Senior Family Clerk

PLACE OF WORK: St Philips Chambers, Birmingham

REPORTING TO: CEO & Director of Clerking

RENUMERATION: Highly competitive remuneration and benefits, aligned with senior-level responsibility.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 13th February 2026

We are an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of age, disability, gender, marital status, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.

Purpose of the Role

The Senior Family Clerk is responsible for the strategic leadership, commercial performance, and long-term development of the Family Practice. The role is a senior leadership position within Chambers and forms part of the senior management structure.

Working closely with the Chief Executive and Director of Clerking, Group Heads, and members, the Senior Family Clerk provides trusted leadership to the family group, shaping market position, driving sustainable growth, and supporting the career development of barristers.

The role carries delegated authority for the performance, culture, and commercial development of the family group and reports to the Chief Executive and Director of Clerking.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Practice Development

• Provide clear leadership to the family group, setting direction and priorities in line with Chambers’ overall strategy.
• Lead the strategic development of the family group, responding to market pressures, client demand, and changes in the nature of family work, including care, private law, and ADR.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the commercial realities of modern family practice, including fee pressures and evolving client expectations.
• Act as a trusted adviser to members on practice structure, case mix, pricing, and longer-term career planning.

Business Development and Market Presence

• Take a proactive, outward-facing role in promoting the family group and maintaining Chambers’ reputation with solicitors, professionals, and other referrers.
• Build and sustain senior relationships with key clients, ensuring confidence in Chambers’ clerking, service quality, and fairness.
• Lead clerk-driven business development activity, working closely with the Marketing Team and members to develop and deliver coherent, structured initiatives.
• Hold senior responsibility for service standards within the family group, including oversight of client care and the resolution of escalated issues, ensuring Chambers’ professional reputation is protected and enhanced.

Work Allocation, Fairness, and Transparency

• Hold overall responsibility for the fair, transparent, and defensible allocation of work across the family group.
• Establish, maintain, and oversee clear principles and processes for work allocation, including appropriate monitoring, review, and reporting mechanisms in line with regulatory and Chambers requirements.
• Ensure that allocation decisions balance commercial reality with individual development, wellbeing, and the long-term sustainability of the practice.
• Address concerns promptly and constructively, maintaining trust internally and externally.

People Management and Team Leadership

• Lead, manage, and develop the family clerking team, setting clear expectations and providing direction, support, and accountability.
• Ensure that clerks feel valued, supported, and professionally developed, recognising that retention and morale are critical to the success of the practice.
• Oversee appraisals, training, and development plans for clerking staff, working closely with HR to ensure best practice.
• Foster a culture of professionalism, calmness under pressure, sound judgement, and effective collaboration.

Career Development and Wellbeing of Members

• Support members at all stages of practice, with particular sensitivity to differing career paths, working patterns, and personal circumstances.
• Work with individual members on career development, progression, and practice planning.
• Ensure that wellbeing considerations, including flexible working and return to practice, are handled thoughtfully, consistently, and in a way that supports sustainable performance.

Governance, Risk, and Compliance

• Ensure that the family clerking function operates in full compliance with the Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct and Chambers’ policies.
• Maintain appropriate oversight of fees, quoting, and commercial arrangements, ensuring transparency and regulatory compliance.
• Contribute to financial planning, performance analysis, and forecasting for the Family Practice, using management information to inform strategic and operational decision-making.
• Take responsibility for risk management within the family group, escalating issues appropriately and at an early stage.

Systems and Information

• Ensure that clerking systems and data are used effectively to support decision-making, transparency, and regulatory compliance.
• Maintain oversight of data quality and promote continuous improvement of systems and working practices within the Family clerking function.

Skills, Experience, and Personal Qualities

Essential

• Proven ability to lead at a senior level within a professional services environment.
• High level of integrity, judgement, and personal credibility, inspiring trust internally and externally.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of the family law market.
• Excellent relationship-building skills with barristers, solicitors, and professional clients.
• Ability to manage complexity, competing priorities, and pressure calmly and effectively.
• Demonstrated commitment to fairness, transparency, and accountability.

Desirable

• Significant experience within family clerking or a comparable legal services leadership role.
• Experience of leading teams through transition or change.
• Strong understanding of wellbeing, inclusion, and people management in a demanding professional environment.

Scope of the Role

The Senior Family Clerk is expected to operate at a leadership and strategic level. Routine clerking and administrative tasks are delegated appropriately, allowing the role to focus on practice leadership, development, and performance.

The role may require undertaking other reasonable duties as directed by the Chief Executive and Director of Clerking in support of Chambers’ objectives.

APPLY NOW

To apply for this role, please email hr@st-philips.com with your CV and a covering letter, together with details of your current notice period (if applicable) and confirmation that you have the legal right to work in the UK.