Team Administrator / Legal Secretary

Birketts is an ambitious full service, top 50 UK law firm, operating in East Anglia, Essex, London 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 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.

Our vibrant, energetic Immigration team boasts some of the best lawyers in the region specialising in all aspects of British immigration and nationality law for both Private Clients and businesses.

The team currently comprises 5 specialist advisors, including 3 solicitors. The team is mainly based in London but also combine home working and frequent in-person presence across all 5 of the Birketts offices in the South East of England. In particular the immigration team work in close synergy with the Birketts Employment law team in Norwich and with other Birketts specialist practice areas including private client and corporate.

Our client base is international and the pace of work exciting and highly varied.

We have the strength and depth of expertise to ensure we deliver the service clients would expect in respect of technical quality, practical approach and timeliness of advice and to exceed their expectations in terms of client care experience.

The practice is largely non-contentious and representing clients from high profile, mass affluent/high-net worth private individuals to a broad range of public and private organisations (across all sectors) and senior executives and we are proud to act for sector leading clients nationwide and some of the East of England’s most important businesses and institutions.

The Immigration team is now recruiting for an articulate and forward thinking Team Administrator or Legal Secretary to come and join us on a full time permanent basis, working in our modern and open plan Norwich office, in the heart of the town centre and with very occasional travel to London.

You will provide professional, pro-active, and high level administration support to a group of fee earners and to the wider fee earning team.

Key accountabilities include:

• Proactively working with fee earners to ensure relevant documentation is produced to meet clients’ expectations and deadlines;
• Opening client matter files and preparing client care letters;
• Format, paginate, number and present documents in Birketts LLP house style;
• Proof read all work;
• Manage diaries of allocated fee earners in Microsoft Outlook; 
• Support the team’s BD initiatives and travel arrangements/schedules
• Supporting to arrange networking events/meetings both internal, external and international;
• File management, document formatting and digital documentation downloads/uploads to the Home Office and internal filing systems
• To prepare narratives and bills and keep billing files up to date (including monitoring debt collection)
• Process expense claims, payment requisition forms, returned advances;
• Accurately maintain and update client and other relevant contact details on our client database;
• Ensure that all electronic filing and paper based filing is up to date and maintained at regular intervals;
• Respond to internal and external telephone enquiries professionally;
• 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.

You will have the ability to contribute at an operational level, with excellent communication skills and can demonstrate general skills in:

• Strong administration experience;
• Positive, enthusiastic and professional approach;
• Strong attention to detail, high level organisational skills and reliable;
• Self-motivated with an ability to use own initiative with a desire to learn.

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
• Private Healthcare - BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share / Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance   - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Season Ticket Loan
• Gym Flex membership
• Electric car scheme
• Dress for your Day Policy
• Agile Working Policy.