Executive Assistant

Brodies LLP; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent legal firm in Edinburgh is looking for an Executive Assistant to provide comprehensive support to the Family team. The successful candidate will manage schedules, organize meetings, and handle correspondence. Key qualifications include strong typing skills, multitasking abilities, and proficiency in Microsoft applications. This role demands excellent communication skills and the ability to work efficiently under pressure within a professional environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in a demanding EA role, used to working under pressure.
• Confident communication with clients and team members.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including lunches and varied timetables.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive support to the Family team.
• Manage diary, appointments, and emails effectively.
• Organize meetings and prepare necessary materials.

Skills

Excellent typing skills

Ability to multitask, prioritize and organize

Proficient in Microsoft applications

Strong communication skills

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Aderant

Document Management System (DMS)

BigHand

Job description

Executive Assistant – Personal and Family / Family

Located in Edinburgh

Job Purpose

To work as part of a team in the provision of executive assistant/administrative support to the Family team. To assist our Family team, where support is required, and the Personal and Family practice area as a whole, whilst ensuring, in addition, the provision of an efficient and quality service to Brodies’ external clients.

Core Tasks

• Diary management – makes and amends appointments, arranges meeting rooms, tracks responses and organizes refreshments if required.
• Responsible for taking new client queries (including relevant details of the background to the query).
• Anticipate requirements for meetings, i.e. organise papers, produce itinerary, directions, backgrounds/profile information.
• Proactive e‑mail management – ensures documentation copied to client folder (as required), flags important emails and ensures they are dealt with, checks lawyer inbox when out of office/​in meetings and actions important/​urgent emails where appropriate.
• Scan mail, save to the document management system (DMS) in the relevant folder, organise and prepare necessary responses for lawyers and paralegals.
• Prioritize and manage multiple projects and follow through on issues in a timely manner.
• Maintain practice area organisation during times of holidays/absences for lawyers and paralegals – checking for important mail/voicemail/emails and responding if necessary or passing to another lawyer or paralegal.
• Ensure all BigHand and non‑BigHand work is complete within required timescales for lawyers and paralegals.
• Input data into case management system.
• Maintain intimate knowledge of current affairs in office and deal with clients and third parties on a day‑to‑day basis via e‑mail, phone or in person, ensuring that accurate messages are communicated and dealt with professionally and proactively.
• Update contacts and distribution lists in Outlook.
• Proficient in the preparation of Excel spreadsheets.
• Draft letters of engagement.
• Organize expense claim forms and collate necessary receipts.
• Pay invoices in compliance with office internal procedures, follow up process with relevant practice area through to completion ensuring completing appropriate cash form as required.
• Assist with billing, attend team/billing meetings, prepare bill and narratives for lawyers to sign off on and send to appropriate biller for finalizing.
• Organize transfer of time from lawyer's suspense account to relevant matter number.
• Assist with case management.
• Assist in collating trust bibles.
• Assist in populating and updating internal systems and databases to enable information to be pulled from these databases when necessary.
• Share appropriate documents within the team – ensuring that all presentations are listed on a central database and all templates are available to all members of the practice area.
• Complete mail merges when required.
• Implement standardized system in respect of saving documents to DMS.
• File documents in appropriate location both electronically and in hard copy, and organize opening and closing of files and papers when necessary.
• Source travel and accommodation, organize all aspects of travel and anticipate important information and documents that fee earners may need while travelling (e.g., timetables, distances, etc.).
• Minute taking where appropriate.
• Type and amend all client correspondence and legal documents (often confidential) to a high standard in compliance with Brodies preferred document styling.
• Type up any PowerPoint presentations as required using Brodies formulas and ensure relevant quantity printed out, together with any hand‑outs, in readiness for seminars.
• Liaise with legal document specialist to ensure completion of all BigHand dictation and documents within required timescales, assisting where necessary.
• Proofread documents to ensure accuracy, formatting and presentation are maintained.
• Participate in the rota for lunchtime cover and provide assistance during holidays/absence.
• Provide assistance to other executive assistants in the Personal and Family team as required and under the direction of the secretarial engagement manager.
• Undertake some specialist duties e.g. finance, marketing/business development projects.
• Undertake ad hoc administrative tasks when necessary under the direction of lawyers.
• Maintain a tidy office environment in terms of the less paper guidelines.
• Be aware of Brodies’ information security policies and protect information assets from unauthorised access, disclosure, modification, destruction or interference at all times.

Person Specification

• The position is demanding, so the successful candidate should be used to working under pressure, often with tight deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence in dealing with people at all levels.
• A strong team player – willing to go beyond regular duties and help out where needed.
• Present a professional image to clients and other external organisations at all times.
• Seek out opportunities to provide a more efficient and proactive service to lawyers and paralegals.
• Be flexible regarding working hours as, from time to time, it will be necessary to complete work during lunchtime or work on a different timetable – 8:00‑16:00 or 10:00‑18:00.
• Adapt to changing working practices and executive assistant allocations within the practice group; have an open and flexible attitude to change and a willingness to train within other legal practice areas (CPD).
• Organize and prioritize time effectively.
• Use initiative and work independently.
• Self‑motivated.
• Commercial and profit focused.

Skills

• Excellent typing skills.
• Ability to multitask, prioritize and organize.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft applications: Outlook – diary management, contacts, tasks; willing to enhance IT literacy through training.
• Experience of Aderant (preferred but not essential).
• Experience of DMS (preferred but not essential).
• Experience of BigHand (preferred but not essential).
• Accurate and competent in document production including formatting and presentation.