Junior Legal Secretary

Owen Reed
London (Greater)
£25,000
04 Jan 2017
23 Jan 2017
LQ/62507
Legal Secretary
Legal
Contract
Full Time

Junior Legal Secretary
 
We are looking for a Junior Legal Secretary,  The Junior Legal Secretary will report to the Hub Coordinator (Team Coordinator/Team Leader)
 
The Junior Legal Secretary will:
•provide general secretarial and admin service as part of the secretarial team to the Group 
•assist the secretarial team in providing fee earners in the Group with effective and high quality secretarial support that appropriately meets their requirements, enabling them to focus on providing legal services to clients
•ensure clear and concise record keeping relating to tasks undertaken and correct filing of tasks and supporting materials (ie email instructions / discussions)
•follow hub processes and procedures when undertaking tasks
•collaborate with hub team members on hub processes, procedures and solutions
•respond appropriately to fee earner requirements/needs
•actively participate in hub team meetings

Regular responsibilities will include:
•Work collaboratively with the rest of the secretarial team, to learn secretarial process and provide a comprehensive secretarial/admin support service, taking ownership and responsibility to ensure the work is undertaken in the most appropriate way to maximise efficiency
•Actively engage with the workflow through the hub inbox, directing work through it and taking appropriate work from it in priority order.  Coordinating internal and external client meetings and ensure all work activities are scheduled effectively, including the identification and resolution of potential challenges and clashes
•Organising meetings, ensuring rooms and conference facilities, video conference facilities are booked, liaising with attendees if necessary both internal and external and making sure that hospitality is in place
•Meeting deadlines and ensuring successful outcomes for assigned tasks
•Responding and dealing with external or internal telephone calls and queries in a professional manner and taking clear and concise messages for other members of the practice group as required
•Organising travel arrangements through the travel desk, booking and confirmation of reservations, flights, hotels, car transfers, ordering currency and expense claims and producing detailed itineraries.  Preparation of key documents including Visas,  correspondence (including invitation letters), travel invoices, expense claims, and maintenance/filing of copies
•Understanding document management processes.  Amending and re-formatting documents when appropriate to do so, ensuring that completed documents are delivered accurately and to a consistently high standard or
•Learning to organise agendas, presentations and meeting papers, including print production and timely distribution; ensuring that fee earners have all documents and adequate preparation time
•Supporting the secretarial team by ensuring the timely completion of the support team's shared work, ensuring work of an appropriate level is dealt with according to priority
•Demonstrating flexibility with working practices in line with the business need, especially in times of pressure/ high workload
•Organisation of file management, including closing of files, archiving and ensures that all relevant documents are filed electronically and paper-based, if required
•Working towards full capability for managing and understanding of the end-to-end billing process, of standard bills, using Elite (internal financial system).   Following the relevant procedures and prompting fee earners to complete all necessary time recording, or to enter such time recording on their behalf
•Creating standard bills, disbursements, amending narratives as well as requesting credit notes
•Understanding the client matter opening, client reporting and client balances processes
•Complete financial reports where required, from internal systems highlighting outstanding monies to be billed and updating particular client financial schedules where necessary
•Manage group and fee earner contacts to ensure they are up to date through Interaction
•Provide administrative support to fee earners with conflict searches and audit requests
•Assist on ad-hoc projects as and when required,  for example managing bundles, indexing documents.
 
Qualifications
 
Skills and Experience:
•Strong communication skills, both written and verbal
•Technical expertise - uses and actively seeks to expand technical knowledge, shares learning.  Applies new,  job-related information or learning to work
•Planning and organizing - Establishing a course of action to accomplish a specific goal, planning tasks with appropriate use of resources.  Manages time effectively to maximise productivity and efficiency.  Achieves long and short term goals through effective planning
•Initiative - Self-starting rather than passively accepting.  Goes beyond what is necessarily called for, anticipates and prepares for a specific opportunity or problem that is not obvious to others.  Sets challenging goals, is innovative, measures performance, focuses on improvement to enhance outcomes.  Dissatisfied with average performance