Senior Legal Process Designer

Birketts LLP; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Private Healthcare

Pension scheme

Staff profit share

Job summary

Birketts LLP is seeking a Senior Legal Process Designer to join its transformation journey. You will redesign how legal work is delivered, align processes with automation opportunities, and support adoption with training and guidance.

The role requires experience in legal operations, process improvement and strong stakeholder management in a professional services environment. Hybrid working with client-focused innovations is offered.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent experience in Law with at least 5 years PQE.
• 2 years’ experience of process design and/or project management in a professional service.

Responsibilities

• Analyse current legal service delivery processes across practice groups.
• Map existing workflows and design to-be processes to reduce friction and risk.
• Identify bottlenecks and opportunities for standardisation or automation.
• Create process maps, SOPs, playbooks and documentation.
• Embed continuous improvement disciplines within legal teams.
• Support firm-wide transformation initiatives and governance.

Skills

Law background

Process design

Business analysis

Stakeholder management

Workshop facilitation

Legal operations

Project management

Education

Law degree or equivalent

Tools

Visio

Lucidchart

Job description

About Us

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff 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.

About Us

Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals and over 600 staff 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 or opportunities that 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. RollOnFriday recently ranked us as the 6th best law firm to work at in 2026.

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 ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 45% of our partnership.

The work you will be doing

We are seeking a Senior Legal Process Designer to join a leading UK Top 50 law firm at an exciting stage of its legal transformation journey. This role will work closely with partners, lawyers, business services teams and technology colleagues to redesign how legal work is delivered, improving efficiency, transparency, consistency and client experience.

You will analyse current workflows, design future-state processes, identify opportunities for automation and technology enablement, and support teams through implementation and adoption. The role offers the opportunity to work on high-impact practice transformation, client-facing innovation and modern legal service delivery initiatives.

The successful candidate will bring experience in legal operations, process improvement, business analysis, consulting, legal project management or professional services transformation. Strong stakeholder management, workshop facilitation, process mapping and communication skills are essential. Experience with legal technology, continuous improvement methodologies and law firm operating models would be highly advantageous.

Main Responsibilities include:

• Analyse current legal service delivery processes across practice groups, sectors and client teams.
• Map existing as-is workflows and design practical to-be processes that reduce friction, duplication and operational risk.
• Identify bottlenecks, hand-off issues, rework, unnecessary variation and opportunities for standardisation or automation.
• Create clear process maps, standard operating procedures, playbooks, templates and process documentation.
• Embed continuous improvement disciplines into legal teams, balancing efficiency with quality, regulatory obligations and client expectations.
• Support firm-wide transformation initiatives that modernise how legal services are scoped, resourced, delivered and measured.
• Design scalable operating models for repeatable legal work, complex matters, managed services and client-led solutions.
• Contribute to improved work allocation, matter planning, matter management, resource utilisation and delivery governance.
• Work with pricing, finance, project management and knowledge teams to improve predictability, profitability and transparency.
• Identify opportunities to use legal technology, workflow automation, document automation, AI-enabled tools, collaboration platforms and matter management solutions.
• Translate legal and operational requirements into clear technology requirements.
• Work with legal technologists, product owners and IT colleagues to design, test, implement and iterate practical solutions.
• Support adoption activity, including training materials, user guidance, communications and feedback loops.
• Experience of using Visio or Lucid Chart essential.
• Seek out and evaluate new technologies that can be applied to legal services, including attending external conferences and showcases.
• Facilitate workshops and discovery sessions with partners, lawyers, business services teams and, where appropriate, clients.
• Build consensus around process improvements and influence adoption through credible, evidence-based recommendations.
• Prepare concise recommendations, business cases and implementation plans for senior stakeholders.
• Act as a trusted adviser to practice leaders and transformation sponsors.
• Support client transformation projects, legal managed services opportunities and process-led service design.
• Contribute to tenders, panel responses and pitches by demonstrating the firm's operational excellence and innovation capabilities.
• Attend pitches and client meetings as appropriate.
• Arranging, hosting and facilitating hackathons or similar problem-solving forums with internal stakeholders and clients.
• Help develop repeatable propositions that improve client experience, transparency and value for money.

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

• Degree or equivalent experience in Law, with at least 5 years PQE. A transactional background would be an advantage (real estate or corporate).
• 2 years’ experience of process design and/or project management in a similar role in a professional service
• An understanding of agile methodology would be an advantage or experience of working in an agile way.
• Legal project management experience desirable.
• Experience in legal operations, legal transformation, business analysis, process improvement, consulting, legal project management or comparable professional services delivery roles.
• Strong process mapping and workflow design skills, with practical use of Service Design, Operational Excellence or Continuous Improvement approaches.
• Confident gathering requirements, documenting processes, identifying root causes, simplifying complexity and shaping practical recommendations.
• Good understanding of legal technology, automation, collaboration platforms, AI use cases, matter management and knowledge management tools.
• Ability to define KPIs, analyse performance information and evidence benefits such as quality, efficiency, profitability or adoption.
• Able to engage credibly with partners, fee earners, business services leaders, technologists and clients.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to produce clear process documents, executive summaries, slide materials and implementation guidance.
• Comfortable managing multiple workstreams, priorities and deadlines in a fast-moving professional services environment.

Hybrid Working

Birketts is a flexible business which has embraced a hybrid working model where our colleagues enjoy a mix of home and office working.

This role attracts a split of 60% office days and 40% working from home days per week.

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

• 25 days holiday (FTE) plus Bank Holidays
• Long Service holiday award - 1 extra week every 10 years continuous service
• Private Healthcare with BUPA (offered after probation is passed)
• Scottish Widows Pension Scheme (5% employer / 5% Employee)
• Staff Profit Share and Individual Performance Bonus Scheme
• Salary sacrifice (Pensions, Staff Profit Share)
• Life Assurance - 4 x salary / Permanent Health Insurance
• Paid CSR Day
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Leave
• Subsidised gym membership
• Electric car scheme
• Dress for your Day Policy

You can find out more on our website: https://www.birketts.co.uk/recognition-reward-benefits/

Inclusivity and Culture

At Birketts, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth.

Birketts is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.

If you require this advert in an accessible format, please visit https://diversityjobsgroup.com/company/birketts/

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

At Birketts, we recognise the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal profession and recruitment. We welcome innovation and understand that candidates may use AI tools to support their job applications. However, we expect all applicants to use AI responsibly and ethically.

Our expectations regarding AI use in applications

• Your application should reflect your own voice, experiences, and insights. AI may assist in structuring or refining your responses, but it must not replace your personal input.
• Do not use AI to misrepresent your qualifications, experiences, or skills. Any form of exaggeration or fabrication may result in rejection from the process.
• If you have used AI tools to assist with your application, be prepared to discuss how and why you used them during the interview process.
• Do not submit content generated by AI tools that may include personal or sensitive data not intended for public disclosure.
• AI-generated content should be reviewed and edited by you to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with the role and our firm’s values.

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment practices. The use of AI should enhance, not compromise your application. We encourage candidates to demonstrate critical thinking, commercial awareness, and a genuine interest in our firm.

If you have any questions about our expectations or the use of AI in your application, please contact our Talent Acquisition Team via [e-mail]