Legal Secretary - KentPQE: Term Type: PermanentWorking Hours: Reports to: Department: Private Client Advisory 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 team currently comprises of over 50 specialist lawyers, including seven partners, making us one of the largest Private Client Advisory teams in the East of England. We have the strength and depth of expertise to ensure we deliver the service you would expect in respect of technical quality, practical approach and timeliness of advice.We act as trusted advisers to individuals, families, trustees, family or owner-run businesses and trust companies both in the UK and internationally. We place particular priority on continuity and fostering close long-term relationships with contacts and clients in order to provide practical advice and commercial solutions on a very wide variety of tax, trust and estate planning situations that arise.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 and planning. 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 draftingSuccession planningTax efficient lifetime givingDisputed WillsCreation administration and termination of trustsAdvice to Trustees and BeneficiariesTrust TaxationOffshore trustsLasting Powers of AttorneyAdministration of EstatesYou will have the ability to contribute at an operational level, with excellent communication skills and can demonstrate general skills in:Strong administration experiencePositive, enthusiastic and professional approachStrong attention to detail, high level organisational skills and reliableSelf-motivated with an ability to use own initiative with a desire to learnA desire to share new processes to support the wider teamWorking within the Legal sectorSkillsStrong typing speed of at least 50 wpmExcellent spelling and punctuationExcellent written and verbal communicationsAbility to use discretionExcellent IT skills, including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and ExcelPositive and enthusiastic approach to team workGood telephone mannerAdaptable and flexibleSelf-motivated, ability to use initiative and provide pro-active support to fee-earnersAbility to pay attention to detail and check own workReliable and well organisedAbility to remain calm and work under pressure to meet strict deadlinesCommitment to ongoing learning and developmentTechnical abilityTo produce and amend documents with speed and accuracyTo format, paginate, number and present documents in Birketts LLP house styleTo proof read all work, checking for spelling and grammarTo 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 businessTo proactively work with the fee earners to ensure relevant documentation is produced to meet clients’ expectations and deadlinesUse of Isokon for the administration of estates would be a benefitAdministrative skills:Manage diaries of allocated fee earners in Microsoft Outlook to include:Familiarity with the creation and management of datarooms and file management processesMaking appointmentsArranging meetings/conferencesSending and responding to invitesProcess expense claims, payment requisition forms, returned advancesTo 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 intervalsTo prepare narratives and bills and keep billing files up to dateTo carry out photocopying and scanning as requiredAt 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 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 InsurancePaid CSR DayEnhanced Maternity/Paternity LeaveSubsidised gym membershipElectric car schemeDress for your Day Policyhttps://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.