Senior Float Secretary at Bowmans (Law Firm)

Job Description

Responsible for and performing an advanced level of administrative, legal secretarial and related duties and offering skilled legal assistance to various heads of department and/or their team as and when the need arises.

Experience and Qualifications:

•  Senior Certificate
•  Paralegal Diploma or short legal courses advantageous/or qualified by experience
•  5 to10 years legal secretarial experience
•  Advanced knowledge of MS Office package
•  Experience in a legal accounting package essential.
•  5 to10 years’ experience as a secretary in a commercial litigation department and general corporate and commercial department .

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Act as first point of contact
•  Liaise with people both inside and outside the firm, supporting the executive in his/her duties and responsibilities
• Acts with a high level of confidentiality and discretion
• Connecting people
• Professional and effective communication internally/externally
•  Screening of all calls to ensure that calls are handled or directed to correctly
•  Manage all forms of communication efficiently to ensure that correct message gets across effectively and is dealt with accordingly
• Possess well developed interpersonal and communication skills and good telephone manner to ensure that all staff members, colleagues and clients are treated professionally, courteously and with respect

Diary Management

• Scheduling and maintaining of calendars
•  Organise and manage the executive’s diary and make appointments
•  Updating executive on diary entries and ensuring that he/she is appropriately prepared prior to meetings/ events/presentations
•  Ensure that the correct people are invited and available to attend; booking boardroom for meetings and conference calls (VC), booking catering if necessary, making sure enough time is allocated for travel for offsite meetings
•  May act as team coordinator

Document Generation

•  Produce specialized and general documentation and presentations necessary for clients.
•  Ensure the documents produced are of the highest standard through accurate typing, paying special attention to detail and ensuring good spelling/grammar/punctuation
•  Adhere to ‘in-house’ document style guide and/or the Rules and Directives of the High Court to maintain standardisation of documentation and compliance with the Rules and Directives of the High Court
•  Amend documents using track changes and cross referencing, requiring advanced computer and software skills
•  Transcribe all dictations from the executive and the team fee earners timeously
•  Carry out dictaphone and manuscript changes to various documents

Office administration/management

•  Request and collate the necessary FICA documentation from new clients to ensure timeous opening of new files
•  Plays a pro-active role in ensuring that the department runs smoothly and requires a fair knowledge of legal terminology, processes, procedures and protocols to relieve workload of professionals wherever possible by providing support on various projects.
•  To attend to printing, filing and to maintaining complex filing systems to track large volumes of legal filing deadlines, providing professionals with easy access to files and precedents
•  Manage e-mail, respond or delegate where appropriate
•  Arrange and coordinate team and inter-office planning/strategy sessions

Effective office management

•  General duties include preparing documents for internal meetings, copying, distribution and delivery of documents
•  May supervise junior staff and provide guidance mentoring and support to new staff members
•  Collect and collate monthly department information from Practice Group Heads for inclusion in Management Board Report.
•  May be responsible for maintaining specialist databases

Travel Arrangements

•  Make all travel arrangements understanding preferences and ensuring cost effectiveness
•  Arrange relevant meetings, set up a travel itinerary and prepare documentation
•  Research travel and immigration requirements. Ensure that they are all met and Visa applications are processed timeously.
•  Manage unforeseen travel changes

Finance Administration

•  Assist with departmental budget process, checking input, tracking spend, reconciling on a monthly basis to ensure budget and spend are aligned, liaising with finance team as and when necessary to ensure alignment.
•  Entering in the time recorded by the executive and/or assist other team fee earners by entering in their time should it be necessary
•  Ensure the timeous and accurate time recording of hours worked by fee earners and producing draft and final bills to clients for services rendered
•  Compile covering letters and send out final bills to clients timeously
•  Monitor outstanding accounts and assist Credit Controllers with debt collecting and reporting to the executive and the team fee-earners in this regard
•  Processing reimbursement requisitions

Meeting Support

•  Conduct background research where required.
•  Prepare necessary documentation and brief executive for meetings and engagements.
•  Action post meeting deliverables and follow-up

Relationship Building

•   Develop and maintain relationships with all levels of staff as a trusted resource.
•   Maintain strong working relationships with and have open and transparent communication between all members of the team
•   Develop and maintain relationships with vendors to ensure quality of service delivery

Bowmans is committed to achieving the objectives set in its transformation charter, and the targets in its employment equity plan. All recruitment decisions will be taken with due consideration being given to these objectives.