Legal Secretary

Job Introduction

We are currently recruiting for a Legal Secretary to join our team in London forming an integral part of an established team of secretaries. The Legal Secretary's main purpose is to provide an excellent standard of secretarial support to a team of fee earners across the practice area in London. 

The ideal candidate will have previous experience of working in a busy Commercial Litigation department of a City firm as well as good IT skills, particularly Microsoft packages

Hours: Monday to Friday 9.30-5.30

We advise across a diverse range of disputes, from domestic to multi-million pound international. We are actively involved in litigation in all levels of the English courts. With our network of offices and associated firms across the UK, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and North America, our reach is truly international. We also co-ordinate litigation through our extensive network of lawyers throughout the world.

Our experience lies in dealing with claims in a wide variety of areas, including banking and other financial and regulatory transactions, corporate and commercial deals, Share Purchase Agreement disputes, healthcare, commercial fraud, shareholder disputes, corporate governance, reputation management (including defamation), IT and intellectual property, partnership disputes, professional negligence, directors' disqualification, outsourcing, procurement and other diverse areas, such as disputes arising out of dealing in, collecting and owning artwork.

Role Responsibility

Able to work independently, pro-actively and with accuracy, key responsibilities include: 

• Proactively assisting with billing, cash collection and accounts queries and liaising with internal support teams to resolve issues quickly and effectively, including dealing with expenses claims
• Confidently managing large documents, creating versions, amending, proof reading and creating comparisons to highlight changes to include digital dictation
• Effective prioritisation and ownership of tasks whilst managing a full workload
• Booking client and internal meetings, video and audio conferences, to include proactive diary management and co-ordination
• Creating and editing spreadsheets and Powerpoint presentations, making the most of available technology and showing appropriate creativity to maximise professional impact of documentation
• Opening and closing files
• Filing, archiving, photocopying and scanning documents as and when required
• Ensuring that client contact information is kept up to date on relevant systems
• Assisting with the booking of travel and accommodation arrangements in line with DACB way.
• Proactively assisting with ad-hoc business development and communications activities e.g. client contact reports, delegate packs etc.
• Building and maintaining a level of individual knowledge required for the role
• Helping maintain a clean office and clear desk
• At all times handling confidential information in line with the firm’s data security protocols
• To assist with some paralegal activities such as creating bundles, both hard and soft copy.

The Ideal Candidate

• Previous experience of working in a busy Commercial Litigation department of a City firm as well as good IT skills, particularly Microsoft packages
• Qualified to a minimum of 5 GCSEs (including a grade C in English and Maths) or equivalent 
• A secretarial NVQ / Diploma or equivalent would be beneficial but is not essential
• Must have good IT skills, particularly in Microsoft packages (including each of Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, Excel) and prior experience of working with a case management system is preferable.
• Sound knowledge of pdf docs and file sharing platforms (High Q / sharefile)
• Good working knowledge of Elite accounts software
• An excellent eye for detail with a concern for quality and accuracy
• A focused client service approach is essential
• Team oriented and collaborative with a flexible, can do attitude
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely orally and in writing

About the Company

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,400 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 Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru, Central America, Argentina, the USA, Australia and Germany.

We are known for our market-leading presence in sectors such as 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 the majority of the top 30 insurance and financial services companies operating in the UK. We are the asset management lawyers for the UK’s largest shopping centres and act for 9 of the UK’s top 10 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 155 Chambers UK 2019 practice area and individual lawyer rankings, including 30 rankings at 'Band 1' level. In Legal 500 UK, 2018, the firm received top tier ranking for 32 of its practice areas and 59 practice areas in the top two tiers. In March 2018, we were named as one of Legal Week's Best Legal Advisors for the third year running, achieving category-leading satisfaction scores for our commercial approach, service delivery, quality of legal advice, communication & responsiveness and overall relationships.

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.

DAC Beachcroft is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from every sector of the community. We also welcome direct applications. 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.

DAC Beachcroft