Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant – Personal and Family / Wills Executry

Based in our Edinburgh office

REPORTING TO

Practice Support Manager

JOB PURPOSE

To work as part of a team in the provision of executive assistant / administrative support to the Personal team in our Edinburgh office. To assist 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

• Once trained in the firm’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, using these to drive efficiencies and promote speed / accuracy in all 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
• 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.
• Assist in populating and updating internal systems and databases, including Client Relationship Management system to enable information to be pulled from these databases when necessary.
• 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 lawyers 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.
• 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
• Provide assistance to other executive assistants in the Personal and Family team as required
• Provide support to legal colleagues who are remote workers, acknowledging that this may increase the level and importance of in-office administrative tasks e.g. managing, storing and posting hard copy documents as instructed
• 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. The core office hours are Monday to Friday 9:00- 17:00.
• 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 AI to assist with tasks or, where less experienced, willing to undertake training to upskill in this area
• Word – track changes/mail merge
• Outlook – diary management, contacts, tasks
• Excel
• PowerPoint
• Willingness to enhance IT literacy through training, in particular AI
• 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
• Experience of working with non-office-based colleagues (i.e. remote workers)