Legal Secretary - Private Client

Legal Secretary - Private Client

We are looking for a Legal Secretary to join our Private Client Department.  The Legal Secretary will report to the Departmental Secretarial Manager.  We are looking for an extremely organised and proactive Legal Secretary to provide a high level of professional support to their allocated Fee Earners within the Immigration Practice within Private Client as well as other members of the Department. The Legal Secretary will be experienced in their specialist area but will be expected to be flexible to cover the broader remit of the Department. 
 
Responsibilities of the Legal Secretary
Organisational Support
•Effective and proactive diary management, and awareness of Fee Earners' workloads to plan ahead, with minimal supervision
•Processes relevant applications, forms or searches, with minimal supervision
•Has an excellent knowledge of all systems/processes used within the Department
•Is professional and maintains effective communications with clients and Fee Earners
•Maintains up-to-date knowledge and understanding of Fee Earners' matters to enable a proactive support service
•Researches new clients/contacts and prepares bios before meetings, and conducts basic research (on-line or otherwise) for Fee Earners when required
•Arranges travel and any other activities on behalf of others, where appropriate
Client Relationship and Business Development
•Provides excellent service to clients, both internal and external, in a timely and professional manner, presenting a positive image of the Firm at all times
•Acts as a first point of contact for Fee Earners
•Provides assistance in the delivery of marketing communications, and records all business development meetings in InterAction, and sets up reminders where follow-ups are needed with prospects on InterAction or other systems/logs as required
•Recognises, respects and honours client confidentiality at all times
•Organises business development meetings and events for Fee Earners, and assists in the production of business development materials in liaison with the Marketing team

Document Production
•Creates typed work of a high quality, formatting in accordance with house style, at high speed, with accuracy and following internal guidelines
•Makes effective use of the Document Management System
•Creates new documents from the Firm’s templates, using contact data from InterAction where appropriate
•Proof-reads all documents for spelling, grammar and sense, querying wording where appropriate
•Proactively uses initiative to compose and send on behalf of Fee Earners, correspondence requiring focused concentration and attention to detail

IT Skills/Systems
•Maintains a high level of proficiency in core IT applications including the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook)
•Makes suggestions for additional training, as required

File Management
•Adopts a pro-active approach and works with Fee Earners  effectively, to maintain regular file management, ensuring all files are up to date, closed and archived, as appropriate
•Keeps accurate records of all files sent to off-site storage via Records
Financial Risk Management
•Prepares bills (including bill narratives) with minimal supervision, as required by Fee Earners
•Prepares AML documentation and obtains relevant documentation from clients in a timely manner, as required by Fee Earners
•Carries out conflict searches and correctly identifies the work type
•Has an excellent knowledge and application of the Firm's procedures in billing, AML, Credit Control and debt management
•Liaises with credit control and alerting Fee Earners of unpaid bills
•Deals with time-recording matters as required by Fee Earners

Skills and Experience
•Previous Immigration secretarial experience in a law firm essential
 
Person Specification
•Has excellent timekeeping and prioritises work effectively
•Is flexible, reliable, co-operative and has a professional approach to work
•Works as a positive, friendly and helpful team player
•Communicates in a positive and constructive manner
•Interacts in good faith and demonstrates effective listening
•Uses initiative and takes a proactive approach to work by regularly seeking ways to improve secretarial support
•Positively supports and promotes change within the Department
 
Education and Qualifications
•Qualified to GCSE standard, grade C (or equivalent) at Mathematics and English essential
 
Special aspects
•The hours of work for this opportunity are 9:30am to 5:30pm but it is essential to be committed, flexible and prepared to work beyond the normal office hours when necessary and in response to client demand.