Administration Assistant – for the Citizenship and Immigration Department

The Firm

Payne Hicks Beach is a 43 partner firm of solicitors based in offices at 10 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn.  In total the firm comprises about 200 staff.  The firm provides specialist legal services to private and commercial clients.  We are best known for our family and private client work and are widely regarded as one of the very best of the small number of firms in the UK who provide these specialist services at the highest level.  We also have an excellent reputation in many other areas of law (rated in both Chambers and Legal 500).

Our offices are located in one of the finest squares in London, a building which the firm has occupied since 1770.

More information about the departments and the work of the firm can be found on our website, the address www.phb.co.uk

The Citizenship and Immigration Department

The Citizenship and Immigration Department comprises of 2 Partners, 1 Senior Associate, 3 Associates, 2 Immigration Managers, 2 Trainees, 1 Paralegal and 1 in-house barrister who offer a full range of immigration services including all visa categories, Indefinite Leave to Remain and British nationality applications. The contentious side of the team does the below described work and works closely with the firm’s reputation, protection and white-collar crime teams.   The department is a highly regarded, and top ranked department offering immigration services to high net worth individuals and companies.

We act for a wide range of clients, including high net worth individuals, families and businesses, often working alongside other advisors, family offices and wealth managers. We are able to advise on the full range of UK immigration applications, we provide services from initial entry to the UK, all the way through to British citizenship. Additionally, we are experienced in appeals and judicial review applications within the immigration context.

The Role

The key duties will include, but will not be limited to:

• Assisting and providing a range of administration support to fee earners within the department
• Billing
• File opening and compliance support
• Drafting engagement letters
• General administrative duties
• Maintaining all filing systems effectively
• Drafting correspondence to clients on a daily basis via email and letter

The Individual

Key skills:

The ideal candidate will have the following skills and attributes:

• Good academic record including 3 A-levels (BBC minimum) and GCSE Maths and English grades A* – C / 9 – 4;
• Good administrative skills and the ability to prioritise a workload;
• Excellent attention to detail is essential;
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages e.g. Excel and Word;
• Excellent command of both spoken and written English and numeracy skills;
• Experienced IT user;
• Ability to work as part of a team or on their own;
• An interest in immigration law and human rights;
• Well organised and able to act with discretion when dealing with confidential information;
• A good telephone manner and customer service skills; and
• A positive outlook, flexibility and appetite for taking on challenges.