Legal Assistant - Insurance Defence

Administrative

Manage calendars, ensuring they are up to date and reminding lawyers of meetings etc. on a daily basis Arrange meetings, book conference rooms, refreshments, check rooms prior to meetings etc. and liaise with other attendees, both internal and external Arrange for travel bookings and related details to be made through the support teams Arrange photocopying, printing, organizing couriers, sending out of letters, faxes etc. Arrange for files to be opened and closed, supervise general filing requirements and record keeping Use effective systems to ensure that both short and long term tasks are completed within required timescales Support lawyers in marketing activities including involvement in preparation of pitches and presentations

Communication

Take internal and external telephone queries, responding as appropriate and / or ensuring that all messages are passed on in a timely manner Monitor post and / or e-mails and dealing with as appropriate and ensure that all client related correspondence is passed on to an appropriate lawyer if the relevant person is out of the office Liaise with administrative support departments on behalf of lawyers as required Liaise with the department’s Team Leader over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant lawyers.

Client relationship management

Become an active part in the care of clients and be wholly familiar with contacts / clients Enter, maintain and update client details and relevant information in the Firm’s CRM contacts system Deal with basic client queries and general administration Arrange client meetings

Document production

Check correspondence, attachments, documents, reports, presentations, faxes etc. produced by the Document Production team before they are passed to the relevant lawyer and undertake basic / minor amendments where appropriate Type urgent / short / confidential correspondence and emails Produce and maintain Excel spreadsheets as required Administer PrimaFact filing when required

Financial - Billing

Assist lawyers in ensuring their time is recorded properly and entered onto the system on a daily basis Assist lawyers in the billing and credit control process by liaising with the lawyer and accounts and to produce standard pre-bill financial / time reports through the system Request cheques, bank transfers and paying in money received, as appropriate

Other duties and responsibilities

In addition to providing support to the lawyer(s) to whom they report, a Practice Assistant will also provide assistance to their immediate colleagues in the department and, where practical, other departments. Team duties will therefore include : Assisting other members of the firm, both proactively and at the request of the Team Leader Any other duties as requested by the Lawyers or Team Leader

In addition to the key responsibilities, the successful candidate should have / be :

Accurate typing speed of approximately 60 words per minute Knowledge of how insurance and tort law files progress, Accident Benefits / SABS and arbitrations Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, research tools and other systems implemented by the firm

Come join a team of professionals today! We thank all applicants for their interest however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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