Personal Assistant

Key duties and responsibilities:

• Diary management, including the day-to-day organisation and management of fee earners’ diaries, coordinating schedules, meetings and appointments and arranging meetings, including managing room and refreshment bookings and ensuring appropriate notifications are sent to the relevant people. Appropriate planning for fee earner absences both planned and unplanned.
• Planning and making travel arrangements and checking travel/accommodation details, including applying for any international travel requirements such as visas. Ensuring that all relevant information is distributed as soon as possible to the relevant individuals.
• File management, including opening, closing, archiving and retrieving files in accordance with Walker Morris procedures. To carry out regular filing of either hard copy or soft copy client-related correspondence and other documentation.
• Assisting with onboarding clients, including preparing client and matter letters and liaising with the client to ensure anti-money laundering and know your client requirements are met.
• Handling telephone and email enquiries, including responding on behalf of fee earners, either as directed or on own initiative.
• Helping to conduct file reviews and other compliance-related tasks.
• Typing and general word processing, including audio and copy typing, the preparation and production of documents, correspondence, bills/invoices, forms and checklists in keeping with Walker Morris house style. Preparing mail and enclosures for dispatch. Using different software packages and databases.
• Providing general administrative support.
• Providing help and guidance to new secretaries and temporary secretaries as required and providing secretarial and administrative support to other departments in the firm as required.

Skills and experience:

• Experience of working within a similar position at a similar level is preferred but not essential. Good working knowledge of secretarial and office procedures. Legal secretarial experience would be an advantage.
• PC literate with knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and telephone manner and a high standard of written English.
• Ability to organise, plan, prioritise and meet deadlines
• Ability to work confidentially and on highly confidential matters; respecting and maintaining the confidentiality of all information relating to Walker Morris and client matters.

Information Security:

• To ensure that information is handled in accordance with the firm’s policies and procedures relating to information security.
• To encourage a security conscious culture within the firm, by supporting and engaging with the firm’s initiatives.
• To proactively and promptly report any concerns/issues relating to information security.
• To assist the firm in achieving its security objectives.

Walker Morris pride ourselves on being an equal opportunities employer, committed to being as diverse as possible within our employee network. We do not discriminate on the basis of a person’s ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic and therefore encourage applications made by anyone who comes from diverse backgrounds, communities and underrepresented demographics. We work hard to ensure that our recruitment practices are as inclusive as possible and we are happy to make any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process in order to assist you in performing your best