Legal Secretary, PCR in Bristol

Department: Professional and Commercial Risk

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Bristol

Description

With a leading Commercial Litigation Team, DAC Beachcroft represents clients in disputes across all industry sectors. We advise across a diverse range of type and size of dispute from domestic to multi‑million pound international disputes. We are actively involved in litigation in all levels of the English courts. With our network of offices and associated firms across the UK, Europe, Asia‑Pacific, Latin America and North America, our reach is truly international. We also co‑ordinate litigation through our extensive network of lawyers throughout the world.

We are seeking to recruit a Legal Secretary into the team to provide support to around 11 Fee Earners. The team currently comprises around 7 Partners, 6 Legal Directors, 5 Senior Associates, 3 Associates, 8 Solicitors, 2 Trainees, 1 Chartered Legal Executive, 5 Paralegals and 3 Secretaries. Working as part of a team, you will be required to provide an excellent standard of secretarial support to the Commercial Dispute Resolution team. You will also be required to provide support across other practice groups as and when required.

Key Responsibilities

• The main purpose of this role is to provide an excellent standard of secretarial support to fee earners across the specified practice.
• Able to work independently.
• Effectively work with fee earners and secretarial team members as part of a 4 person secretarial team.
• Effective prioritisation of tasks whilst managing a full workload, including sharing of tasks with other members of the secretarial team.
• Liaise and build relationships as appropriate with clients and their support staff.
• Proactively manage diaries.
• Book client and internal meetings.
• Prepare correspondence and documents from digital dictation.
• Answer and make telephone calls.
• Manage the case management systems used by the team.
• Open files using case management system and/or set up new client.
• File, archive, photocopy, scan documents as and when required.
• Manage outgoing and incoming post and save to file.
• Ensure client contact information is kept up to date.
• Assist with the booking of travel or hotel arrangements.
• Proactively assist with ad‑hoc business development and communications activities e.g. client contact reports, team sheets, events and delegate packs etc.
• Maintain a level of individual knowledge required for the role including online training.
• Help maintain a clean office and clear desk.
• Handle confidential information in line with the firm’s data security protocols.
• Encrypt PDFs and create encrypted CDs, USBs and/or DVDs.
• Upload documents to Client's Management Systems.
• Share electronic documentation internally or externally using electronic sharing systems.
• Prepare bundles – using PDF Docs or BundleDocs.
• Submit monthly invoices, working alongside Ebilling, other routine finance matters such as claiming expenses, logging disbursements, arranging electronic payments.
• Debt management to ensure payments are made of our invoices in accordance with terms and conditions.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Qualified to a minimum of 5 GCSEs (including a grade C in English and Maths) or equivalent.
• A secretarial NVQ / Diploma or equivalent would be beneficial but is not essential.
• Previous experience within a legal environment is essential as is a minimum typing speed of 65 WPM.
• Must have excellent IT skills, particularly in Microsoft packages. Experience of VisualFiles or I‑Manage would be beneficial.
• Team oriented and collaborative with a flexible, can do attitude.
• An excellent eye for detail with a concern for quality and accuracy.
• A focused client service approach.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely orally and in writing.
• Demonstrable ability to multitask and prioritise a full workload under pressure and the ability to work independently within a team environment.