Executive Assistant in the Personal & Family – Personal team in Inverness

Brodies LLP is a UK law firm headquartered in Scotland. It is the largest firm in its jurisdiction measured by income, directory rankings, and lawyer numbers. In the last three years, the firm's revenue has grown by 20%, and we have added nearly 100 new colleagues. Today, we have more than 700 people working from our bases in Aberdeen, Dingwall, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. We combine colleagues' expertise in all business areas, to deliver Enlightened Thinking - new knowledge and new legal possibilities - uniquely suited to our Scottish, UK and international clients.

JOB TITLE

Executive Assistant – Personal and Family (Personal)

Inverness

REPORTING TO

Secretarial Engagement Manager

JOB PURPOSE

To work as part of a team in the provision of executive assistant / administrative support to the Personal team, Inverness. To assist our Personal team, Inverness where support is required and the Personal and Family practice area as a whole, whilst ensuring in addition, the provision of an efficient and quality service to Brodies’ external clients.

CORE TASKS

• Diary management – makes and amends appointments, arranges meeting rooms, tracks responses and organises refreshments if required.
• Responsible for taking new client queries (including relevant details of the background to the query).
• Anticipate requirements for meetings i.e. organise papers, produce itinerary, directions, backgrounds/profile information.
• Proactive e-mail management – ensures documentation copied to client folder (as required), flags important emails and ensure dealt with, checking lawyer inbox when out of office/in meetings and actions important/urgent emails where appropriate
• Scan mail save to the document management system (‘DMS’) in the relevant folder, organise and prepare necessary responses for lawyers and paralegals.
• Prioritise and manage multiple projects and follow through on issues in a timely manner.
• Responsible for maintaining practice area organisation during times of holidays/absences for lawyers and paralegals– checking for important mail/voicemail/emails and responding if necessary or passing to another lawyer or paralegal.
• Responsible for ensuring all BigHand and non-BigHand work is complete within required timescales for lawyers and paralegals
• Responsible for inputting data into case management system.
• Maintain intimate knowledge of current affairs in office and able to deal with clients and third parties on a day-to-day basis via e-mail, phone or in person, ensuring that accurate messages are communicated and dealt with professionally and proactively.
• Update contacts and distribution lists in Outlook.
• Proficient in the preparation of Excel spreadsheets.
• Responsible for drafting letters of engagement.
• Organises expense claim forms and collate necessary receipts.
• Pay invoices in compliance with office internal procedures. Follow up process with relevant practice area through to completion ensuring completing appropriate cash form as required.
• Assist with billing, attend team/billing meetings, prepare bill and narratives for lawyers to sign off on and send to appropriate biller for finalising.
• Organise transfer of time from lawyer's suspense account to relevant matter number.
• Assist with case management.
• Assist in collating trust bibles.
• Assist in populating and updating internal systems and databases to enable information to be pulled from these databases when necessary.
• Responsible for sharing appropriate documents within the team - ensuring that all presentations are listed on a central database and all templates are available to all members of /practice area
• Undertaking some specialist duties e.g., finance, marketing/business development.
• Complete mail merges when required.
• Implementing standardised system in respect of saving documents saved to DMS.
• File documents in appropriate location both electronically and in hard copy, and organises opening and closing of files and papers when necessary.
• Sourcing travel and accommodation, organising all aspects of travel and anticipating important information and documents that fee earners may need whilst travelling, i.e., timetables, distances, etc.
• Minute taking where appropriate.
• If required type and amend all client correspondence and legal documents (often confidential) to a high standard in compliance with Brodies preferred document styling.
• If required responsible for typing up any PowerPoint presentations as and when required using Brodies formulas and ensuring relevant quantity printed out, together with any hand-outs, in readiness for seminars.
• Liaise with legal document specialist to ensure the completion of all BigHand dictation and documents within the required timescales assisting where necessary
• Proof reads documents to ensure accuracy, formatting and presentation are maintained
• Participate in the rota for lunchtime cover and provide assistance during holidays/absence
• Provide assistance to other executive assistants in the Personal and Family team as required and under the direction of the secretarial engagement manager
• Undertake some specialist duties e.g. finance, marketing/business development projects
• Undertake ad hoc administrative tasks when necessary under the direction of lawyers
• Maintain a tidy office environment in terms of the less paper guidelines
• Be aware of Brodies’ information security policies, and protect information assets from unauthorised access, disclosure, modification, destruction or interference at all times.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Should have knowledge and experience of working within a busy Personal and Family team
• This position is demanding so the successful candidate should be used to working under pressure, often with tight deadlines
• Excellent communication skills and confident in dealing with people at all levels
• A strong team player – willing to go beyond regular duties and help out where needed
• Presents a professional image to clients and other external organisations at all times
• Seeks out opportunities to provide a more efficient and proactive service to lawyers and paralegals
• The successful candidate will be required to be flexible regarding working hours as from time to time it will be necessary to complete work during lunchtime or work on a different timetable – 8:00-16:00 or 10:00-18:00
• Working practices and executive assistant allocations within the practice group will change from time to time and the successful candidate should have an open and flexible attitude to change and a willingness to train within other legal practice areas (CPD)
• Organises and prioritises time effectively
• Uses initiative and able to work independently
• Self-motivated
• Commercial and profit focussed

SKILLS

• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to multi task and prioritise
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft applications:
• Word – track changes/mail merge
• Outlook – diary management, contacts, tasks
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Willingness to enhance IT literacy through training
• Experience of Aderant (preferred but not essential)
• Experience of DMS (preferred but not essential)
• Experience of BigHand (preferred but not essential)
• Accurate and competent in document production including formatting and presentation