Legal PA - Criminal

Owen Reed are recruiting for a Legal PA to join a top London law firm.  The Legal PA will work within the Criminal team.

The Legal PA will report to the PA Team Leader and Secretarial Services Manager.  The Legal PA will provide the first and main point of contact for fee earners to help them do their work efficiently and well. 

Duties of the Legal PA:
• Typing short or urgent correspondence as and when required
• Producing documents which are confidential and sensitive
• Proactive diary management looking ahead at fee earner diaries to remind them of diary commitments and taking responsibility for ensuring that they have all supporting paperwork and information for each meeting or appointment
• Arranging internal and external meetings and conference calls ensuring the smooth running of such meetings making the appropriate arrangements for any internal meetings (e.g. room set up, ordering refreshments), liaising with other departments as required
• Attending meetings to take minutes as required
• Booking training and courses
• Organising and arranging travel bookings in conjunction with the Marketing team, including hotels/taxis/flights/insurances/IT equipment and producing/amending itineraries for all external appointments or trips
• Providing pro-active client liaison including taking messages, passing on the information and dealing with queries as appropriate in a professional and timely manner
• Dealing with new client enquiries made by phone and email and passing on the information obtained for consideration by relevant fee earner
• Checking voicemails and emails when fee earners are away from the office, ensuring urgent messages are redirected as appropriate
• Helping fee earners to manage their email inbox by responding to clients to acknowledge receipt of emails (as requested) and filing emails (as directed)
• Escalating any issues or concerns to Team Leader or Secretarial Services Manager so that a resolution can be found in a timely manner
• Assisting with file opening by carrying out conflict checks under supervision and as directed by the fee earner
• Producing draft engagement letters, terms of business, funding agreements, cancellation notices as required for fee earners to review and approve
• Monitoring new matters to ensure all of the necessary information and documents have been received (e.g. engagement letters/instruction forms/monies on account/money laundering documentation and other compliance documents) informing fee earners when documents are not received and assisting as required
• Managing matters, including naming, saving and filing documents and correspondence, management of contacts, associates, estimates and capturing other practice area specific data
• Obtaining up-to-date counsel/expert/other third party fee note(s)
• Obtaining transcripts and documents from the Court
• Co-ordinating outgoing post
• Undertaking file closure, including ensuring the file is properly prepared for archive and later destruction
• Assisting fee earners with billing procedures including: a review of pre-bills and making amendments as required; preparing final bills and covering letters; processing write-offs and reversals/credit notes as instructed by fee earners
• Assisting fee earners to manage client accounts as directed by the fee earner (including organising and returning client monies and ensuring zero balances at matter closing)
• Completing of disbursement forms and confirming that they are on the system
• Supporting fee earners in the chasing of debts as requested
• Chasing fee earners for unposted time
• Time recording for fee earners when on leave (if previously directed by the fee earner to do so)
• Organising, supporting and preparing for all marketing activities, such as events, seminars