Legal Secretary (Real Estate) - Leeds

Job Introduction

DACBeachcroft has an exciting opportunity for an experienced, organised and knowledgeable Legal Secretary (LS) / Legal Support Assistant (LSA) to join our Real Estate team on a full-time, permanent, hybrid basis in our centrally located Leeds office.

Experience in a similar role is highly desirable and very advantageous, although applicants with significant experience as a legal Administrator may also be considered.

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 (as listed below), and where appropriate, the LS / LSA 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.

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 as set out in this advert.  If this applies to you contact disabilityconfident@dacbeachcroft.com in confidence, quoting the reference number for this vacancy in the subject box of your email, and a member of the team will be in touch. 

We are happy to talk flexible working and have in place a Flex-forward working scheme. We would encourage you to talk to us about our approach to flexible working during the hiring process if you would like to explore this further.

Role Responsibility

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
• Arrange photocopying, printing, organising couriers, sending out letters, faxes etc.
• Submitting documents for signature by clients via DocuSign
• Receiving instructions via digital dictation for tasks and acting upon 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
• Liaison with and taking direction from your HL
• 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
• Ensuring compliance with firm wide/department policies and procedures

Customer Service

• Arranging and attending team meetings
• 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

The Ideal Candidate

• Experience of working in a legal or professional services environment is essential, ideally in a similar role
• An aptitude for managing multiple priorities, producing documents and client communications of the highest standard
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel and Outlook
• Advanced 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

About the Company

We're a leading international legal business with over 3,000 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We're market leaders in insurance, health and real estate but with a full-service offering, including growing Financial Services and Tech capabilities. We represent a wide range of clients – from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for nearly all of the top-20 UK and global insurers, we're 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-five housebuilders.

We are a fast-growing international business with offices around the globe.  In addition to our 11 UK offices, we also have offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Rome, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Miami, plus a broad network of affiliations across the globe. 

Working with us

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. Combine this with our supportive culture and hybrid working model, and you have: a Life that Works.

Our flexible approach means that we help our colleagues to be their best at work, while recognising that they have all sorts of different interests and commitments outside work.

We pride ourselves on our supportive, approachable culture. We are trusted, appreciated as individuals and embraced as part of a team. At DACB, we don’t just accept your differences, we celebrate and advocate for them. From bespoke solutions for our clients, to treating you as 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!

Note for Recruitment Agencies – the DAC Beachcroft LLP resourcing team is responsible for managing all current vacancies through direct hiring and referrals.  Whilst we do work with recruitment agencies, we will formally release those vacancies to instructed agencies deemed best placed to assist us.  Speculative CVs sent by any agency to any DAC Beachcroft employee without a specific request by the resourcing team will not be accepted and no introduction fee will be applicable.  Our resourcing team can be contacted at recruitment@dacbeachcroft.com.

DAC Beachcroft