Job Title: Department Legal Secretary
Location: Northenden, Manchester
Salary: Negotiable dependant on Experience
Job type: Full time, Permanent
They are currently looking for a Department Secretary to support the Costs and Budgeting Department, this also includes some personal secretarial work for the Department Head who also handles some complex personal injury cases and has a senior role in the Firm’s management team.
The role will involve diary management, attending meetings in order to take minutes, assisting with the allocation of new work, monitoring completion dates for active work within the department, and keeping a department court hearings diary. Additionally, this role will include typing audio dictated documents, preparing standard precedent documents, and finalising court bundles. The role requires good communication skills as the candidate will have regular contact with barristers, the court, legal opposition and senior members of the department.
The ideal candidate must have a minimum of 3 years’ experience as a legal secretary, ideally with some PA experience. Further the candidate must have a background in personal injury litigation. Costs and budgeting experience are desirable but not essential. The candidate should have excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, a strong command of English spelling, punctuation and grammar and GCSE level mathematics. An audio typing speed of 65+ wpm and experience of the Proclaim case management system and Excel will be a distinct advantage.
Job Description
- To prepare correspondence and documents through audio-typing and word processing
- To make appointments, arrange meetings and to manage the fee earner diaries
- 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 administer filing which will include daily filing and the opening, closing, storage and retrieval of client files in accordance with company procedure
- To prepare mail and enclosures for despatch if required
- To arrange for all copying to be done, in person if the admin assistant is not available to undertake the task
- To requisition and make payments associated with department cases
- To make telephone calls to the court barristers and legal opposition in connection with department hearings and also case progression
- Monitor and action own and partner task list
- To perform any such task required by the Partner to support them in the efficient management of cases, including monitoring important dates/deadlines, autonomously producing chaser letters and chaser calls, dealing with routine incoming letters
- Creating and updating cases on Proclaim
- Provide ongoing support to team regarding policies and systems
- Produce agenda & minutes for meetings
- Assisting with the allocation and monitoring of work within the costs department
- To create and sometimes work from management reports
- Ensure department has stationary supplies, printer cartridges, paper, calculators etc.
- Organise team social events
- Monitor team holiday requests and manage holiday calendar
- 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
- Any other ad hoc duties as and when required
The Candidate:
Essential Skills
- Demonstrable legal secretarial experience within personal injury
- Computer literate
- Excellent command of English spelling, punctuation and grammar (they may test at interview)
- Excellent audio typing skills
- Excellent customer service skills, including professional and friendly telephone manner
Desirable Skills
- Knowledge of the Proclaim case management system
- Audio typing speed of 65+ words per minute
- Experience in costs and or budgeting
- Experience of requisitioning of payments
- Understanding how to read a client ledger
Benefits:
20 days holiday, rising 1 day per year to a max of 23 days, plus bank/public hols. In addition the office is closed between Christmas and New Year and you are not required to use your holiday entitlement for this period.
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; PA, Personal Assistant, EA to Associate, PA to Associate, EA to Partner, PA to Partner, Legal Secretary, Office Assistant, Business Administrator, Executive Assistant, Business Assistant, Secretary, Fee Earner Support, Fee Earner Assistant, Legal Support Assistant will also be considered for this role.
