Legal Secretary PCR Newcastle in Newcastle upon Tyne

Department: Professional and Commercial Risk

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Newcastle

Working as part of a team, you will be required to provide an excellent standard of secretarial support to the Professional & Commercial Risk team. You will also be required to provide support across the other practice groups in Professional & Commercial Risk as and when required. Working individually and as a team to act as a point of contact for lawyers and to ensure the effective completion of their work, as well as undertaking a variety of secretarial tasks.

Key Responsibilities

• Client Relationship Management
  • Responsible for keeping up to date with client specific protocols and processes and implementing.
• Administrative
  • Handle outgoing correspondence including electronic communications.
  • Create new case files as appropriate.
  • Prepare and create client reports and documents for fee earners.
  • Collate enclosures for outgoing correspondence, instructions to Counsel, experts etc using electronic bundling and encryption software.
  • General knowledge of case management systems.
  • Email management – filing, saving, locating, deleting, responding where applicable and referring incoming mail to others as necessary and managing Inbox on behalf of colleagues as and when required.
  • Print, file, photocopy, scan, fax and archive documents as and when required.
  • Ensure that client contact information is kept up to date.
  • Update document bundles for fee earners.
  • Using OneDrive, Sharefile and Client Connect for the safe exchange of client information.
  • Keep case files organised and logical.
  • Assist with incoming billing and accounts queries.
  • Draft emails and correspondence on behalf of fee earners.
  • Answer and make telephone calls.
  • Book client meetings.
  • Assist with the planning and booking of travel arrangements.
  • Assist with ad-hoc business development and communications activities e.g. client contact reports, delegate packs etc.
  • Assist in organising client events as and when required.
  • Maintain a level of individual knowledge required for the role.
  • Occasional preparation of correspondence and documents from digital dictation.
  • Help maintain a clean office and clear desk.
  • Handle confidential information in line with the firms data security protocols.
• Communication
  • Key point of contact for lawyers to maintain relationships and ensure a high level of support is always provided by the team.
  • Monitor post and/or emails and dealing with as appropriate ensuring all client related correspondence is passed on to an appropriate lawyer and actioned as necessary; proactively responding to and drafting responses on behalf of others, prioritising emails, collating necessary paperwork and e-filing.
  • Liaising with and providing support to their immediate colleagues in the department, and where practical, other legal and support departments as requested by STL.
  • Assisting others where there is spare capacity or it is evident that a colleague needs assistance with their workload.
  • Answering phone calls for other members of the team when they are away from their desk.
  • Liaison with and taking direction from your STL.
  • Liaise with the STL over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant lawyers.
• Financial
  • Assisting lawyers with billing related tasks.
  • Log with accounts expert/counsel disbursements onto Chrome River and ensuring appropriate matter allocation.
  • Request cheques, bank transfers, and paying in money received, as appropriate.
  • Supporting the co-ordination of the WIP process.
  • Dealing with matter related finance administration to include BACs, TTs etc.
  • Dealing with submission of fee earner expenses.
  • Take ownership of billing and account queries and work with fee earners and support teams to resolve these.
  • Maintain spreadsheets and assist with monthly MI report completion.
• Customer Service
  • Arranging and attending team meetings.
  • Liaising with lawyers, STLs and Secretarial Managers (SM) to take instruction and liaise on work requirements.
  • Consistently and appropriately update service users on progress where appropriate.
  • Regularly offer assistance wherever possible.
• Firm wide
  • Understands DAC Beachcroft is an international firm. Works with awareness of this structure to operate as one team/brand.
  • Actively operates in the best interests of the firm at all times internally and externally.
  • Operates in a regulated environment, effectively managing risk and compliance issues including data security.
  • Works in partnership with others to manage and mitigate commercial risk.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Experience of working in a legal or professional services environment.
• An aptitude for managing multiple priorities, producing documents and client communications of the highest standard.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office.
• Advanced knowledge of document management/case management systems.
• An effective communicator with an excellent customer and client service approach; striving to provide exceptional service at all times.
• Customer/client service focused.
• Proven experience of managing client facing tasks and priorities, with a hands-on, practical approach.
• Effective at investigating issues and seeing a problem through to conclusion.
• Conscientious, taking personal responsibility for own work and accountability for its delivery and quality.
• Excellent team player, sharing in team goals to provide excellent quality and efficiency of service, with a willingness to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
• Positive can-do attitude with the ability to adapt to change.
• Confidential and discreet but able to redirect information when appropriate to ensure areas of concern are resolved effectively.
• Well organised and methodical with excellent attention to detail, ensuring accuracy in all client communications and deliverables.