Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant – Personal and Family / Family

Located in Edinburgh

To work as part of a team in the provision of executive assistant/administrative support to the Family team. To assist our Family team, where support is required, and 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.

• Diary management – makes and amends appointments, arranges meeting rooms, tracks responses and organizes 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 ensures they are dealt with, checks 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.
• Prioritize and manage multiple projects and follow through on issues in a timely manner.
• Maintain 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.
• Ensure all Big Hand and non‑Big Hand work is complete within required timescales for lawyers and paralegals.
• Input data into case management system.
• Maintain intimate knowledge of current affairs in office and 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.
• Draft letters of engagement.
• Organize 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 finalizing.
• Organize transfer of time from lawyer's suspense account to relevant matter number.
• Assist with case management.
• Assist in collating trust bibles.
• Assist in populating and updating internal systems and databases to enable information to be pulled from these databases when necessary.
• Share appropriate documents within the team – ensuring that all presentations are listed on a central database and all templates are available to all members of the practice area.
• Complete mail merges when required.
• Implement standardized system in respect of saving documents to DMS.
• File documents in appropriate location both electronically and in hard copy, and organize opening and closing of files and papers when necessary.
• Source travel and accommodation, organize all aspects of travel and anticipate important information and documents that fee earners may need while travelling (e.g., timetables, distances, etc.).
• Minute taking where appropriate.
• Type and amend all client correspondence and legal documents (often confidential) to a high standard in compliance with Brodies preferred document styling.
• Type up any PowerPoint presentations as required using Brodies formulas and ensure relevant quantity printed out, together with any hand‑outs, in readiness for seminars.
• Liaise with legal document specialist to ensure completion of all Big Hand dictation and documents within required timescales, assisting where necessary.
• Proofread documents to ensure accuracy, formatting and presentation are maintained.
• Participate in the rota for lunchtime cover and provide assistance during holidays/absence.
• Provide assistance to other executive assistants in the Personal and Family team as required and under the direction of the secretarial engagement manager.
• Undertake some specialist duties…