Legal Assistant - Salford

ROLE: Legal Assistant LOCATION: Salford SALARY: DOE I am seeking a Legal Assistant to join the UK's most prestigious firm of specialist driving offence solicitors. My client is a highly respected law firm specialising in motoring criminal defence law in the UK. Recognised as industry leaders with offices in Salford and London, employing a wealth of experience, providing expert legal representation and guidance to clients. The firm only deals with private paying clients. You will enjoy traditional business hours, competitive salary, bonus and benefits and the opportunity to be part of a dynamic team who are at the top of their game in this niche area of law. Everyone who works for this firm is properly valued not just in monetary terms but with recognition, progression opportunities and much more. Head office is based in Salford, just outside the hub of Media City (within walking distance of the tram stop if you take public transport or we have free parking directly outside the office for anyone driving to work). The office is modern, spacious and bright. Music playing throughout the day in the open plan area, a comfortable staff room and an on-site gym, which is free for use by all staff! Here's the Basic Details: Job Title: Legal Assistant Hours: 35 hours per week/Monday to Friday 9am-5pm with a flexible 1-hour lunch break. Salary Negotiable (depending on experience). Benefits: You can enjoy a range of benefits including, free onsite parking, discretionary bonus scheme, Life Insurance benefit, Private Healthcare (tenure based), Pension, Health Cash Plan, Career Progression programme, Onsite gym, Flexible holiday options, Discount memberships, Savings club, Charitable support, Casual dress, Wellness programme, Training and development support, Loyalty incentives and free refreshments. Key Responsibilities: The successful candidate/s will be working within a small team from a shared inbox to provide comprehensive legal support to our Paralegals & Solicitors. You are expected to have open communication with your colleagues and work as an integral part of the team to meet/exceed common firm goals. We work in an incredibly fast paced, high-pressured environment (we really cannot stress this enough) so it is extremely important that you respond to all of your emails throughout the day, understanding the sense of urgency associated with instructions received and prioritise accordingly. You can expect your workload to include a variety of the tasks below but it is not limited to this list: * Answering calls including taking new enquiry details swiftly but accurately from potential clients and transferring to case handlers to provide complex legal advice; * Obtaining and combining dates of availability for trial Counsel and Experts daily; * Resulting cases in court the same day; * Opening client files upon receipt of instructions; * Booking Counsel and Experts daily to attend all court hearings; * Chasing responses daily as instructed, from the courts, prosecution, police, GP surgeries, hospitals, clients, witnesses etc.; * Chasing & taking payments from clients, raising invoices; * Drafting correspondence and documents daily to assist the case handlers; * Contacting the court daily to confirm listing details for all hearings in court the next working day then confirming listing details to all parties required to attend; * Collating and sending briefs to counsel and/or chambers for all court hearings; * Collating case law cited in skeleton arguments/applications and producing corresponding index of enclosures; and * Preparing claims to recover costs from the court for clients at the end of successful cases. Person Requirements: * An optimistic mind-set/approach; * Enthusiastic, passionate & motivated by helping others; * Reliable - punctual with an outstanding attendance rate; * Resilient; * Proactive and highly productive; * Accountable and solution orientated; * Approachable and non-judgmental of our clients and the allegations they face often including drink driving and drug driving; * Strict adherence to our duty of confidentiality; and * A preference of working as a team rather than independently. Skills and Competencies: We are looking for unique individuals who possess all of the skills and traits below. However, it is equally as important that this list resonates with you too, otherwise we may not be the firm for you: * At least 3 years' administrative experience is essential (legal is preferable); * At least 2 years' experience using Proclaim or an equivalent case management system is essential; * Strong IT skills including using Outlook, Word and Excel; * Excellent communication skills including telephone customer service; * Strong prioritisation skills - an awareness of urgency in the industry we work in; * Strong organisation skills - experience of responding and dealing with all emails/instructions the same day (no backlog of more than 24 hours); Qualifications * GCSE's in English, Maths and IT at Grade C or above; Training * We hold the position of the market leader in the niche of motoring law. This is a highly technical area of criminal law where even the most experienced general crime solicitors have little knowledge of the various strategies we apply to our cases. * Our Legal Assistants are not here to do general basic admin, often the case at large law firms, the role is much more comprehensive and fast paced as detailed above. We expect very high standards and maintain those with regular performance management and training for all new starters regardless of experience