Temp Legal PA, Trusts and Estates Disputes (Private Client)

The role

To provide first class professional legal secretarial and administrative support to a busy team of fee earners (including partners) in our Private Client Department, namely the Trusts and Estates Disputes sector.

Legal PAs work principally for named fee earners, however all work as part of a team with shared responsibilities.  Team members will be expected to prioritise and share tasks when appropriate in order to meet business needs.

Role responsibility

• Proactive and ongoing management of fee earners' inboxes, including filing emails in Filesite.
• Monitoring and responding to post/emails, 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.
• Creation of new client/matter files and onboarding clients and undertaking due diligence.
• Creating first draft Engagement Letters and distributing the same once approved by the matter partner.
• Dealing with the end to end billing process including running reports using Elite 3E reporting. Assisting partners/fee earners by liaising with the billing team, producing the relevant documentation and reports, and prompting Partners/fee earners to complete all necessary paperwork.  Creating precedent invoice letters to send to clients.
• Preparation of account forms and where necessary management of client invoices.
• Produce hearing bundles ensuring the relevant court documents are in the relevant section etc.
• Department specific support, e.g. familiarity with standard Court Forms.
• Delegate and manage work to our Document Production Centre, ensuring dictations and documents are submitted and returned in a timely manner.
• Proof reading to ensure all documents produced are accurate and correctly presented paying attention to Howard Kennedy house styles.
• Typing/amending documents and drafting where appropriate.
• Identify files on Fee Earner matter list to be archived.
• Collating and indexing legal documentation, deeds scheduling and deeds management.
• Proactive diary management to include booking of internal/external meetings, identifying potential clashes.
• Being proactive by ensuring that the fee earners have any paperwork, equipment and supplies required for any meetings, travel etc.
• Ensure all requirements are met when arranging meetings eg booking meeting rooms, video conference facilities, refreshments, restaurants.
• 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.
• Preparing agendas, presentations etc for internal/external meetings.
• Ensuring all external contacts/agent fees are updated to relevant systems.
• Dealing with BD activities ensuring all relevant databases are updated. 
• Minute taking.
• Dealing with all travel arrangements including producing detailed itineraries.
• Inputting expense claims via Chrome River.
• Event planning (liaising with BD).
• Delegating appropriate work to the Team Assistant.
• Undertaking research.
• Small volume photocopying and scanning, with delivery/collection of large volume photocopying and scanning and couriers to the Document Services team.
• Support to other Legal PAs where required, especially during any absence.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate:

Essential

• Experience in a law firm, specifically in contentious trusts and estates disputes, supporting litigation fee earners in a demanding, high performing professional services environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent diary management and proactivity skills.
• Effective and professional telephone manner.
• Ability to work well under pressure, remaining calm and focussed.
• Ability to work in a team and to multitask.
• Excellent organisational skills and time-management skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent use of Outlook, Microsoft Word, Excel, PDF and Powerpoint.

Desirable

• Practical use of BigHand digital dictation system.
• Practical use of Elite 3E system.
• Practical use of DocuSign system.
• Practical use of Carpe Diem system.
• Practical use of Lexis Smart Forms or Laserforms
• Practical use of CRM.
• Practical use of Chrome River.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Constant enthusiastic, can-do and positive approach to tasks and situations as well as requests for action outside normal scope of duties.
• Ability to take personal responsibility, ownership and behave responsibly.
• Friendly, co-operative and approachable at all times.
• Listens carefully and questions to ensure all relevant information is obtained to  action.
• A resilient character with a positive attitude. 
• Ability to be flexible and self-motivated.
• A strong team player.
• A strong communicator with individuals of all levels.
• Displays discretion when dealing with sensitive information.

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

We are a London based, full-service law firm, specialising in providing straightforward advice to entrepreneurial businesses and individuals on domestic and international matters.

We have grown substantially in recent years, including two mergers and an office move. We’ve also matured in terms of our approach to providing advice to our clients, seeking to simplify and improve the experience of working with a modern, independent law firm.

We’re proud of our journey. Without losing sight of where we’ve come from, we are focused on where we’re going. We are evolving and growing every day. And just like our clients, we are ambitious and moving forward. Many of our clients are entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises who are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. We are one of the only London based law firms with a large private wealth offering alongside significant business law capability.

The firm also advises major corporates on particular specialist legal matters who find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.