Two vacancies as Assistant Practice Manager

Assistant Practice Managers (two vacancies), Guildhall Chambers

𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Broad Street, Bristol

𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼: Practice Director, Civil

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆: £25-£29K and
£30-£35K

Guildhall Chambers in Bristol wishes to recruit
two Assistant Practice Managers
(one junior, the other more senior), as we expand the clerking team supporting our
Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence
(PI/CN) and
Court of Protection
(COP) barristers.

Guildhall Chambers is a preeminent, multi-disciplinary set of barristers' chambers based in Bristol, operating throughout England & Wales. There are over 85 barristers in Chambers, working in some fourteen areas of practice in civil and criminal law.

The Practice Director, Civil oversees the clerking of all our civil-law practice teams, and the PI/CN and COP teams (with about 20 barristers) have a dedicated clerking team of one Practice Manager and two Assistant Practice Managers.

This practice-management team looks after all aspects of each barrister's legal practice, dealing with solicitors who wish to instruct a barrister and then managing everything involved in the administration of the case on behalf of the barrister through to its conclusion, working with the solicitors, the barrister, the courts and others. The team is also involved in helping each barrister to develop their practice throughout their career and in business-development activities with clients and prospective clients.

We are seeking to fill two APM roles, one at a junior level and one with greater experience of clerking, who will in effect be the team deputy.

For the senior position
, we are looking for someone with
a minimum of four years' practice-management experience as a clerk, which will include PI/CN casework
. The starting salary will depend on your experience, and will be in the range of
£30K to £35K.

For the junior position
, no previous practice-management experience is required, although it would be of benefit, as would other experience and understanding of barristers' chambers (perhaps as a junior clerk) or the wider legal system, working in a law firm, within the court system or elsewhere as a paralegal or a legal claims handler. The tasks a junior APM will undertake day to day are wide-ranging and often challenging, involve a high degree of collaboration, teamwork and multitasking, and, we hope, give a good deal of satisfaction. You will quickly learn to manage case papers, arranging case conferences and other meetings, juggling diaries, handling fee arrangements, and then helping to build client relationships and liaising with everyone about every current case. The starting salary for this role will also depend on your experience, and will be in the range of
£25K to £29K.

These are both permanent, full-time roles, working 37.5 hours per week on a team rota between 08:30 and 18:00, Monday to Friday.  There is scope for working from home for up to two days per week after successful completion of probation.

Each role attracts 25 days' paid holiday a year in addition to public holidays, as well as other benefits including pension and a bonus scheme.

Candidates for either role will need to be a British or Irish citizen or otherwise have the right to work in the UK and have:

• at least five GCSEs (including maths and English) at grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) or equivalent, and two A Level passes or Scottish Advanced Highers or IB/BTEC Level 3 Diploma/T Level, or equivalent;
• excellent oral and written communication skills in English, being a native English speaker or having non-native mastery of English (CEFR Level C2);
• a good level of IT user skills in MS Word and Outlook.

To apply for either role role, please email  
before 16:00 on Fri 31 Oct,
stating which role you are applying for and attaching:

• A brief letter (of no more than one A4 page) describing why you are interested in the role; and

• Your CV, confirming your nationality or other right to work in the UK, your educational qualifications and your employment status and experience to date, including, where appropriate, your current notice period.

Guildhall Chambers promotes equality of opportunity in the workplace. If you are selected for interview, we will ask if you require any reasonable adjustments to be made in order for you to attend.