Legal PA - Wealth and Succession

The role

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Private Client Legal PA to join the Wealth and Succession Team in our Private Client Department on a full-time permanent basis.  You will provide first class professional PA support to a busy team of fee earners (including partners). 

The Legal PA will be an integral part of our busy team and will work principally for named fee earners, but also as part of our PA team with shared responsibilities. We're looking for an experienced Legal PA who can prioritise and delegate effectively, with excellent communication and organisation skills.

Role responsibility

• Proactively manage and maintain fee-earner diaries, making appointments and co-ordinating internal and external client meetings including ensuring fee earners have relevant materials required for any meetings, the booking of meeting rooms, video conference facilities, refreshments, restaurants, taxis etc.
• Management of fee-earners' inboxes when they are out of the office; monitoring and responding to emails/post, prioritising correspondence to enable fee earners to focus on urgent matters and using initiative to route emails to the appropriate individuals for swift response and action; wherever possible, responding to and filing emails in to iManage.
• Making travel arrangements (domestic and foreign), producing itineraries and ensuring expenses claims are completed, when necessary.
• Onboarding new clients by following compliance rules, to include requesting official KYC documentation, managing opening of new matters.
• Acting as the key contact point for internal and external queries posed to the fee-earners who you support.
• Producing documentation as required - typing, drafting and amending documents, letters and correspondence where appropriate and proofreading all work to ensure consistent accuracy and high standard.
• Preparation of account forms and coordination of the end-to-end billing process and Elite 3E financial reporting; assisting fee-earners by liaising with the billing team, producing the relevant documentation and reports, and prompting fee-earners to complete all necessary paperwork etc.
• Collating and indexing legal documentation, deeds scheduling and deeds management.
• Undertaking research using the internet, databases etc.
• Liaising with clients, Counsel and other external parties.
• Supporting other PAs where required, especially during any absence.
• Using initiative to take responsibility of administration that will assist the fee earners.
• Ensuring all correspondence/documentation is correctly electronically filed on iManage.
• Responding and dealing with external or internal telephone calls and queries in a professional manner, taking clear and concise messages. 
• Establishing relationships with clients and clerks at chambers and being able to give assurance with generic queries, demonstrating knowledge of the files.
• Department specific support, e.g. familiarity with standard forms and Precedents.
• Proofreading to ensure all documents produced are accurate and correctly presented paying attention to Howard Kennedy house styles.
• Ensuring all external contacts/agent fees are updated to relevant systems.
• Dealing with BD activities ensuring all relevant databases are updated. 
• Event planning (liaising with BD).
• Delegating appropriate work to the Team Assistant.
• Small volume photocopying and scanning, with delivery/collection of large volume photocopying and scanning and couriers to the Document Services team.

About you

• Experience in a demanding, high performing professional services environment.
• Experience in Private Client Law is essential.
• Extremely well organised with excellent diary management and time management skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Display a high level of attention to detail.
• A proactive, flexible and self-motivated approach.
• A strong team player.
• Knowledge of Microsoft packages such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Desirable:

• Specific knowledge of Wills, Probate and Lifetime Planning would be advantageous.
• Experience with BigHand, Elite 3E, iManage/FileSite would be advantageous.

Additional Information / Systems Used:

• Microsoft Outlook 2010
• Microsoft Word 2010
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2010
• Microsoft Excel 2010
• PDF Docs/Acrobat Reader/Bundledocs
• iManage
• BigHand Digital Dictation System
• Elite 3E
• InTapp Time
• My Performance Leader
• Docusign
• HubShare
• Willbase
• Clarilis

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 25 days annual holiday
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Interest free Season Ticket Loan
• Private Healthcare
• Pension Scheme
• Staff Introductory Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme

About us

With almost 200 lawyers in one location, we ensure our clients have the right team to help them get from where they are to where they want to be. We advise major corporates and institutions as well as entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises which are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. As well as our significant business law capability, we are one of only a few London-based law firms with a large private wealth offering. Our clients find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.

Whether you are an ambitious and talented individual wanting to hit the ground running from day one, or an established professional looking for a new opportunity, Howard Kennedy is the firm where you can really make it happen.

We have earned a strong reputation for our exceptional and uniquely talented people who between them deliver outstanding results for clients. In a firm of our size, our strong team dynamic creates a thriving culture of creativity and entrepreneurialism. Howard Kennedy is a pragmatic and non-hierarchical environment where success is shared, and you are proactively encouraged to thrive at your own pace.

Our distinctive culture is built on fairness and respect. Guided by the firm’s values of talk straight, think smart and be yourself, everyone in the firm holds equal value, and everyone plays their role in supporting, encouraging and inspiring colleagues to do their best work.

At the same time, we recognise and reward individualism, celebrating the diversity of our people and supporting them to grow their practice and drive their own career advancement.

As well as client work, there is opportunity to broaden your horizons at the firm with fulfilling pro bono and charity projects. We have a regular social calendar full of wellbeing activities, charitable and social events too.