Legal Secretary- Conveyancing

Career Legal
London
Up to £37,000
16 Oct 2017
10 Nov 2017
AB-con
Legal Secretary
Legal, Property
Permanent
Full Time

Responsibilities

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

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 minimum 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 setting 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 assisting in the production of business development materials in liaison with Marketing

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
•    Basic preparation of 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
•    Excellent knowledge and application of the Firm's procedures in billing, AML, Credit Control and debt management
•    Liaising with credit control and alerting Fee Earners of unpaid bills
•    Deals with time-recording matters as required by Fee Earners

Skills and Experience
•    Qualified to GCSE standard, grade C (or equivalent) at Mathematics and English essential
•    Previous secretarial experience in a law firm essential

Person Specification
•    Excellent timekeeping and prioritises work effectively
•    Flexible, reliable, co-operative and 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

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.