Job Title: PA to Partner
Location: Northenden, Manchester
Salary: Negotiable dependant on Experience
Job type: Full time, Permanent
Express Solicitors is a top 200 Law firm that specialises in all areas of personal injury including public liability, occupier’s liability, road traffic accidents, employer’s liability, industrial disease, serious injuries and clinical negligence. We pride ourselves in the work we do helping injured people.
We are Law Society accredited and are a Legal 500 Leading Firm for both Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence. Six of our Partners are members of the Law Society Specialist Personal Injury Panel.
Our employees are our most important asset and have been instrumental in helping us recover millions of pounds each year for injured people. No doubt at Express Solicitors we rate skill and ability above all else and our recruitment policy encourages applications from all.
The role
Due to our continued success and growth, Express Solicitors are currently looking for a Personal Assistant (PA) to work closely with one of our Partners, Sarah Mawdsley, within our Occupier and Public Liability Department. This is a true PA position, which is pivotal in supporting the Partner.
This PA role will involve diary management & elements of case management, as well as liaising with courts, defendants and clients. There is a focus on client care and you will be working collaboratively with the Partner to help maintain client relationships. We are looking for proactive & personable candidates who must have secretarial/PA experience within personal injury.
Express Solicitors is a modern & innovative firm, with an excellent reputation in the market, rated highly on Trust Pilot and recognised in the Legal 500 publication.
Key Responsibilities
- To support in the efficient management of cases, including monitoring important dates/deadlines, autonomously producing chaser letters and chaser calls, dealing with routine incoming letters
- To prepare correspondence and documents through audio-typing and word processing and ensure correct enclosures
- To make appointments, arrange meetings and to manage the partner’s diary
- To attend clients both in person and on the telephone and to provide such support in a professional and friendly manner in keeping with the firm’s standards for client care
- To assist with the preparation of trial bundles
- To provide support to other secretaries and the administration team as required
- To undertake any specific training when required to do so and overall to have a responsibility towards self-development
- To ensure the confidentiality of all the firm’s and clients’ documentation and information
- Undertake filing as required
- When working on a file always making sure there is a task in there for the next step. Review the file and make sure if you have e.g. requested a Form of Authority, the appropriate chaser task is set
- Fully complete jobs. If a dictation asks you to make a call to arrange e.g. an appointment, you may not mark the dictation as closed until the appointment is made (especially where it takes repeated attempts contact the client)
- Update case details such as client email address and / or 3rd party details. We are required to send as much correspondence as possible electronically
- Help us live the Express Service Pledge and deliver excellent levels of client care
- Good standard of literacy, grammar & accuracy
- Any other ad hoc duties as and when required
The Candidate
Essential
- Demonstrable legal secretarial experience within personal injury
- Computer literate
- Excellent command of English spelling, punctuation and grammar (a short typing test will be required at interview)
- Excellent audio typing skills
- Excellent customer service skills, including professional and friendly telephone manner
- Be pro-active and use a high degree of self-management and initiative
- Audio typing speed of 65+ words per minute
- Experience of working with court forms and creating pleadings
Desired
- Experience of digital dictation, ideally Big Hand
- Knowledge of the Proclaim case management system
Benefits
- Our standard working hours are 8:30am to 5:30am Monday-Thursday and 8:30am to 5pm Friday but we are happy to consider alternative arrangements and reduced hours
- 23 days holiday, rising 1 day per year to a max of 26 days, plus bank/public hols. Please note, the office is closed between Christmas and New Year and 3 holidays are reserved for this period
- 3 holiday buy backs per year after 1 year of service
- Private medical insurance available after 2 years’ service
- Death in Service – 2 x salary based on annual salary only – eligibility commences when you join the company
- Active social committee, firm pays for trips to e.g. Bowling, Chester Races, Christmas party, Summer Barbecue
- Active training culture and various groups and events such as Diversity & Inclusion
- Netball / Football team, 10km Manchester team and more
- Usual ancillary benefits including Employee Assistance Programme etc.
Please click on the APPLY button to send your CV and Cover Letter for this role
Candidates with the relevant experience or job titles of: EA to Associate, PA to Associate, EA to Partner, PA to Partner, Office Assistant, Business Administrator, Executive Assistant, Business Assistant, Secretary will also be considered for this role.
