Barristers Clerk - Trainee

Do you want a clerical career in Law? then this is a fantastic opportunity to join reputable local chambers as a Trainee Barristers Clerk: Responsibilities of the role: The role is very varied and can range from basic clerical work to complicated fee negotiation. Key areas of activity cover: diary and practice management - all activities relating to the barrister getting to and from courtfees management - ensuring barristers' fees are created for the work they dobusiness development and marketing - carried out by clerks to maintain the supply of workcompliance matters - clerks need to be aware of the standards that chambers have to adhere to and appropriate accreditation Duties may include: finding statutory and case law materialscarrying books, papers and robes to courtdelivering urgent documents to other chambersmaking travel and accommodation arrangements for barristers when necessarygeneral administrative duties Other tasks vary according to the level at which you are working, but may involve: discussing with a client the most appropriate barrister to take the case in terms of specialisation, particular abilities, experience and availability (being aware of any potential conflict of interest where barristers from the same chambers are representing opposing parties)negotiating the fees to be charged with the instructing solicitorplanning the timetable of a case in detail, taking into account factors such as preparation time, conferences (i.e. meetings with instructing solicitors and clients) and estimated number of days in courtarranging meetings on behalf of the barrister with the instructing solicitor and client to discuss the caseinforming the client's solicitor of progress and, in case of a delay, renegotiating the agreed timetable of work as requiredplanning the workload of each barrister to avoid clashes of court timesproactively seeking work for the chambers by keeping in touch with solicitors and undertaking other marketing activities, such as holding seminars and hosting eventsreferring cases to more appropriate chambers when a lack of specialist expertise could jeopardise the outcome of the casemaintaining awareness of cases that are likely to be coming to the chambers, especially major criminal cases, and contacting the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to check whether counsel has been arrangedkeeping up to date with specific areas of law and the specialisms of the barristers within the chambersrunning business activities and the administrative systems of chambers to meet quality standardsdiscussing with junior barristers the areas of law in which they wish to develop expertise and allocating relevant cases to them. Key Skills you will need to have: excellent face-to-face communication and interpersonal skills for dealing with clients, barristers, solicitors, court officials and judgesan awareness of appropriate language and etiquette, particularly in courta good telephone manner and strong written communication skillsexcellent negotiation skillscommercial awareness and sales skills, in order to maintain the supply of workattention to detail and accuracycomputer literacythe ability to absorb a lot of informationinitiative, integrity and self-motivationorganisational and planning ability, to handle several cases at different stages concurrentlya knowledge of the legal system is of benefit but not essentialthe ability to work under pressure when a court deadline is approachingthe capacity to work as part of a team with other barristers' clerks and barristers working on a casededication to having a career as a barrister's clerkthe physical ability to carry books, robes and documents to court To be successful you must have and show the following at interview: Ability to be able to think quickly and use initiativeBe able to work under immense pressure, have examples of stressful situations at work you have overcomeWork easily within a small teamAbility to communicate with outside agencies in a professional manner via phoneProficient I.T skills in MS Office (please note this is a clerical role, not a stepping stone into a Barrister/Solicitors role) Please Note: We will only contact successful candidates, therefore please ensure your relevant experience is very clear in your CV to avoid disappointment.