The firm
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 Bristol, 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: Real Estate, Corporate Services, Dispute Resolution and Private Client.
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.
The department
Birketts’ Ecclesiastical Team is one of the leading national practices supporting the Church of England’s Dioceses, clergy and lay volunteers. Our team brings together lawyers with a wide range of professional and life experience, including solicitors and paralegals who act as Diocesan Registrars, Diocesan Registry Clerks and ecclesiastical solicitors advising on an extensive and varied range of legal issues. Our team has members based in four of our offices.
Accountabilities
You will work as part of an administration team to provide professional, proactive, high level administrative support to an allocated group of fee earners and assist with client-facing enquiries as well as being a valued member of the Team.
Day to day responsibilities may include:
- Produce correspondence, documents and completion statements, ensuring relevant documentation is produced to a high standard
- Effectively liaising with clients and other external contacts together with staff from other departments
- Support and build working relationships with the team leader and wider team members
- Assist in maintaining compliant and accurate file management and office systems
- Develop and maintain a good level of understanding of firm policy and process
- To carry out photocopying and scanning in accordance with the firm’s paper-lite and clear desk policies.
- File opening including checking and adhering to compliance requirements
- Receiving and processing dictation from team members to include the preparation of letters, reports, attendance notes and invoicing
- Engross documents and report bundles both electronically and manually
- Schedule and manage deeds to ensure records are kept up to date
- To format, paginate, number and present documents in Birketts LLP house style
- Use the HMRC and HMLR portals for submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns and HM Land Registry applications
- Diary management and organisation of meetings
- Organising Team events
- Liaising with Ecclesiastical clients and directing enquiries to the relevant fee earner
- Supporting Birketts’ Diocesan Registry Clerk team with the preparation of clergy licenses and faculty jurisdiction documentation
- Provide support to other secretaries within the wider Divisional team and provide cover as and when possible
Qualifications/Experience
You will have the ability to contribute at an operational level, with excellent communication skills and:
- Strong administration experience;
- Positive, enthusiastic and professional approach;
- Strong attention to detail, high level organisational skills and reliability; and
- Self-motivated with a desire to learn and an ability to use own initiative.
- Ideally you will have experience working in the Legal sector and in audio typing
Equal opportunities
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
- 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.
