Practice Assistant - Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom - DAC Beachcroft

DAC Beachcroft

Verified Company

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Job Introduction

DACBeachcroft is looking for a Practice Assistant (PA) to join our busy and efficient Real Estate team in our centrally located Newcastle office on a permanent, full time basis.

Reporting to the Hub Leader (HL) the Practice Assistant is the single point of contact for partners, with responsibility for the completion of their work, PAs will undertake a variety of secretarial tasks (as listed below) and, where appropriate, will manage the workflow by utilising Administrative Assistants (AAs) and the Central Transcription Unit (CTU), retaining ownership and accountability of all tasks through to completion.

Provide a high quality, comprehensive workflow management and organisational service to lawyers in the group and exceptional client service.

Main Responsibilities

_ Client Relationship Management_

Become an active part in the care of clients and be wholly familiar with contacts/clients and dealing with basic client queries as appropriate
Manage the production of documents and check returned work produced by the CTU team/speech recognition for accuracy/formatting, before it is passed to the relevant lawyer
Taking and making client related calls, dealing with and handling message taking as appropriate
Liaise with Clients & Markets to assist with the organisation of, and providing support for, scheduling client events, tender meetings, client training etc.
Assist with the organisation of tenders and pitches to ensure the document creation process is managed effectively and to the highest standards, liaising with appropriate contributors as necessary
Manage client contacts and ensure new prospects, clients and contacts, activities and business development information are added
Responsible for keeping up to date with client specific protocols and processes, implementing, providing guidance and training to others where necessary and ongoing monitoring

_Administrative_

Responsible for files to be opened and closed and supervise general filing requirements and record keeping and production of engagement letters ensuring compliant at all times
Manage and monitor the key dates process for clients and ensure compliance procedures are up to date on all files and matters
Support lawyers in business development activities including the involvement in preparation of pitches and presentations, scheduling meetings e.g. tenders, internal client etc.
Assisting in the organisation of internal and external events, seminars and conferences
Manage diaries, ensuring they are upto date, anticipating requirements e.g. associated travel /accommodation bookings, meeting rooms, drafting itineraries, preparing agendas, preparing and circulating papers
Along with HL, point of contact for the team, dealing with queries and acting on initiative to provide exceptional client service, promoting and developing ownership within the teams
Assisting in the tender process liaising with Business Development, collating outstanding information, assisting with draft/final submissions
Arrange for the preparation and collation of internal sector newsletters and briefings
Submitting documents for signature by clients via DocuSign

_Communication_

Key point of contact for allocated Partners and Clients to maintain relationships and ensure a high level of support is always provided by the team.
Liaising with clients and contacts involved in client matters, taking the lead on ensuring actions are taken forward, addressing queries personally and escalating as necessary
Minute taking, following up designated actions to ensure completion ahead of the next meeting
Liaise with the HL over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant lawyers
Assist HL and act as a coach to develop the team to the highest standards

_Financial_

Assist partners and business development for client and event billing and credit control process
Responsible for the completion of complex billing; ensuring bills are prepared to the highest standards of accuracy and it's undertaken within the team in accordance with the contractual requirement
Reviewing and updating time allocation and disbursements ensuring appropriate matter allocation
Taking overall responsibility for the client billing process, ensuring compliance with client protocols at each stage
Anticipating and dealing with matter related finance administration to include BACs, TTs etc.
Supporting the coordination of the WIP process

_Processing_

Responsible for managing priorities and workloads to ensure deadlines are met. Liaising with HL/SM where challenges arise
Responsible for managing the creation and maintenance of data rooms and client information in accordance with case milestones
Responsible for managing client and matter data, ensuring it is maintained and updated within appropriate systems, raising requests as appropriate
Ensuring compliance with firm wide/department