Legal Secretary – Commercial Property

With over 70 years of service to clients across the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire, Freers Askew Bunting is a well-respected and dynamic law firm. Our offices in Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Guisborough, and Stokesley have seen exceptional growth, and our commitment to excellence was recently recognised when we won the Team of the Year - Residential Property at the Northern Law Awards. We are dedicated to providing exceptional legal services and creating a supportive and progressive work environment for our staff.

Due to the growth of the Commercial Property department, an experienced secretary is required to support the team in our Hartlepool Office. The role is full time (Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm with one hour for lunch).

This role will include providing secretarial and administrative support, being fully involved in the work of the team, and dealing with clients in person and on the telephone. The successful applicants will have excellent secretarial and personal skills, ideally with previous experience in Commercial Property.

Candidates should be competent in using M/S Outlook, email/diary software and digital dictation software, be organised, have an attention to detail, and be a flexible team player.

For further details please see job description and person specification below.

Job Description

Job Title: Commercial Legal Secretary

Accountable to: Head of department Andrew Dixon

Staff Responsible for: None

Main Job Purpose: To provide effective secretarial and administrative support to the Commercial Property team as required.

Based at: Hartlepool Office

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

•  Typing correspondence, memos, forms and documents as directed by and dictated or supplied by fee earners. 
•  To assist with administrative duties for the Commercial Property fee earners, including preparing document packages.
• To attend to clients both on the telephone and in person and to deal with clients' enquiries in the most efficient and courteous way, normally by taking and passing promptly on to the appropriate fee earner, detailed and accurate messages of such client attendances. Update clients, agents and all other third parties with a proactive team attitude.
• To deal accurately with the opening, maintenance and closing of files and their storage and retrieval in the fee earner's filing system and the firm's archiving system, to the extent required by the fee earners.
• To make appointments, arrange meetings and maintain an up to date diary.
• To maintain a familiarity with the firm's Office Manual, and SRA Handbook, and carry out those procedures required of secretaries following the procedures in the Manual, including preparation of post, photocopying, dealing with accounts matters, etc.
• To ensure the confidentiality and security of all practice and clients' documentation and/or information.
• To undertake any other duties as required, and as the needs of the business change from time to time, and undertake any specific training as required by the Directors.
• NOTE: This is a description of principal duties and responsibilities and is not exhaustive.

Person Specification

Skills & Experience:

• Experience in Commercial Property work.
• Previous legal secretarial and administrative experience, ideally including working with digital dictation and case management systems.
• Typing skills and knowledge of computer systems, including Microsoft office.
• Ability to produce accurate work to tight deadlines under pressure.
• Able to communicate clearly in writing and orally.
• Ability to work in a team, have a flexible approach and build excellent working relationships.
• Commitment to the Firm’s aims and own development.
• Motivated and driven

What We Can Offer You:

We value our staff and understand that they are the heart of our firm. That’s why we offer:

• A supportive and collaborative working environment.
• Opportunities for professional development and ongoing training.
• A range of employee benefits to promote wellbeing and job satisfaction (including birthday off work, store discounts and healthcare package).

If you are a dedicated and experienced Commercial Secretary looking to join a forward-thinking and supportive team, we would love to hear from you.

How to apply

Submit your CV together with a covering letter and your salary expectations to: Katie Craddock, Head of HR, email Katie.Craddock@freersaskewbunting.com or telephone 01642 244666.

No agencies please.