Dispute Resolution Secretary

An excellent opportunity for an experienced Legal Secretary to develop their career within a flexible environment and join an expanding and successful firm that is supportive and encouraging.

What will I be doing?

You will provide sole secretarial and administrative support to a team of 6-8 fee earners ensuring the team can focus on the legal work. Your responsibilities will include:

• Being the first point of contact for new client enquiries – presenting the firm in best light, obtaining relevant information, assessing the matter, and referring work to relevant fee earner.
• Diary management – appointment and meeting room bookings, team meetings, key dates/deadlines etc.
• File administration – file opening including all aspects of anti money laundering compliance, file maintenance, file closures etc.
• Civil litigation processes and procedures – including online filing and preparing trial bundles etc.
• Secretarial work – including digital dictation, working with precedent letters etc.
• Systems and procedure use and compliance – maintaining an up to date knowledge of Firm and Department systems and procedures, adhering to Firm guidelines in course of own work and assisting other members of the team with systems and procedures.
• Billing and accounts administration – producing and issuing bills and statements of account, collating anticipated monthly fee income, liaising with fee earner and clients re: money on account, liaising with accounts team etc .
• Business development administration – logging and analysing enquiries, conversion rates and sources of work etc.

What skills and experience do I need?

• Excellent administrative skills –able to maintain accuracy and work at fast pace.
• Highly organised – able to manage and correctly prioritise own workload, able to manage work from multiple fee earners, demonstrates an understanding of urgency and importance.
• Demonstrates a proactive approach e.g. performs routine / agreed tasks without prompting, keeps fee earners informed on administrative work in progress, maintains an awareness of department deadlines and reminds fee earners to assist others in working to deadlines – proactive but in line with the scope of their role.
• IT literate and willing – able to learn and utilise systems fully in line with Firm guidelines, open to and able to champion system developments and implement change etc.
• Good compliance knowledge – familiarity with anti-money laundering requirements.
• Excellent client service skills – demonstrates a high standard of client care, ability to control new enquiry calls and obtain relevant information from clients in an efficient but friendly manner etc.
• Strong communication skills – with the ability to build rapport, demonstrate a professional approach and give and receive feedback constructively.
• Previous experience of litigation – experience of civil litigation and understanding of court processes and procedures is desirable but legal secretarial experience of other litigation will be considered.
• Good commercial awareness – understands the importance of efficiency, completing work within timescales set, quality of work, compliance with policies / procedures etc in delivering a service to our clients and maximising fees and profitability.

Competitive salaries and generous bonus schemes, pension contributions and holiday entitlements are on offer.