Location
Ipswich, Suffolk | United Kingdom
Job description
PQE:
Not applicable
Term:Permanent
Working hours:Full-time
(Mon - Fri 9.00am-5.30pm / 37.5h)
Department:
Commercial Property (SIPP)
Location:Ipswich
The firm
Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 500 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.
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
We have one of the best regarded and largest dedicated property teams within the country, numbering over 100 specialists across five offices. Our property lawyers are particularly experienced in dealing with development and investment, planning, secured lending and landlord and tenant matters. We are increasingly advising high value, high profile transactions and clients.
Our lawyers come from a range of backgrounds, including major City practices, other major national and regional firms, industry and local government and include individuals with construction, planning and commercial expertise. The depth and range of expertise means the team can work together in major and complex transactions and provide a sector based offering for our clients. It also means there is support and opportunity across the Real Estate spectrum.
Our nationally recognised property team includes our specialist and dedicated SIPP/SSAS (self-invested personal pension/small-administered schemes) Property Team which deals with all elements of commercial property transactions involving SIPPs and SSASs to include acquisitions, disposals, leases, asset management work and mortgages. We are the largest bespoke SIPP/SSAS property legal team in the country and we act for many of the countries leading SIPP and SSAS providers.
Purpose of job
To work as part of a secretarial team to provide professional, pro-active, high level secretarial support to an allocated fee earner, or group of fee earners and to the wider fee earning team.
Accountabilities
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:
- Making appointments;
- Arranging meetings/conferences
- Sending and responding to invites;
- Booking restaurants;
- 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.
The candidate
- Secretarial qualification or educated to GCSE
- Typing speed of at least 50 wpm
- Excellent spelling and punctuation
- Excellent written and verbal communications
- Ability to use discretion
- Excellent IT skills, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
- Positive and enthusiastic approach to team work
- Good telephone manner
- Adaptable and flexible
- Self-motivated, ability to use initiative and provide pro-active support to fee-earners
- Ability to pay attention to detail and check own work
- Reliable and well organised
- Ability to remain calm and work under pressure to meet strict deadlines
- Commitment to ongoing learning and development
Equal opportunities
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.
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 / Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
- Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
- Paid ESG day (Environmental, Social and Governance)
- Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
- Subsidised gym membership
- Electric car scheme
- Eye Care Voucher
- Agile Working Policy
- Dress for your Day Policy
Job tags
Salary
