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DACBeachcroft is looking for a Legal Secretary to join our Real Estate team on a permanent full-time basis.

Reporting to the Hub Leader (HL) the appointed candidate will manage the workflow by utilising Administrative Assistants (AA) and the Central Transcription Unit (CTU), retaining ownership and accountability of all tasks through to completion. Provide a high quality, comprehensive workflow management and organisational service to lawyers in the group and exceptional client service, as well as working 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

We are a Disability Confident employer and guarantee to interview anyone with a disability, long term health condition or neurodiversity whose application meets the essential criteria for the role. If this applies to you and you feel you meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy as set out in this advert then please contact [email protected] in confidence, quoting the reference number for this vacancy in the subject box of your email, and a member of the Recruitment team will be in touch.

Client Relationship Management

• Manage the production of documents and check returned work produced by the CTU team/speech recognition for accuracy/formatting, before it is passed to the relevant lawyer
• Taking and making client related calls, dealing with and handling message taking as appropriate
• Responsible for keeping up to date with client specific protocols and processes, implementing, providing guidance and training to others where necessary and ongoing monitoring

Administrative

• Responsible for files to be opened and closed and supervise general filing requirements and record keeping and production of engagement letters ensuring compliant at all times
• Monitor and track key dates for clients and ensure compliance procedures are up to date on all files and matters
• Support lawyers in business development activities including the involvement in preparation of pitches and presentations, scheduling meetings e.g. tenders, internal client, etc.
• Manage diaries, ensuring they are up-to date, anticipating requirements e.g. associated travel /accommodation bookings, meeting rooms, drafting itineraries, preparing agendas, preparing and circulating papers
• Produce and maintain Excel spreadsheets as required.
• First point of contact for their team, dealing with queries and acting on initiative to provide exceptional client service, promoting and developing ownership within the teams
• Arrange for the preparation and collation of internal sector newsletters and briefings
• Uploading documents to PDF docs and editing documents using the same

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 HL. 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
• Liaise with the HL over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant lawyers

Financial

• Assisting lawyers with billing related tasks
• Reviewing and updating time allocation and disbursements 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.
• Processing expenses

Processing

• Responsible for managing priorities and workloads to ensure deadlines are met. Liaising with HL where challenges arise
• Responsible for ensuring the creation and maintenance of data rooms and client information in accordance with case milestones
• Responsible for ensuring client and matter data is maintained and updated within appropriate systems, raising requests as appropriate
• Online applications e.g. Companies House, Land Registry, Searchflow, forms
• Undertaking searches and completion of requisite forms and submissions

Customer Service

• Liaising with lawyers, PAs, HLs and Secretarial Managers (SM) to take instruction and liaise on work requirements
• Consistently and appropriately update service users on progress where appropriate

• 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
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Good 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

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,500 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Malaysia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Central America, the USA, Australia and Germany.

We are a broad-based commercial firm with a strong heritage in insurance, health and real estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for all of the UK’s top-ten insurers, we are market leaders in the provision of strategic, commercial and regulatory advice to providers and commissioners in the health sector, and in real estate we advise all of the UK’s top-12 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 142 Chambers UK 2021 practice area and individual lawyer rankings. In Legal 500 UK 2021, the firm received a top tier ranking for 37 of its practice areas, and 58 DACB lawyers were singled out in the ‘Leading Individual' rankings.

Our successes have been recognised by the legal industry and the markets in which we operate. These accolades include two top prizes in the ‘Excellence in Business Development’ and ‘Excellence in Technology & Innovation’ categories of the 2020 Law Society Excellence Awards – the highest accolade for law firms in England & Wales. Our health sector team won the ‘Crisis Management Team of the Year’ award at the 2020 British Legal Awards for its support to the NHS at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our Cyber & Data Risk team received the ‘Business Development Innovation Award’ at the 2020 Legal Innovation Awards, as well as ‘Cyber Law Firm of the Year’ at the prestigious Insurance Insider Cyber Rankings Awards, for its market-leading suite of digital tools to help our clients prepare for and respond to cyber and data risk crises.

Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.

Application Details

At DAC Beachcroft, we don’t just accept your differences we celebrate them. From bespoke solutions for our clients, to treating you like an individual. Our strength comes from your diverse ideas and bringing the whole you to work. So if you’re good at what you do, come as you are. We welcome direct applications and are happy to talk flexible working.

We also want you to be at your very best. Please feel free to let us know of any changes we can make at any point in the recruitment process that will help support your application. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV. Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

Note for Recruitment Agencies – the DAC Beachcroft recruitment team is responsible for managing all current vacancies through direct hiring and referrals wherever possible. We do work with recruitment agencies and where we require external support we will formally release those vacancies to the agencies on our Preferred Supplier List deemed best placed to assist us. Speculative CVs sent by any agency to any DAC Beachcroft employee without a specific request by the recruitment team will not be accepted and with no introduction fee applicable. Our recruitment team can be contacted at [email protected]