Administrative Assistant/Legal Secretary (part-time)

About Withers

A law firm focused on people, performance, and collaboration. 

For the past 130 years, we have supported some of the world’s most remarkable people and organizations at defining moments in their lives.

We are united in our commitment to integrity, quality and collaboration. We have a culture of high performance and deliver excellent service consistently across the firm.

We provide tailored solutions built on trust and partner with our clients to achieve their goals.

Many of our clients are shaping the future and creating solutions to tackle many of the world’s problems. It makes for a fascinating and challenging practice.

Our role is to get to know each individual client, find out where they want to be, and help them to get there – whether they are building a business, buying a home or protecting and defending their interests.

To meet their unique needs we are exceptionally collaborative, working together across teams and time zones. And we are agile – focusing on strategy rather than rigid ideas and traditional hierarchy.

Join us to be part of a team that is always looking to the future. Where initiative, big ideas and bold moves are always encouraged. Where you can truly be yourself.

The Role

Receiving visitors and ensuring the needs of clients, both external and internal, are provided for promptly and politely, whether on the phone, by e-mail or face to face. Supporting fee earners and other staff with administrative assistance.

Providing a highly technical, competent and supportive secretarial service to a group of lawyers. A good communicator, who is able to work on his/her own initiative, becomes involved and is interested in the work.

Key duties and responsibilities

Front of house

• Understanding the nature of a law firm whose clients expect excellent service and being attended to in a highly courteous, professional and discreet manner.
• Ensuring front of house is ready to receive clients at all times.
• Welcoming clients and firm contacts, taking their coats and announcing them to Withers personnel. Providing refreshments.
• Managing conference rooms and agendas, including videoconference facilities.
• Handling incoming calls and communicating messages.
• Assisting in the organisation and running of internal and external events.
• Organising the sending and distribution of mail.
• Making flight reservations, hotel bookings and other travel arrangements for the staff and visiting members of the firm.
• Floor walking and ensuring machines such as fax, telephones, photocopier and printers as well as lights and other office devices are in working order.

Administrative assistance

• Ordering and managing office supplies (such as stationery, refreshments, etc) and handling deliveries.
• Liaising with external service providers.
• Managing the safe, i.e. placing/removing original documents in/from safe further to secretary's request and yearly control of safe content.

Secretarial assistance

• Producing accurate, high-quality work quickly and efficiently from script work, using the firm's software packages and document management systems.
• Providing effective and proactive communication with clients, legal staff and other support staff.
• Opening client and matter files, preparing first drafts of terms of engagement letters, ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering regulations, requesting necessary documentation, following up with clients and making sure both physical and electronic files are up to date at all times.
• Entering timesheets, preparing monthly bills using the Firm’s finance and time recording system and drafting accompanying letters.
• Sending and receiving e-mails and other correspondence, amending legal documents, archiving, scanning and photocopying.
• Managing diaries, organising meetings, making travel arrangements in coordination with the Front Desk and claiming expenses.
• Filing/updating bibles of trust documentation. 
• Handling incoming calls and communicating messages. 
• In the absence of the Front Desk staff, assisting with incoming calls and other reception duties as well as covering reception when requested.
• Solving most day-to-day IT queries (e.g. standardisation formats, printer queries, etc.).
• Identifying areas for own development and relevant training requirements.

Ad hoc duties

• Assisting the Office Manager, fee earners and secretarial staff with any other tasks upon request.

The Essentials

• Working hours: 20 hours per week (Mon or Tue pm/Wed pm/Thu pm/Fri all day)
• Candidates must be fluent in English and French.
• Flexible benefit package.

Information for Recruitment Agencies
Withers endeavours to recruit and fill vacancies directly. However, when we do need to engage with agencies, Withers operates a preferred supplier list and will not be accepting unsolicited applications from non-PSL agencies for this role.

Equal Opportunities Employment Statement 
It is the policy of Withers to provide equal opportunities for all employees in relation to recruitment, training and promotion.  Decisions in these areas will be made only by reference to the requirements of the job and shall not be influenced by any consideration of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic and national origin), religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.