Team Administrator / Legal Secretary
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
About us
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 and over 600 staff 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 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.
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 42% of our partnership.
The team you will join
Our vibrant, energetic Comm Tech & IP team boasts some of the best lawyers in the region specialising in all aspects of both commercial contracts and intellectual property work. Although the role is based in Cambridge or Norwich, the successful candidate would work with specialist solicitors spread across our offices. The team has 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.
The work you will be doing
Key accountabilities include:
- Proactively working with fee earners to ensure relevant documentation is produced to meet clients’ expectations and deadlines.
- Format, paginate, number and present documents in Birketts LLP house style.
- Proofread all work.
- Manage diaries of allocated fee earners in Microsoft Outlook.
- General PA type duties including booking restaurants and accommodation.
- To prepare narratives and bills and keep billing files up to date.
- 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.
What we are looking for
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.
Hybrid Working
Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working. This role attracts a split of 60% office days and 40% working from home days per week which can take effect when the partners are content you are confident in the role. This will be no more than probation and most likely quicker.
Benefits
As a Birketts colleague, you will be eligible to receive a wide range of 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
- Dress for your Day Policy
You can find out more on our website: https://recognition-reward-benefits/
Inclusivity and Culture
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.
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.
If you require this advert in an accessible format, please visit https://company/birketts/
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your Microsoft Outlook diary management experience prominently as this is specifically mentioned for managing fee earners' schedules
📊 Quantify your administrative experience: 'Managed diaries for 8 fee earners, processing 200+ client appointments monthly'
🎯 Emphasise any legal sector experience, particularly with commercial contracts or IP documentation
🤝 Showcase your proactive support abilities as the role requires covering for other secretarial team members
📋 Detail your document formatting and proofreading skills as these are key daily responsibilities
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Managed Microsoft Outlook diaries for 6 commercial law fee earners, coordinating 150+ client meetings monthly with zero scheduling conflicts
- •Processed legal billing documentation and expense claims for IP team, maintaining 98% accuracy across 200+ monthly transactions
- •Formatted and proofread commercial contracts and IP documentation to house style standards, supporting £2.5M annual fee income
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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Letter preview — tailored to Birketts LLP
Dear Hiring Manager,
Birketts LLP's reputation as a UK Top 50 law firm with 160 years of heritage makes this Team Administrator role in your Commercial Technology & IP team particularly appealing. My experience in legal administration and Microsoft Outlook diary management aligns perfectly with your requirements for supporting specialist solicitors across multiple offices.
My background in legal secretarial work has equipped me with the precise attention to detail and proactive approach essential for managing fee earners' schedules, processing billing documentation, and maintaining client databases to the exacting standards expected in commercial law practice.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you manage multiple fee earners' diaries in Microsoft Outlook to avoid conflicts?
- ›Describe your experience with legal billing systems and expense processing
- ›What approach would you take to maintain accurate client database records?
- ›How do you ensure document formatting meets house style requirements?
- ›What electronic filing systems have you used in professional environments?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time when you had to manage competing deadlines for multiple fee earners
- ›Describe a situation where you had to provide cover for a colleague at short notice
- ›Give an example of when your attention to detail prevented a significant error
- ›How do you handle confidential information in a professional setting?
- ›Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult client enquiry over the phone
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time when you had to manage competing deadlines for multiple fee earners
Describe a situation where you had to provide cover for a colleague at short notice