legal assistant Darlington, North East England, England
Job description
Legal Assistant, Full-time - Darlington
Thanks for checking out our job description for a Legal Assistant/Secretary to join our growing team in Darlington.
Are you highly organised with excellent client service skills? Do you have experience with filing and writing legal documents or similar? If so, this could be the ideal position for you.
About Newtons Solicitors
Newton Solicitors is a growing regional law firm with ten offices across Yorkshire, the Northeast, and the Northwest, offering legal expertise across a range of specialist legal areas.
Newtons provide a local presence in market towns, county towns, and small cities, where local people like to deal with local lawyers.
Duties & Responsibilities:
You will work with other legal assistants/secretaries and support staff as part of a Support Team, providing a high level of assistance to a team of solicitors and other fee earners as required.
You will primarily be covering Litigation law but also be open to covering other areas of law.
· Open client files following company procedures (including following the anti-money laundering process where appropriate), prepare client engagement letters, maintain electronic and hard-copy client files on a day-to-day basis, and ensure all electronic copies of emails and any documents are filed correctly within the document management system and paper files
· To manage urgent/confidential digital dictation, copy typing of documents, drafting of correspondence, and production of non-legal documents/letters/emails/memos, and taking responsibility for collating correspondence including enclosures
· Proof-reading documentation, printing, and dealing with enclosures (such as cheques and binding documentation)
· Copying, scanning, and faxing required by fee earners, including preparation of large files, bibles, or bundles (hard-copy and electronic)
· To accurately deal with filing including archiving and storage and retrieval of files, according to the Company’s systems
· Solicitors/Fee Earners diary management
· To ensure the confidentiality and security of all the firm’s and clients’ information/documentation.
Additional Responsibilities:
· To cover reception duties on a rota basis
(This job description covers the tasks typically associated with the role of a legal assistant/secretary but may vary in practice depending on the exact requirements of the solicitor/fee earners to whom the position reports).
Suitable Candidate:
· Previous experience as a legal assistant/secretary or similar would be preferred
· You’ll have the desire to develop your expertise in different areas of law and have a keen interest in Litigation law.
· Excellent IT skills with the ability to adapt to bespoke case management systems
· Ability to work on own initiative and collaboratively with colleagues
· Good communication skills and attention to detail
· Be adaptable to the needs of the firm and positive towards change
· Have strong time management, organisational and prioritising skills
Hours and Salary:
· Full-time (35 hours per week) Monday – Friday, no weekends.
· 9 am – 5 pm including a 1-hour lunch
· Office-based working in Darlington
· Competitive Salary
Benefits:
· 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (extra annual leave entitlement from 5 years of service onwards*)
· Contributory pension scheme
· Life Assurance of up to three times your salary
· WPA health cash plan scheme, including 24/7 remote GP access, counselling sessions, health discounts, general dental treatments, optical treatments, specialist consultations/tests, GP Charges, Complex Scans, Health Screening, and a range of Therapy services.
· Go green with our electric car scheme, with access to chargeable points at selected offices
If you'd like to have a confidential chat about this vacancy, your next career step or learn more about Newtons Solicitors, please email: [email protected]
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Work Location: In person
