Minimum prior experience of 3 years as Legal Secretary in a law firm or professional services firm is required to apply for this role.
Key responsibilities and challenges
Document production
- Undertake all document production tasks to the highest standards and to agreed deadlines using appropriate software and all available resources
- Type from manuscript, blacklining documents, using house style documents and non house style where required
- Proofread documents to ensure accuracy
- Prepare PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets
- Draft correspondence/emails
- Undertake photocopying, scanning, printing and faxing as required
- Assist other members of the group/division/firm as required to include the Marketing Team with pitch documents
- Ensure you are up to date on all programs and templates used
Meetings and travel management
- Diary management – arranging meetings and conference calls, liaising with clients, prioritising and rescheduling meetings as appropriate (must be able to anticipate principals’ needs in scheduling diary)
- Arrange conference calls, meetings, catering
- Co-ordinate all travel arrangements including taxis, accommodation, booking flights and expense forms as appropriate, keeping fee earners diaries up to date with the same
- Prepare and collate papers ahead of meetings
- Assist in the planning for key meetings
Client Relationship Management
- Collating and circulating agendas as appropriate
- Managing confidential data
- Deal with internal and client calls in a timely, confident, helpful manner and pass on accurate messages as required / action where necessary
- Deal with visitors in a confident and professional manner
- Keep client contact details, client book/CRM and lists up to date
- Support client events as required
Billing and Financial Hygiene
- Preparation of the Engagement Letter/Terms of Business/submission to Engage and following up where engagement terms are not in place
- Assist in preparation of bills and bill narratives
- Request draft bills and review for accuracy
- Take responsibility for the processing and accuracy of invoice changes
- Prepare e-mails and cover letters on behalf of matter manager for sending of invoices
- Adding disbursements to invoices via Readsoft application
- Sending invoices out to clients and keeping a record of the same
- Assist in monitoring the billing process for your principals as required
- Assist in opening new clients, as required
- Complete online matter opening for new matters
- Liaise with principals, conflicts, matter management and finance teams on matter administration
- Monitor work in progress and chase matter managers to bill, as required
- If a matter is monthly billing, ensure follow up process is followed appropriately
- Amend timelines using the DTA tool when necessary
- Run billing guides for fee earners when requested
- Providing weekly/monthly fee updates to clients on matters
Risk Management
- Actively support process which minimize the Firm’s exposure to risk (i.e Information Barriers and e- Filing)
Administration
- Manage annual leave requests for fee earners and keeping a record of the same
- Deal with incoming and outgoing mail
- Proactive monitoring of emails as required and forward/action as necessary
- Maintain update/reminder system of ongoing mail if required
- Establish and maintain effective and accurate filing systems (hard copy / iManage)
Miscellaneous
- Develop your competencies and skills in order to provide excellent professional assistance, attending training when required
- Keeping distribution lists up to date such as client marketing lists
- Submit timesheets for principals in their absence or as required
- Undertake other ad-hoc administrative tasks as required and agreed with Group Secretary
- Support Firmwide IT system rollouts
- Support principals in the use of IT systems such as Sophia/Workday
- Contribute (where required by Head of Secretarial services/Group Secretary) to Firmwide projects which relates to the Secretarial Services Function
- Attend secretarial meetings
- Attend training as required to keep up to date with firm wide procedures
- Working proactively as part of a team to ensure time is used effectively using all available firm wide resources to meet pressured deadlines
- Effectively manage and prioritise work
- Working with and assisting the other legal secretaries in the Middle East where necessary
Technical Skills:
La lista de tareas y responsabilidades no es exahustiva. La intención es describir el contenido general y los requisitos para esta vacante. Por lo tanto, el puesto puede incluir tareas y responsabilidades adicionales no descritas.