 30 days). 
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme 
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Agile/Hybrid Working Policy
• Dress for your Day Policy

https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. We welcome applications from people looking for flexible, agile, and part-time roles and we are happy to explore your preferred working patterns as part of your application. 

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

* We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.