Junior Clerk

Chambers is seeking a Junior Clerk to join our growing practice management team. You will assist in providing at all times an effective and efficient practice management service as well as professional diary management to all members of your team. The successful candidate will be highly motivated and have excellent communication skills. Wilberforce Chambers prides itself on internal development, therefore this is an excellent opportunity for those who are ambitious and keen to start a career as a Junior Barristers’ Clerk at one of the leading commercial chancery and business law sets in the UK.

Salary: £25,000 – £30,000. Excellent Benefits.

Hours: 8.30am to 5.30pm or 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday

Reporting to: Senior Practice Manager

Job Summary/ Key Accountabilities:

  • Always Providing an effective and efficient practice management service to all members of chambers (and additionally to members outside of that when required, in agreement with your Senior Practice Manager, the practice managers in that team and/or the Practice Director)
  • Assisting the Senior Practice Manager, Practice Manager and Practice Assistant in the day-to- day smooth functioning of the practices of the team of barristers designated to your team
  • Deputising for the Practice Manager or Practice Assistant as and when required, where agreed in advance with the Senior Practice Manager
  • Ensuring that chambers always remain within the requirements of the BSB Handbook

Responsibilities:

General clerking function

  • Ensuring at all times, via your own personal conduct, that chambers’ clerking function remains within the requirements of the BSB Handbook.
  • Answering telephone or video calls in a timely and professional manner as per established quality standard procedures (including the calls to colleagues on other teams if and when required)
  • Dealing with or where suitable referring onwards to the relevant barrister or member of staff, any queries or enquiries that might generally arise – either verbally, via the telephone, by email or in writing – and ensuring clear and comprehensive notes are kept on the LEX system at all times.
  • Entering instructions/case related papers and any other notes as may be necessary on the LEX system, in respect of your team members, and ensuring they are passed immediately to the relevant member of chambers or other clerking members of your team for action/information.
  • Ensuring your team complies at all times with its established best practice procedures in respect of money laundering, complaints, conflict searches and fair distribution of work requirements.
  • Professional management of the diaries of all members of your team as and when required.
  • Ensuring that a high quality level of support is received by members of chambers at all times in relation to their attendances at court and at conferences: for example, but not limited to, ensuring the time and location of hearings/conferences is communicated well in advance; ensuring where necessary the prompt delivery to and collection from court of papers; the copying of authorities; allocating/agreeing in advance which clerk will attend court with the barrister if assistance is required; and any other reasonable barrister requests and requirements in relation to the above;
  • Ensuring, as and when required, the prompt exchange and lodging of Skeleton Arguments and lodging of Minutes of Order and associated record keeping in line with the Code of Conduct.
  • Ensuring full details of any requests for fee quotes for members of your team are passed on to another member of the clerking team as soon as is practicable and recording full details of any quotes given on the LEX system when it has been agreed that you should give the quote yourself.
  • Taking full details of any fee disputes as and when they arise and promptly referring matters onto the other clerks in your team or to the fees team for consideration.

Junior clerking/support function

  • Taking the lead in dealing with printing requests on behalf of team members – e.g., emailed instructions and other paperwork etc.
  • Collecting/receiving and distributing the DX/general post each morning.
  • Organising, franking and taking the general outgoing post to the post box each evening, the outgoing DX to the main Document Exchange building and ensuring requests for special/recorded deliveries are dealt with efficiently as and when they arise.
  • Ensuring the timely collection of deliveries from the main reception throughout the day as and when informed.
  • Assisting in the process of the regular and timely return of completed paperwork back to solicitors and other clients (or confidential shredding if agreed with the barrister/client) and in particular ensuring the build-up of boxes and papers in corridors is kept to a minimum at all times.
  • Assisting with the regular post-runs around the buildings and the daily locking up of chambers (in the absence of the Junior Administrator) and undertaking the final post run each day.

Other/General

  • Deputising for the Practice Assistant in their absence as and when agreed with the Senior Practice Manager and/or Practice Manager.
  • Ensuring that inter-team co-operation and good working relationships are developed/maintained with the other teams and ensuring that support is both provided and requested from the other teams as and when necessary, in order to ensure that the practice management function performs effectively and efficiently at all times.
  • Supporting members of chambers, where required, in the regular seminars/talks given by chambers generally, individual interest groups and individual members of your team, including the following up of leads/feedback as appropriate.
  • Generally supporting and assisting chambers’ Marketing Manager and Marketing Assistant in the marketing of chambers and its members and ensuring, on such occasions, that a professional image is presented at all times.
  • Any other tasks as may reasonably be required from time to time required by the senior staff management, members of chambers and chambers’ clients in order to properly and fully fulfil the role required by Chambers as a member of the practice management team.

In addition to an extremely competitive annual salary, the wider renumeration package will include:

  • Payment of reasonable travel costs
  • Performance-linked bonus
  • Private medical insurance
  • Workplace pension

To apply for this role please e-mail a comprehensive CV and covering letter to Andrew Barnes or contact him directly for a confidential discussion: abarnes@wilberforce.co.uk