Paralegal / Family Law Administrator in Esher, Surrey

Gibson Kerr is a long established, central Edinburgh legal practice with a good client base, specialising in family law, personal law, and residential conveyancing and estate agency. We are a three partner firm, with 9 other fee earners and 23 support staff at present. We are looking for an experienced administrator or paralegal who wants a challenge. If you have experience as a legal secretary, particularly in family law, that would be a benefit. However, we will also consider applicants with relevant transferrable skills who are interested in moving into the legal sector.

Qualifications and Skills:

• Qualified to degree level, or substantial equivalent work experience.
• Computer literate – MS Word, Excel, Internet, email.
• Audio typing and touch typing.
• Numerate.
• Pleasant and outgoing manner with the public, both on the phone and face to face, and good verbal and written communication skills.
• Legal secretarial experience, ideally within family law, would be an advantage.
• Knowledge of Sheriff Court and Court of Session procedures would be an advantage.

Responsibilities:

• To provide general secretarial, administrative and client support primarily in the area of family law, supporting the solicitors in the family law department.
• To provide holiday cover and other assistance for other members of the support team across all departments as needed.
• To assist with office administration duties supporting the Practice Manager as needed.
• To effectively use the case management system in production of legal documents and letters.
• To follow office administrative procedures to ensure smooth and reliable flow of work through the office.

Job Purpose:

To support the family law department by delivering an accurate, high quality, on time service to clients and support to internal staff members in relation to printed output, telephone and email handling and face-to-face contact.

Conditions of Employment:

• Working hours will be 8.30am till 5pm, Monday to Friday (37.5 hours a week). More may be required from time to time, on a voluntary basis. Overtime hours will be paid at the same rate as contracted hours. We offer hybrid working for this role.
• Five weeks annual leave is given, plus five days' public holidays: two days at each of Christmas and New Year and one day on Easter Monday.

Promotion Prospects:

To take on more responsibilities as the business expands.

Applicant Profile:

• Enthusiastic, bright and cheerful – someone with good rapport with clients, colleagues, and staff at other firms.
• Good team player.
• Good typing skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Willing to learn new tasks and firm procedures.
• Prepared to take responsibility for the way their actions impact on the performance of the office as a whole.
• Good at handling a varied workload, working to tight deadlines, and prioritising tasks as appropriate.
• Able to go about their business in a confident manner.
• Thrives within a busy, high pressure environment.