Legal Secretary
Job title
Legal Secretary
Department
Legal Services
Our Purpose
To forge long-term relationships that have a positive impact on our people, our clients, our business partners, and our community.
Our Commitment to Our People
We do not think there is a magic formula to the Higgs culture. The key is to listen to and respect our people. If we take care of our people and our people take care of our clients, then everything we want as a firm will take care of itself. We are friendly and open to new ideas.
Our Core Values
Higgs core values are “CLEAR” – Care, Legacy, Excellence, Authenticity, Relationships
Role Purpose
Our Secretaries work collectively as a centralised resource within the Legal Services Department. The team provide a comprehensive level of support to our lawyers across all departments.
We aspire to deliver technically superior service. We will ensure that our people have the knowledge and skills to achieve at the highest level.
Key Responsibilities
- Ensure that dictation queues are checked regularly throughout the day, picking up tasks across departments in order of priority
- Liaise with our Office Assistants to delegate administrative tasks, tracking progress through to completion
- Deal promptly with any finance requests such as billing, TT’s in/out and any other queries that may arise
- E-filing, hard copy filing and file maintenance
- Handling various companies house and land registry searches
- Typing letters, emails and file notes as dictated by our fee earners
- Document production, amending and creating documents from our standard templates in line with our standards
- Liaise with the PA team as and when required
- Support fee earners with file opening process
- Liaise with other Secretaries to share tasks and discuss deadlines
- Manage queries, responding as appropriate and/or ensuring that all messages are communicated and responded to
Person Specification
The Secretary has responsibility to ensure they are familiar with the Firm’s departments, key people, clients, internal systems and procedures. Any training requirements should be discussed with the Head of Legal Services.
In addition, our Secretaries are expected to demonstrate:
- Excellent telephone manner and communication skills
- Exceptional organisational skills with an eye for detail
- Team orientated personality with the ability to work independently and with others
- Ability to take the initiative and demonstrate proactivity
- Ability to remain calm under pressure and work to tight deadlines
- Conscientious, approachable and enthusiastic
Technical Knowledge
In addition to this, they should have/be:
- Accurate typing speed of at least 60 words per minute
- Excellent IT skills, proficient in Microsoft Office systems
- Some legal experience in at least one area of law
What You Need to Know
Higgs offers hybrid working wherever possible. Our Higgs’ Best FIT (flexible, inclusive, together) principles are designed to ensure that people can complete their best work from the most appropriate location. If you are looking to work flexibly then let us know and we will do what we can to accommodate your request.
We encourage a ‘dress for your diary’ approach which means dressing in a manner appropriate for your schedule or the specific appointments you have on any given day.
Equal Opportunities
As charter signatories to The Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter, Higgs are committed to developing a diverse business by engaging with the widest pool of talent. We recognise this is an ongoing journey and regularly monitor our figures which can be viewed here.
People Driven. Legal Excellence
