Legal Personal Assistant

Owen Reed is looking to recruit an experienced Legal PA to join the Real Estate department of a prestigious law firm.

The Role

This is a fee earner-focused role based within the fee-earning Real Estate department.

The Legal PA will work as part of the Legal Operations team, providing timely and high-quality administrative and coordination support to a group of lawyers. This is a varied role involving client contact and collaboration within a friendly, high-performing team that provides an excellent service to the firm's lawyers and, ultimately, its clients.

The successful Legal PA will be a self-motivated and reliable individual who can manage their own workload, plan ahead and reprioritise when necessary. They will consistently deliver high-quality work within demanding deadlines.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesMatter Management

• Support fee earners and Senior Legal PAs with the smooth running of the complete client and matter lifecycle.
• Follow documented procedures and collaborate closely with internal client onboarding and compliance specialists to ensure all required information and documentation is obtained, issued and correctly stored on the firm's systems.
• Support fee earners in complying with the firm's documented policies and guidelines, particularly in relation to new matters, retainer letters, conflict checks, searches, Customer Due Diligence and Know Your Customer requirements.
• Ensure all documents are maintained and filed in accordance with the firm's electronic and hard-copy filing protocols.
• Ensure inactive matters are closed, client funds are returned and matters are archived promptly.

Financial Management and Billing Support

• Develop a strong working knowledge of the firm's billing processes and IT systems.
• Support fee earners and Senior Legal PAs with producing accurate bills and financial information for clients.
• Ensure files are established with the correct rates, discounts and billing information.
• Ensure money on account is collected or that files are included on the exempt list.
• Assist fee earners with monitoring and addressing unpaid bills, liaising with Credit Control when required.
• Ensure disbursement invoices and payments are issued accurately and promptly.

Fee Earner Support

• Act as a professional first point of contact on behalf of assigned fee earners.
• Manage internal and external calls, emails, correspondence and meeting requests, responding on behalf of fee earners when appropriate.
• Provide comprehensive calendar management across multiple time zones, including arranging calls and meetings and following up when necessary.
• Assist fee earners with preparing and processing expense claims.
• Support fee earners with other business-related requirements.

Travel

• Manage all travel arrangements for assigned fee earners, ensuring business travel is booked through the firm's in-house provider.
• Provide fee earners with comprehensive travel itineraries.
• Ensure business expenses are captured, approved and processed for payment in accordance with firm policy.

Business Development

• Organise business breakfasts, lunches and dinners and assist fee earners with the associated expenses.
• Record referrals and contacts accurately within the InterAction CRM system.
• Manage and maintain CRM contact lists.

Delegation

• Collaborate with Business Administrators to coordinate filing, archiving, scanning, photocopying, contact updates in InterAction and courier arrangements.
• Work closely with the Document Production Unit, delegating document formatting, production, typing, amendments, document manipulation and house-styling work.
• Delegate documents requiring proofreading to the appropriate team when necessary.
• Liaise with Legal Support Services teams, the Global Capability Centre and other internal departments to delegate work or obtain specialist input.
• Take ownership of issues and follow up appropriately to ensure that delegated work is completed.

Team Support and Collaboration

• Contribute to a cohesive and supportive working environment.
• Step up when required to provide cover for Senior Legal PAs or other members of the Legal Operations teams.
• Work flexibly across other Legal Operations teams when necessary.
• Take full responsibility for managing and completing the assigned workload.
• Communicate clearly and transparently regarding working arrangements and follow through on commitments made to the team, including agreed office attendance.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to the firm's core values.
• Recognise the importance of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and take responsibility for learning about the firm's EDI strategy.
• Select a relevant focus area or specialism to develop new skills and support the firm's business operations strategy, driving service, innovation and engagement across Legal Support Services.

Skills and Experience

• Previous experience in an administrative role supporting a team within a comparable professional services environment; legal sector experience would be highly advantageous.
• Strong time-management skills, with the ability to manage several tasks simultaneously, plan ahead and respond positively and willingly when priorities or requirements change.
• Excellent IT skills across a broad range of Microsoft Office applications, together with a willingness to learn new software and adapt to technological change.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to produce consistently precise, high-quality work, even under pressure and within an environment where accuracy is highly valued.
• A highly organised and methodical approach, with the ability to work effectively within structured processes, particularly compliance and quality-control frameworks.