Paralegal

About us

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning over 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 and opportunities 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.

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 Responsible Business strategy. Birketts is a certified B Corporation , and diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 45% of our partnership as of 1 April 2026.

The team you will join

Our vibrant, energetic Employment Team boasts some of the best lawyers in the business specialising in all aspects of employment law facing a company's board or the HR professional - from everyday operational challenges through to advising on strategic issues.

The team currently comprises over 40 specialist qualified employment law solicitors, including eleven partners in seven offices, making us one of the larger employment teams in the country. 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.

Birketts employment law team has experience in all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters, representing clients from a broad range of public and private organisations as well as individuals and senior executives and we are proud to act for sector leading clients nationwide and some important and high profile businesses and institutions across a number of key sectors.

Ranked 1 tier in Chambers and Legal 500, you will join a highly successful Employment team who is seeing consistent and continuous growth and which works and collaborates closely as a supportive team of colleagues. Our employment advice is supplemented by a well-developed in house employment client training offering, a HR consultancy service, a workplace investigations service, an employee incentives group and an immigration team.

The work you will be doing

If you are seeking a new, challenging role with a modern, forward-thinking firm, then this could be the role for you! We are looking for a Paralegal dedicated to our professional discipline work, within our Employment Team.

This role will involve being responsible for the administration of our contracts with our professional regulatory clients and assisting with the preparation of cases for professional conduct hearings. As a Paralegal, you will be given training and support to develop expertise in professional discipline matters and the chance to get involved in some really interesting and complex matters.

You will:

• Have primary responsibility for our work undertaken on behalf of a large regulatory body including:
  • Regular client contract to receive and confirm instructions;
  • Allocating new instructions to team members, including ensuring compliance with Lexcel standards;
  • Administrative tasks including ensuring the hearings spreadsheet is kept up-to-date at all times;
  • Monthly reporting to the client and billing;
  • Reviewing a bundle of documents and identifying key pieces of evidence to refer to when preparing the key documentation referred to below;
  • Preparing key documentation for hearings including decision documents and legal advice, to be used by the legal adviser at the professional discipline hearing; and
  • Liaising with the client and team members on day to day administrative matters.

You may, on occasion, assist with broader employment work, including to:

• Prepare training materials.
• Review and draft legal documents including settlement agreements, employment contracts, handbooks etc.
• Assist with the preparation and filing of pleadings.
• Prepare matters for hearings including preparing bundles.
• Liaise with the employment tribunal and the employment appeal tribunal.
• Conduct legal research and preparation of advice notes.
• Draft emails and letters to the client, employment tribunal and other parties.
• Undertake general office work and administration including organisation of files and billing.

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

We are see seeking a candidate who ideally has a Law degree and looking to start a career with a prestigious law firm, or you may have gained experience within a regional or City firm and looking for that next step.

You will need to have:

• A strong attention to detail skills to produce work/ documentation which is consistently of a high standard within specific timescales.
• Exceptional organisation skills as well as a flexible approach to work, to ensure work is prepared in a timely manner and that client deadlines are always met.
• Strong communication skills as you will need to communicate with clients on a consistent and regular basis, and an interest in and aptitude for business development.
• The ability to manage sensitive and complex regulatory matters, be confident in handling, reviewing and assimilating high volumes of documentation, and demonstrate resilience and professionalism when working under pressure.

Hybrid Working

Due to the nature of work required, this role is fully office based.

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: