Senior Secretary

We are recruiting a Senior Secretary within the Litigation & Regulatory hub in our Birmingham office on a 12 month fixed term contract.

In many of our offices, 'Hubs' have transformed how secretarial services are delivered; with team members sharing the workload. Hubs also provide opportunities for developing a broader range of skills for pursuing a defined career path, networking and knowledge-sharing. These opportunities were not possible with the traditional model.

We are proud of our history of secretaries progressing to take leading roles in the strategy setting and day-to-day running of our secretarial function.

We have 4 levels of role in the team:

• Team Coordinator - Manages and takes responsibility for the efficient running of the team. Oversees incoming work flow. Distributes tasks appropriately amongst the team whilst operating as a senior level Secretary Responsible for communicating with fee earners to keep them appraised of a task or project status


• Senior Secretary - Takes ownership for the efficient running of the team by role-modelling as an effective and responsible team member and acts as workflow supervisor where required


• Secretary - Provides general secretarial and administration services as part of the secretarial team


• Team Apprentice - An apprenticeship level role for those developing their skills, undertaking routine administration tasks at the direction of the Team Coordinator, Working collaboratively with the rest of the team, to deliver and provide exceptional secretarial support by:


• Provide high level support to partners and fee earners as a trusted advisor


• Act as a role model and mentor to less experienced members of the team by sharing knowledge and best practice


• Completes practice group specific tasks to develop specialist expertise (e.g. super-user on specific tools, global billing, client reporting, knowledge management support)


• Utilises skill in influencing stakeholders - quickly building rapport and be seen as a trusted advisor


• Adding value by taking a proactive approach to tasks and anticipating potential problems before they arise


• Billing subject matter expert


• Ensuring accurate and timely use of our finance management system to facilitate matter opening, maintenance, closure and archiving. Generating accurate billing reports, letters and draft bills in a timely manner. Managing accounts payable (invoices), expenses and disbursements. Recording time for fee-earners when required (including non-billable productive time) on a daily basis


• Understanding DLA Piper document management processes (iManage)


• Coordinating internal and external client meetings effectively ensuring rooms and conference facilities are booked, liaising with attendees and ensuring that any required catering and technical equipment is in place


• Assisting fee earners with the organisation of meetings including preparation of agendas and collating meeting papers in a timely manner


• Utilising document production for the creation of all first draft documents


• Organising and assisting with client functions, entertainment and seminars, as required;


• Arranging complex travel bookings, including visas, flights, taxis, accommodation and rental cars, etc.


• Completing financial reports where required, from internal systems highlighting outstanding monies to be billed and updating particular client financial schedules where necessary


• Assisting on ad-hoc projects as and when required, for example managing bundles, supporting team events etc.


• Any other secretarial or administrative duties as required, In everything we do connected with our People, our Clients and our Communities, we live by these values:


• Be Supportive - we are compassionate and inclusive, valuing diversity and acting thoughtfully


• Be Collaborative - we are proactive, passionate team players investing in our relationships


• Be Bold - we are fearless and inquisitive, challenging ourselves to think big and find creative new solutions


• Be Exceptional - we are strategic and driven, exceeding standards and expectations, We recognise that people have responsibilities and interests outside of their career and that as a business, we all benefit from working flexibly. That's why we are open to discussing with candidates the different ways in which we are able to support requests for agile working arrangements.
  
  Previous experience as a Secretary


• Previous experience of document management systems


• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite


• Excellent diary management


• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills


• Good verbal and written communication skills


• Applies knowledge and judgement to solve problems and make decisions


• Experience of delegating to, and training, less experienced team members


• Flexible approach to working practices in order to meet business needs


• Friendly, personable and approachable


• Adaptable and flexible approach


• Conscientious and diligent


• Remains calm under pressure


• Eager to learn and develop skills


• Adopt a can do attitude
  
  DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers and business service professionals located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Our global reach ensures that we can help businesses with their legal needs anywhere in the world. We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality, service excellence and value to our clients and offering practical and innovative legal solutions to help them succeed. Our clients range from multinational, Global 1000, and Fortune 500 enterprises to emerging companies developing industry-leading technologies, as well as government and public sector bodies., DLA Piper is a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, positioning us to help clients with their legal needs around the world.


We strive to be the leading global business law firm by delivering quality and value to our clients, and we achieve this through practical and innovative legal solutions that help our clients succeed.

We're proud to serve an international client base that includes more than half of the Fortune 250 and nearly half of the FTSE 350 companies. We help the world's top companies with their business-critical issues. Many of the deals we work on are complex and challenging - transcending not just practice areas, but borders, languages and legal systems. With offices throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, we represent more clients in a broader range of geographies and practice disciplines than virtually any other law firm in the world. Our lawyers have wide experience in arbitration, banking, competition and trade, as well as corporate crime and corporate finance. We have strong practices in employment, energy, hospitality and leisure, insurance, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions and have developed key teams in pensions, private equity, real estate, tax, and technology

As a firm we are committed to diversity and to building an inclusive culture for all of our people, where differences are genuinely valued. For us, diversity isn't just about visible differences, it's the unique blend of talents, skills, experiences and perspectives that makes each of us an individual and we know it's crucial to have a culture and environment where those differences are genuinely valued.