Legal Secretary - Agriculture

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.

The team you will join

The Agriculture team sits within the wider Private Client Division.

The team is one of the best qualified and largest agricultural teams in the UK market, providing a comprehensive range of legal services to farmers, landed estates, landowners and agri-business specialists.

Across Birketts, our award-winning agriculture and estates team includes almost 50 specialist lawyers across seven offices, and is consistently recognised in the legal directories, giving Bristol-based lawyers the support of a deep national bench and a genuinely full-service offering. Based in Bristol, the team comprises a Partner, a Legal Director, two Senior Associates, two Associates and dedicated secretarial support. We are a team of rural specialists with deep sector knowledge.

• The team advises clients on all aspects of rural real estate and rural disputes. On the transactional side that includes farm acquisitions and disposals, refinancing, renewable energy projects, natural capital, equestrian, and landed estate property management. On the dispute side of the team the work includes partnership disputes, landlord and tenant issues, judicial reviews and general advice on rural property issues.

The work you will be doing

Day to day responsibilities will include:

• Formatting, paginating, numbering, bundling, and finalising legal documents, including Court claims, witness statements, settlement agreements, correspondence and emails.
• Proactively managing diaries, ensuring fee earners are alerted to deadlines, hearings, and urgent appointments
• Accurately maintaining and updating client, court, counsel, and third-party contact details within the firm’s client and case management systems
• Use the HMRC and HMLR portals for submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns and HM Land Registry applications
• Communicate with a wide variety of different people from first time buyers to multi-million pound investor clients, buying and selling agents and mortgage brokers
• Produce and amend documents with speed and accuracy
• Process all forms including new client form, new matter form, money laundering form, training course booking forms etc
• 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
• Manage diaries in Outlook and make all necessary travel arrangements.

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

What we are looking for

• Demonstrates strong organisational and administrative skills, managing tasks and priorities efficiently
• Self-motivated, ability to use initiative and provide pro-active support to fee-earners
• Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines
• Strong attention to detail to produce work documentation which is consistently of a high standard
• Professional integrity and a commitment to providing excellent client service
• To be competent in using Microsoft Word, Excel, time recording software, case management, Outlook and digital dictation

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.

During your 3 month probation period, there will be a requirement to be in the office full time whilst you are developing in the role. Once you have successfully passed probation, this role attracts a split of 80% office days and 20% working from home days per week.

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.

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:

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.

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