Practice Assistant

Owen Reed is looking for a detail-oriented Practice Assistant to provide outstanding, forward-thinking assistance within the Family team. We advise on all aspects of family law and are market leaders, as is reflected by our legal directory rankings, industry awards and strong track record. Our clients benefit from advice that is based on years of experience, in-depth understanding, up to the minute knowledge and discretion. The consequences of the breakdown of a relationship are often highly emotive and require a special set of skills, both professional and personal. Our specialist group features some of the best legal talent in the country and advises wealthy individuals on the financial aspects of relationship breakdown (which can involve complicated tax and trusts issues) and complex children cases, including international relocation.

Responsibilities

• Organisational Support
  • Effective and proactive diary management, and awareness of Fee Earners' workloads to plan ahead, with minimal supervision.
  • Processes relevant applications, forms or searches, with minimal supervision.
  • Has a good knowledge of all systems/processes used within the Department.
• Client Relationship and Business Development
  • Provides excellent service to clients, both internal and external, in a timely and professional manner, presenting a positive image of the Firm at all times.
  • Acts as a first point of contact for Fee Earners.
  • Provides assistance in the delivery of marketing communications, and records all business development meetings in InterAction.
  • Recognises, respects and honours client confidentiality at all times.
• Document Production
  • Creates typed work of a high quality, formatting in accordance with house style, at high speed, with accuracy and following internal guidelines.
  • Makes effective use of the Document Management System.
  • Creates new documents from the Firm’s templates, using contact data from InterAction where appropriate.
  • Proof-reads all documents for spelling, grammar and sense, querying wording where appropriate.
• IT Skills/Systems
  • Maintains a high level of proficiency in core IT applications including the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
• File Management
  • Adopts a pro-active approach and works with Fee Earners effectively, to maintain regular file management, to ensure all files are up to date, closed and archived, as appropriate.
  • Keeps accurate records of all files sent to off-site storage via Records.
• Financial Risk Management
  • Prepares bills, as required by Fee Earners.
  • Prepares AML documentation and obtains relevant documentation from clients in a timely manner, as required by Fee Earners.
  • Carries out conflict searches and correctly identifies the work type.

Skills and Experience

Previous secretarial experience in a law firm essential and previous experience working in Family would be preferred.

Education and Qualifications

Qualified to GCSE standard, grade C (or equivalent) at Mathematics and English essential.

Special aspects

The hours of work for this opportunity are 09:30am-5:30pm but it is essential to be committed, flexible and prepared to work beyond the normal office hours when necessary and in response to client demand. Our firm is an equal opportunity employer who welcomes applications from candidates from all backgrounds. We look to employ the best candidates regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, or any other protected characteristic. We are keen to ensure candidates have the best interview experience possible; if you require any adjustments during the interview or application process please let the recruitment team know.