Legal Secretary Apprentice - Dispute Resolution

Nockolds is an award-winning law firm driven by a genuine passion for providing exceptional service and delivering the highest quality legal advice while staying true to the values that have shaped us. We pride ourselves on forming strong, lasting connections with our clients, built on trust, understanding and a commitment to supporting them whenever they need us. Many of our clients return to us time and again because of the personal relationships we’ve developed.

As a leading Legal 500 and Chambers Law firm with offices in Bishop’s Stortford, London, and Spain, we are proud of the reputation we’ve built. Our history spans more than 190 years, but we continue to grow and evolve cementing our reputation for delivering exceptional results across a wide range of practice areas. Joining Nockolds means being part of a dynamic, growing, and forward-thinking organisation dedicated to excellence in legal practice and client services.

Our culture is at the heart of everything we do, it’s enabled us to expand whilst remaining a friendly, supportive, and inclusive environment where you can grow, feel valued, and be encouraged to bring your best self to work every day. We are listed in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For and have held the “We Invest in People – Gold” accreditation since 2012 and recently attained the “We Invest in Wellbeing – Silver” award, reflecting our genuine commitment to our people.

We firmly believe our staff are our most important asset. Our philosophy is simple: when we look after our people, they look after our clients. At Nockolds, our culture is driven through our values. These are an important part of the firm and were shaped by our people and lived by us all:

• Professional – we are excellent at what we do and committed to providing the highest standard of service.
• Approachable – we pride ourselves on the strong relationships we build with our clients.
• Dynamic – proud of our history but we are always moving forward.
• Integrity – quite simply, we believe in always doing the right thing.

We also care about the community around us. Through our charity initiatives and work with local schools and businesses, we aim to make a positive difference. Diversity is a core part of who we are, and we’re proud that over 40% of our partnership is made up of women.

Our Commercial and Property Litigation team advises businesses and individuals on a wide range of complex corporate, commercial and property disputes. The team handles all manner of commercial matters including contractual disputes, shareholder, director and partnership related issues, fraud, professional negligence, and insolvency matters. The team also provides advice, support and assistance on all manner of contentious property issues, from possession and forfeiture proceedings, breaches of leasehold covenants and dilapidations claims to issues relating to rights over property, nuisance, boundary disagreements and ownership disputes. In all cases we support our clients through the entire process of litigation to its conclusion at court or by means of alternative resolution, such negotiation or mediation. The team combines strong legal expertise with a practical, commercial approach to achieving the best possible outcomes for our clients.

You will provide secretarial and admin support to the Fee-earners within the Probate department in a professional and effective manner. You will be responsible for:

• Dealing with support/admin work as directed by the team.
• Preparing letters and documents as given in dictation or on paper, checking that they are correct and in the house style prior to signing or being sent.
• Preparing documents, court forms, notices to be sent.
• Dealing effectively with the filing, storage, retrieval and closure of clients’ files.
• Allocating scanned post to the correct matters on the firm’s case management system.
• Ensuring that all new joiners are included in any relevant ongoing meetings and internal groups.
• Attending to clients and other professionals in a professional way on the telephone.
• Taking and recording accurately any messages and passing on to the appropriate person without delay and actioning as appropriate.
• Ensuring the confidentiality and security of all clients’ documentation, including the use of our encryption systems.
• Carrying out the departmental client care policy.
• Triage enquiries into the team, record them on the relevant system and communicate them to the team in line with the new enquiry pledge.
• Sending out new appointment letters following the conversion of new enquiries including liaising with the file opening team in respect of AML requirements.
• Being familiar with the procedures required for the case systems in use including but not limited to Perfect Portal, Bundle Docs, dictation software and the firm’s case management system.
• Being competent in understanding managing of work on case management system.
• Using Bundle Docs and Kofax to put together bundles of papers, disclosure documents, court bundles or other documents.
• Using office equipment competently including IT client and case management systems Microsoft products (including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams) and the other software used by the team and the case management systems used by the court.
• Making appointments, arranging meetings and maintaining a diary, to be checked against the Fee-earner on a daily basis, including preparing documentation for the meetings as appropriate.
• Checking and maintaining key dates diary for matters specific to the relevant Fee-earners.
• Undertaking any other administrative/secretarial duties which from time to time may be allocated including but not limited to scanning, printing, telephoning relevant organisations and contacts.
• Being prepared to work at our London office for 1-2 days per week to provide support to Fee-Earners. The days worked in London will be agreed in advance each week with the relevant Fee Earners to meet business requirements.

This role is offered as an apprenticeship position and will include dedicated study/off-the-job training time during working hours, in line with apprenticeship requirements (for example, a minimum of 7 hours per week, depending on the programme).

You will have GCSEs (or equivalent) at grade C or above, be confident using Microsoft 365 (including Outlook, Word, and Excel), and be willing to learn Probate and general secretarial working systems and processes while working towards the apprenticeship qualification. You can communicate clearly and professionally, work collaboratively, and handle confidential client information with tact and discretion. You will be organised and accurate, manage time and priorities effectively, show initiative, and follow through on actions—remaining calm and professional when working under pressure.

Benefits Package:

• 22 days holiday (fte) plus Bank Holidays, rising to 28 days.
• Private Healthcare offered through Vitality or SimplyHealth.
• Royal London Pension Scheme (4% employer/4% employee, rising to 6% after 10 years’ service).
• Annual Discretionary Bonus Scheme.
• Salary Sacrifice (Pensions, Electric Car Scheme, Cycle to Work Scheme).
• Life Assurance – 4 x salary.
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay.
• Hybrid Working Policy.

Nockolds is committed to your development and we provide clear pathways for career progression supported by a comprehensive learning and development plan.

Nockolds Solicitors is committed to being an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, or sexual orientation. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive firm that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.

At Nockolds we do not use artificial intelligence (AI) to screen, judge, reject, or approve any recruitment decisions, at any stage of our recruitment process. Our hiring managers and HR team are responsible for all recruitment decisions, ensuring a personal and thoughtful approach to each candidate.