Legal PA, Private Client & Family
15 hours ago
London
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Family Legal PA to join the Family Team in our Private Client Department on a permanent basis. You will provide first class professional PA support to a busy team of fee earners (including partners and the Head of the Department). The Legal PA will be an integral part of our busy team and will work principally for named fee earners, but also as part of our PA team with shared responsibilities. We're looking for an experienced Legal PA who can prioritise and delegate effectively, with excellent communication and organisation skills. Role responsibility • Proactively manage and maintain fee-earner diaries, making appointments and co-ordinating internal and external client meetings including ensuring fee earners have relevant materials required for any meetings, the booking of meeting rooms, video conference facilities, refreshments, restaurants, taxis etc., • Making extensive travel arrangements (domestic and foreign), producing itineraries and ensuring expenses claims are completed., • Management of fee-earners' inboxes when they are out of the office; monitoring and responding to emails/post, prioritising correspondence to enable fee earners to focus on urgent matters and using initiative to route emails to the appropriate individuals for swift response and action; wherever possible, responding to and filing emails in to iManage., • Onboarding new clients by following compliance rules, to include requesting official KYC documentation, managing opening of new matters., • Acting as the key contact point for internal and external queries posed to the fee-earners who you support., • Producing documentation as required - typing, drafting and amending documents, letters and correspondence where appropriate and proofreading all work to ensure consistent accuracy and high standard., • Preparation of account forms and coordination of the end-to-end billing process and Elite 3E financial reporting; assisting fee-earners by liaising with the billing team, producing the relevant documentation and reports, and prompting fee-earners to complete all necessary paperwork etc., • Bundling – both electronic and hardcopy (copying; compiling; preparing an index; paginating) and filing financial documents on the HMCTs portal., • Undertaking research using the internet, databases etc., • Liaising with clients, Counsel and other external parties., • Supporting other PAs where required, especially during any absence., • Using initiative to take responsibility of administration that will assist the fee earners., • Ensuring all correspondence/documentation is correctly electronically filed on iManage., • Responding and dealing with external or internal telephone calls and queries in a professional manner, taking clear and concise messages., • Establishing relationships with clients and clerks at chambers and being able to give assurance with generic queries, demonstrating knowledge of the files., • Producing hearing bundles ensuring the relevant court documents are in the relevant section etc., • Department specific support, e.g. familiarity with standard Family Court Forms and Precedents., • Proof reading to ensure all documents produced are accurate and correctly presented paying attention to Howard Kennedy house styles., • Ensuring all external contacts/agent fees are updated to relevant systems., • Dealing with BD activities ensuring all relevant databases are updated., • Event planning (liaising with BD)., • Delegating appropriate work to the firm's Team Assistants., • Small volume photocopying and scanning, with delivery/collection of large volume photocopying and scanning and couriers to the Document Services team. About you Ideally you will be able to demonstrate: • Experience in a demanding, high performing professional services environment., • Experience in Family Law is essential., • Extremely well organised with excellent diary management and time management skills., • Excellent oral and written communication skills., • Display a high level of attention to detail., • A proactive, flexible and self-motivated approach., • A strong team player., • Knowledge of Microsoft packages such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint., • Microsoft Outlook 2010, • Microsoft Word 2010, • Microsoft Teams, • Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, • Microsoft Excel 2010, • PDF Docs/Acrobat Reader/Bundledocs, • iManage, • BigHand Digital Dictation System, • Elite 3E, • InTapp Time, • My Performance Leader, • Docusign, • Week 1: 2 days in the office, • Week 2: 3 days in the office, • This pattern alternates every week. At Howard Kennedy we believe that everyone deserves the space to thrive. We’re committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience that reflects the diversity of both our people and our clients. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities, and we’re committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and accessible to all. We understand that every candidate’s needs are different If there’s anything we can do to make your application journey more comfortable— whether for interviews, assessments, or onboarding—please let us know. We’ll work with you to remove any barriers and ensure our recruitment process is comfortable for you. Contact our recruitment team at to discuss any support you might need. Agency Introductions Please note that we are not accepting applications via agencies for this role at this time. Before sharing any named candidate CVs, please contact your recruitment representative. If any named CVs are sent from agencies without approval from our recruitment team, they will not be deemed valid introductions, and no agency fee will be paid.