Legal Secretary – Family

I’m working with a well-established and growing law firm who are looking to add a Legal Secretary to their Family & Childcare team in Birmingham.

And I want to be really clear about the type of person my client is looking for.

This is not a role for someone who is looking to become a solicitor.

It’s not for someone wanting to use a Legal Secretary position as a stepping stone into a paralegal or legal assistant role.

My client is looking for someone who really enjoys being a Legal Secretary.

Someone who takes pride in being organised, knows how to support a busy team, has excellent attention to detail and genuinely enjoys being the person behind the scenes who keeps everything running smoothly.

If you're a career Legal Secretary, this could be a really good opportunity.

What are they looking for?

Ideally, you'll have previous experience as a Legal Secretary, with some exposure to Family & Childcare being a real advantage.

You’ll need to be someone who:

• Is highly organised and able to manage a busy workload.
• Has excellent typing skills, spelling and attention to detail.
• Is confident dealing with clients, Counsel, experts and other third parties.
• Has a professional and personable telephone manner.
• Can work under pressure without letting the detail slip.
• Takes pride in providing a high standard of secretarial support.
• Is confident using IT and happy working in a completely paperless environment.
• Is reliable, proactive and someone the fee earners can depend on.
• Wants to continue their career as a Legal Secretary.

What will you be doing?

You'll be providing hands-on secretarial support to the Family & Childcare team, including:

• Typing from digital dictation.
• Preparing correspondence and documentation.
• Electronic filing and maintaining accurate client files.
• Managing diaries and appointments.
• Dealing with incoming and outgoing calls.
• Liaising with clients, Counsel, experts and other third parties.
• Assisting with clients and visitors to the office.
• Dealing with CCMS legal aid matters and applications.
• Actioning fee notes and experts' invoices.
• Following office procedures and the firm's Practice Manual.
• Providing general administrative and secretarial support to the wider team.

Essentially, you'll be the person making sure the lawyers have the support they need to do their jobs effectively.

And the firm?

This is a friendly, growing multi-office firm that has invested heavily in its people, systems and technology.

The offices are completely paperless, with modern IT in place to make everyone's working day as efficient as possible.

Once you've completed your training and are comfortable with the firm's systems, there is the opportunity to work up to two days per week remotely.

There is also a good benefits package, including:

• 23 days' annual leave plus bank holidays and Christmas/New Year.
• Increasing holiday entitlement with service.
• Birthday leave.
• Pension scheme with employer contribution.
• Electric Vehicle Scheme.
• Optional Benenden Health Care.
• Firm laptop.
• Ongoing training and development.
• Supportive supervision and mentoring.
• Annual appraisals and salary reviews.
• Summer and Christmas parties.
• Additional perks and benefits.

The bit I really want to emphasise…

This is a Legal Secretary role.

My client isn't looking for someone who is secretly hoping to move into a fee-earning position six months down the line.

They want someone who is proud to be a Legal Secretary.

Someone who understands how valuable great secretarial support is to a legal team.

Someone who gets satisfaction from being organised, knowing what's going on, staying ahead of the fee earners and making sure things get done properly.