Legal Secretary

Legal Secretary - Sevenoaks, Kent PQE: Term Type: PermanentWorking Hours: Full time or part timeReports to: Department: Planning and Environmental 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. Our Planning and Environmental Team sits within our wider Real Estate department. We are recognised in both Chambers and Legal 500 as being Top Tier and were ranked 8th in the country by Planning Magazine 2024. The team deals with a wide range of planning and environmental work, including complex, high value and high-profile matters. The work of the team includes waste management, environmental permitting, contaminated land, statutory nuisance and habitats and nature conservation. We provide support to other teams with advice and due diligence work as well as carrying out free standing environmental work for a range of clients. You will provide a professional, pro-active and high-level secretarial support to the wider team. Day to day responsibilities will include: Produce and amend documents with speed and accuracy Format, paginate, number and present documents in Birketts LLP 'house style' 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. We are seeking a highly organised and detail-oriented Legal Secretary to provide support to the team. Ideally you will have the following skills and experience: Strong administration experience Positive, enthusiastic and professional approach Strong attention to detail and high-level organisational skills Excellent spelling and punctuation Self-motivated, ability to use initiative and provide pro-active support to fee-earners Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadline Prior experience working in a legal environment is preferred Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism 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 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.