Legal Secretary

Job Description

Legal Secretary - LeedsLeeds£22,000 - £26,000A fantastic, top 50 establishedLeeds firm, known to us as a client for many years are keen to add an experiencedLegal Secretary to their already impressive team.Based in well-equipped offices in an impressive setting, close to commuter links, the Legal Secretarywill benefit from working with a cohesive team of Secretaries, Administrators and Coordinators to deliver a high quality of a full range of Legal SecretarialDuties.This is a permanentfull time role.Duties and responsibilities of the Senior Legal Secretary:

• Taking ownership and responsibility to ensure the work is undertaken in the most appropriate way to maximise efficiency
• Actively engaging with the workflow through the team inbox, directing work through it and taking appropriate work from it in priority order
• Coordinating internal and external client meetings and ensure all work activities are scheduled effectively, including the identification and resolution of potential challenges and clashes
• Organising meetings, ensuring rooms and conference facilities, video conference facilities are booked, liaising with attendees if necessary both internal and external and making sure that any required catering and technical equipment is in place
• Manage expectations in terms of deadlines and outcome of tasks assigned
• Responding and dealing with external or internal telephone calls and queries in a professional manner and taking clear and concise messages for other members of the practice group as required
• Organising travel arrangements through the travel desk, booking and confirmation of reservations, flights, hotels, car transfers, ordering currency and expense claims and producing detailed itineraries
• Preparation of key documents including visas, correspondence (including invitation letters), travel invoices, expense claims and maintenance/filing of copies
• Understanding document management processes. Amending and re-formatting documents when appropriate to do so, ensuring that completed documents are delivered accurately and to a consistently high standard
• Learning to organise agendas, presentations and meeting papers, including print production and timely distribution; ensuring that fee earners have all documents and adequate preparation time
• Supporting the secretarial team by ensuring the timely completion of the support teams shared work, ensuring work of an appropriate level is dealt with according to priority
• Demonstrating flexibility with working practices in line with the business need, especially in times of pressure/ high workload
• Organisation of file management, including closing of files, archiving and ensures that all relevant documents are filed electronically and paper-based, if required
• Working towards full capability for managing and understanding of the end-to-end billing process, of standard bills, using Elite (internal financial system). Following the relevant procedures and prompting fee earners to complete all necessary time recording,or to enter such time recording on their behalf
• Creating standard bills, disbursements, amending narratives as well as requesting credit notes
• Understanding the client matter opening, client reporting and client balances processes
• Completing financial reports where required, from internal systems highlighting outstanding monies to be billed and updating particular client financial schedules where necessary
• Managing group and fee earner contacts to ensure they are up to date through Interaction (CRM tool)
• Providing administrative support to fee earners with conflict searches and audit requests
• Assisting on ad-hoc projects as and when required, for example managing bundles, assisting during team events, indexing documents, etc

Skills Required:

• Extensive relevant experience as a Secretary
• Have a strong working knowledge of iManage and Bighand or similar tools
• IT literate with high level of proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook), Lync - Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams
• Detailed and strong working knowledge of and high level of proficiency in Elite billing
• Exemplary document management and filing
• Excellent telephone manner
• Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills
• Applies knowledge and judgement to solve problems and make decisions
• Experience of delegating to, and training, junior team members

The firm are offering 25 days holiday plus bank holidays, a hybrid working arrangementto suit the candidate and a range of competitive benefits. If you are an experienced Legal Secretary, based in or near Leeds, please get in touch for confidential consideration.