Legal Assistant

Ampa; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 22,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great benefits

Agile working

UK hubs

Job summary

Shakespeare Martineau in Birmingham is seeking a Legal Assistant. You will handle initial client enquiries, conduct interviews, perform conflict and ID checks, and support with documentation and case management. Training is provided, and applicants from non-legal backgrounds are welcome.

Flexibility for weekend shifts and varied hours is available as part of rota work. You will liaise with suppliers, provide cost guidance to prospective clients, and assist with project work across the Managed

Qualifications

• Experience from sales, customer services, call centre, retail or admin is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• conduct initial interviews for new client enquiries; prioritise inbound calls; follow up to maximise client instructions.
• respond to emails within 15 minutes; perform conflict checks; liaise with third-party suppliers.
• provide initial costs advice; prepare retainers; manage risk assessments and authority forms.
• use case management system to process queries and progress workflows; conduct research on medical terms.
• support with file closure, archiving, and fees collection; draft correspondence and documents.
• assist with projects across Managed Legal Services; handle debt collection calls; respond to new enquiries.

Skills

Telephone communication

Organisational skills

Customer service

IT proficiency (Word & Excel)

Multi-tasking

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Legal Assistant

Department: Northelm - Managed Legal Services - Shared Legal Resource - Shared Legal Resource - 6005

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Birmingham

Reporting To: Nasima Patel

Description

Are you a team player with a great attitude? Do you have strong communication, organisational and customer service skills? Do you have some experience in a legal role? Or are you interested in developing a career within the legal industry and just need the chance to shine? If this sounds like you read on…

We can offer you:

• The support and encouragement of a great team behind you and friendly partners who all want to help you thrive;
• Interesting and varied work with a focus on development of your skills; and
• A competitive package with great benefits.

No legal experience is necessary for this position, as training will be provided. Applications are welcomed from candidates with non-legal backgrounds, candidates returning to work from career breaks, or those looking to change industry sector.

Hours

We are committed to providing a service to our clients between the hours of 8am and 9pm Monday to Friday (inc. Bank Holidays), and 9am to 5.30pm on a Saturday and Sunday. Once training has been completed, you will work to shift patterns to accommodate these hours on a rota basis.

We are keen to hear individuals who are looking for full time or part time employment. For this position you must be able to work weekend shifts, as well as have some flexibility in the week. An ideal opportunity should you be looking for hours to fit around studies or family commitments.

What you will be doing:

Your key duties will be:

• conducting initial interviews for new consumer client enquiries; prioritising all inbound telephone calls and conduct follow up calls to maximise the level of client instructions;
• corresponding to any new email / online enquiries within 15 minutes of receipt;
• completing initial ‘conflict of interest’ and ID checks;
• liaising with third-party suppliers, such as agents and experts providing pro bono advice;
• providing initial best costs advice to prospective clients, preparing retainer documentation and forms of authority following risk assessment and arranging cover where appropriate;
• using a case management system to process and progress queries and workflows;
• conducting ad hoc research to help understand the medical terms and procedures that may influence the risk assessment process;
• managing the rejection process for enquiries that fail fundamental risk assessment measures, such as jurisdiction, limitation etc.;
• recording and reporting on the present position for all enquiries and reasons for non-conversion;
• producing (where appropriate) file rejection correspondence, such as advice on limitation, seeking alternative legal advice, etc.;
• assisting with file closure procedures, such as archiving, collection of fees from ATE providers on failed cases etc.;
• drafting own correspondence and documents;
• sourcing witness questionnaires;
• having a clear understanding of the litigation process so that clients can attain an overview at the initial stages;
• assisting with project work across our wider Managed Legal Services team;
• taking telephone calls from debtors wishing to make payments to the firm; and
• responding to new enquiries received across a number of work streams being serviced by other brands within Ampa.

What you will need:

What you’ll need:

• experience gained from within a sales, customer services, call centre, retail or administrative background would be advantageous;
• experience, or confidence, in communicating effectively over the phone;
• confidence with IT systems to include Microsoft Word and Excel;
• Although preferable, legal experience is not necessary for this position, as training will be provided. Applications are welcomed from candidates with non-legal backgrounds, candidates returning to work from career breaks, or those looking to change industry sector;
• a desire to work and progress within a law firm;
• the ability to multi-task and prioritise;
• the ability to produce a high standard of work, whilst maintaining accuracy and good attention to detail; and
• strong organisational skills whilst maintaining team processes and procedures.

Aabout you – you will be: highly enthusiastic, willing to the extra mile and be happy to go beyond the job description;

• respectful towards others and have a positive, willing and ‘can do’ attitude; and
• keen to learn, interested in driving your own career progression and be proactive in taking ownership of this.

Benefits, Agile Working and Additional information

We embrace agile working and offer a blended approach to where and how we work.

We appreciate that people have different needs and preferences and we’re keen to be flexible, after all, we value what you do, not where you do it.

We have the following hubs across the UK: Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stratford upon Avon & Tunbridge Wells.

Want to find out more about our amazing benefits?

Additional information: Please be aware, for some vacancies, where we receive high numbers of applications we may need to bring the close date forward.

Due to the nature of the work undertaken, confirmation of employment will be subject to a variety of checks which will be carried out once an offer of employment is accepted. Details of the checks can be found here.

Equal opportunities

Shakespeare Martineau is a committed equal opportunities employer. We seek to attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures. We value and respect individuality and encourage a culture within our business where people can be themselves and be valued for their strengths and experiences. Everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.