Legal Secretary

Birketts is a full service, top 50 UK law firm, operating in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, Norwich and the surrounding areas.

With a rich heritage spanning over 150 years we’ve built an enviable track record advising businesses, institutions and individuals in the UK and internationally.
Throughout our history our ethos has remained simple: we provide clear legal advice and value and insight to our clients.

We set out to truly understand our clients’ needs and help realise their ambitions.

We believe that through this approach and a combination of technical excellence and high quality service we can develop long-lasting partnerships and become our clients' solicitor of choice.

You will work in the Private Client team to provide professional, pro-active, high level secretarial support on a broad range of issues relating to estates and private property, tax planning and family matters. You will work with an allocated fee earner or group of fee earners as well as supporting the wider fee earning team.

The team covers:

• Will drafting
• Succession planning
• Tax efficient lifetime giving
• Disputed Wills
• Creation administration and termination of trusts
• Advice to trustees and beneficiaries
• Trust Taxation
• Offshore trusts

At Birketts, our passion is to provide and deliver high quality legal advice but we also deliver a great experience when it comes to your career too!

Birketts is currently recruiting for a Legal Secretary to come and join our friendly and proactive Private Client team on a full time basis in Cambridge. Working hours will be 37.5 per week, generally working 9am-5.30pm. The Legal Secretaries provide a wide range of flexible administrative support to the Private Client Partners and wider team across the firm in Cambridge; including (but not limited to) copy typing, document production, dictation, billing, production of letters, file opening and closing and formatting of documents.

Technical ability

• To produce and amend documents with speed and accuracy;
• To format, paginate, number and present documents in Birketts LLP house style;
• To proof read all work, checking for spelling and grammar;
• To be a user of key software packages and take responsibility for any training needs to improve relevant skills needed to meet the needs of the business;
• To proactively work with the fee earners to ensure relevant documentation is produced to meet clients’ expectations and deadlines.

Administrative skills:

Manage diaries of allocated fee earners in Microsoft Outlook to include:  

• Familiarity with the creation and management of datarooms and file management processes;
• Making appointments;
• Arranging meetings/conferences;
• Sending and responding to invites;
• Process expense claims, payment requisition forms, returned advances;
• To accurately maintain and update client and other relevant contact details on our client database;
• To process all forms including new client form, new matter form, money laundering form, training course booking forms etc.
• To ensure that all electronic filing and paper based filing is up to date and maintained at regular intervals;
• To prepare narratives and bills and keep billing files up to date;
• To carry out photocopying and scanning as required.

Professional Skills:

• To immediately clarify instructions from fee earners should they be unclear or if deadlines are not made explicit;
• To respond to internal and external telephone enquiries politely and professionally and take accurate telephone messages (name / number / company), passing them on to the relevant fee earners etc.;
• To proactively support other members of the secretarial team and to provide cover as and when necessary to ensure that work is completed to a high standard and meets the required deadlines;
• To provide full support to fee earners in the full range of activities that are performed and to carry out any other duties as reasonably requested.

General Approach:

• To show a positive approach and interest in the work that your fee earners are undertaking;
• Show initiative when responding to queries and actively try to seek solutions to problems;
• To support your fee earners when clients are demanding the work product to be delivered;
• To support and build working relationships with your own fee earners as well as other members of the team and to actively work for the interests of the whole team     
• To support and build working relationships with your colleagues in the secretarial team and to actively get involved in working activities within the team.

We are seeking a Legal Secretary who can show a positive approach and interest in the work that the fee earners are undertaking; someone who can show initiative when responding to queries and actively tries to seek solutions to problems and supports when clients are demanding the work be delivered.

Building a working relationship with fee earners and other members of the team is critical to the success of this role and actively getting involved in working activities within the team.

We are seeking a Legal Secretary who can show a positive approach and interest in the work that the fee earners are undertaking; someone who can show initiative when responding to queries and actively tries to seek solutions to problems and supports when clients are demanding the work be delivered.

Building a working relationship with fee earners and other members of the team is critical to the success of this role and actively getting involved in working activities within the team.

We are committed to recruiting individuals on merits of suitability for each role, on the basis of qualifications and experience. All applications are treated fairly and equally regardless of sexual orientation, race, disability, religious beliefs and any other protected characteristic, ensuring that there are equal opportunities at all stages of the recruitment process.

Benefits

One of the best things about joining Birketts is our rewards package. At Birketts we’re appreciative of the people who work for us and our rewards package is reviewed regularly to reflect that. You can expect to receive:

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
• Long Service holiday award – 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Agile Working Policy
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share / Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Paid CSR day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Season Ticket Loan
• Subsidised gym membership
• Eye Care Voucher
• Private Healthcare - BUPA
• Life Assurance   - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Dress for your Day Policy
• Discounted legal services.

For further details about this exciting role, please email harriet-griffiths@birketts.co.uk.