Job Description
Owen Reed is seeking a highly organised Legal Personal Assistant to provide exceptional, proactive support to senior partners and fee earners within the Family Law department of a top London law firm.
We are ideally seeking experienced PAs, preferably with current or recent experience in family law.
- Hybrid working: 3 days in the office
- Hours: 9:30am – 5:30pm
ROLE SPECIFICATION
The Role/Responsibilities
As a Personal Assistant in the Family Team, your role is to support the partners, and to a lesser extent the fee earners, in the Team. The role covers a wide range of activities including secretarial and administrative services. You will be required to take a proactive role in the continued enhancement of working practices, maintaining and constantly improving quality standards and our service to clients.
Responsibilities include:
•To take up a key part in the growth and development of the Family Team and be an integral part of the Team.
•To provide a full personal assistant and secretarial service to the partners, liaising with the Family Team’s administrator where necessary;
Incoming ‘traffic’ and new clients
•Screen incoming calls, assisting clients with enquiries where possible via Microsoft Teams audio or video calls;
•Managing new client enquiries, including taking initial enquiries, keeping track of enquiries, follow ups (and prompting partners to do so).
•Open new clients and new matters via InTapp, to include all associated processes such as conflict checks, KYC gathering and production of client care letters;
Day-to-day management
•Proactive diary management for partners, including organising internal team meetings and external client and BD meetings.
•Use BigHand and Outlook efficiently to prioritise and complete tasks accurately and to time, to include delegation of tasks to the administrator supporting your pod;
•Organising conferences with counsel, and dates of availability for court hearings.
•Organising/booking training and travel bookings as and when requested by Partners/fee earners, to include liaising with the BD team, making bookings with training venue/travel provider, arranging payment of fees and updating fee earner diaries.
Administrative tasks
• Although invoicing will primarily be the task of the Family Team’s administrator, to support in ensuring
invoices and narratives for every client are produced accurately and to time each month to meet the
department’s budget targets;
• Although document production will primarily be the task of Document Centre, to support in typing
correspondence by copy (and/or audio) and compile draft replies to standard letters, ensuring that all
correspondence and documents are produced to the highest standard and are in line with the Firm’s
house style (and any Family templates where appropriate), liaising with the Document Centre when
necessary;
• Save and file correspondence and documents in accordance with the Firm’s naming and saving
protocols and Undertake scanning and copying or co-ordinate through General Office
• Ensure all finance administration tasks are undertaken accurately and in accordance with the timing
protocols to ensure no breaches occur, to include receipt slips, transfer slips, write offs and
disbursement payments to third parties;
• Ensure all completed matters are closed promptly, as per advice from fee earners or revenue control,
and draft file closing forms for fee earner review and undertake all related tasks, to include archiving
and/or returning documents to clients as appropriate.
Technical tasks
• Accurate use of DocuSign and Bundledocs as and when requested by fee earners;
• Ordering copies of Office Copy Entries through HM Land Registry as and when requested by fee
earners;
• Downloading of Documents via external platforms to save to IManage as and when requested by fee
earners
Other
• Occasionally, where workload for the wider DR department is high, to help out with tasks for the other
DR teams.
• Share know-how amongst the secretarial and administrative team, updating the working practices
manual as appropriate;
• Represent the best interest of the Firm when dealing with people internally and externally;
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Our ideal candidate will possess most of the following attributes:
•Previous relevant experience within a law Firm;
•Excellent time management and organisational skills;
•Meticulous attention to detail and will be able to demonstrate exceptional case management;
•A demonstrable track record of excellent direct client contact and client care; and
•Excellent IT skills, including advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Office packages, working knowledge of document management system and e-filing and a minimum typing speed of 65wpm.
You will be a confident communicator with a positive work ethic and the ability to build credible relationships with clients both internal and external. We are looking for an individual who presents themselves with professionalism and polish, who will inspire the confidence of clients and colleagues.
…