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We are currently recruiting for a Legal Assistant to support allocated Fee Earners across our offices with their Wills & LPA caseload.
The day to day:
Ensuring all matters are initially set up in accordance with the requirements of the Office Manual and department procedures including the completion of checklists for risk and file management purposes, client care and cost updates.
- Completion of file opening tasks on SOS in accordance with the instructions of the fee earner in the Will Questionnaire and attendance note.
- Ongoing completion of data within CMS particularly checklists.
- Ensuring correspondence is paper light and CMS contains all such correspondence appropriately filed.
- Drafting documents including Wills and Powers of Attorney and client letters, severances of joint tenancy and letters of wishes.
- Proactively progressing matters and chasing for required information and comments on draft Wills and LPAs.
- Proactively updating clients.
- Proactively updating the fee earner and seeking instruction from fee earner when appropriate.
- Contacting clients to arrange signing appointments.
- When appropriate, proactively confirming with the fee earners bi-weekly, the current status of matters within their care.
- Closing file process including thinning any physical file.
- Input of data on all required spreadsheets and H&H logs including but not limited to the strong room system.
What knowledge and experience do I need?
- Familiarity and understanding of wills and will clauses and a detailed understanding of the component parts of a Will
- Ability to construct a Will by following the instructions of a fee earner from the Wills Questionnaire and attendance note.
- Ability to access and utilise precedents from Lexis UK and PLC.
- Ability to draft a client facing advice letter explaining the content of the drafted Will.
- Understanding of inheritance tax and how it relates to Wills.
- Understanding of co-ownership and ability to sever a joint tenancy (or reverse) and deal with land Registry requirements.
- Understanding of when letters of wishes are required and ability to draft from instructions.
- Ability to use information in the file to instruct a third party to create a capacity report.
- Understanding of the different types of powers of attorney, rules relating to them and process to follow from instruction to registration.
- Ability to draft Lasting Powers of Attorney, ordinary powers of attorney and appropriate client facing covering letters.
- Ability to register Enduring Powers of Attorney.
What skills should I have?
- Ability and willingness to continue to learn.
- Ability to work paper light.
- Good team player
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities
- Good communication skills
