Corporate Trainee Personal Assistant Trainee PA

Corporate Trainee Personal Assistant (Trainee PA)

A full-time Trainee PA is required to provide an efficient, client-focused and professional administrative support to a number of fee earners. The individual is expected to learn systems and processes quickly and demonstrate the necessary competencies in order to qualify as a PA.

Key Responsibilities

Client Engagement

• Prioritises effectively, anticipates and plans ahead to assess clients’ requests, however communicated, and offers appropriate efficient help and assistance in a professional manner to meet their needs.


• Develops and maintains awareness of key clients and knowledge of their fee earners’ workloads.


• Ensures work is accurate, well presented and is consistently of a high standard taking account of spelling, punctuation and layout.


• Builds positive relationships with all clients.

General administrative support

• Actively assists fee earners when they are both in and out of the office through effective mailbox management.


• Manages incoming communication (including fee earners’ e-mail and voicemail), drafts and transcribes replies where possible.


• Maintains fee earners’ diaries, makes appointments, arranges meeting rooms etc to ensure all work activities are scheduled effectively.


• Arranges all travel effectively and efficiently. This must include understanding fee earners’ preferences, anticipating additional requirements (accommodation, currency and transfers etc) and contingency planning.


• Handles expenses and submits on a weekly basis.


• Develops excellent document production skills, including emails and legal documentation (often involving confidential material). Proof reads all work to ensure that completed documents are delivered accurately and to a high standard.


• Establishes and maintains a robust manual and electronic filing system and other administration systems.


• Carries out day-to-day administrative tasks.

Communication

• Communicates confidently and effectively in a professional manner.


• Communicates on a daily basis with all of their fee earners.


• Communicates effectively on progress when working to deadlines.

Team support

• Treats others with respect and dignity, acts with discretion and integrity at all times.


• Is proactive in providing support to other PAs in the team to ensure all deadlines are met.


• Is approachable, willing and enthusiastic at all times.


• Works flexibly and outside core hours as and when the need arises to meet deadlines and complete tasks.

Knowledge and Business Development activities

• Develops and maintains knowledge of all internal systems and procedures, the role of other departments and business service areas.


• Develops and maintains knowledge of fee earner tools.


• Operates information barriers and insider lists and maintains the strictest levels of confidentiality.


• Carries out basic business development duties such as updating contacts, Connect and distributing business development materials.


• Assisting with client events as and when required.


• Liaises with fee earners and the MBD department as required on the production of pitches, client presentations and maintaining up-to-date biographies for fee earners.

Requirements

• Preferably educated to A level standard (or equivalent), must have at least 5 GCSEs (A-C) (or equivalent), to include Maths and English.


• A formal secretarial qualification.


• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office including Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

The individual

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral).


• Very good organisational skills and excellent attention to detail.


• Willingness and enthusiasm to develop skills further.


• Able to work fast and to tight deadlines.


• Strong team player.


• Displays utmost discretion and remains confidential at all times.


• Flexible and proactive approach to meet the needs of the business.


• Embraces the importance of self-development.


• Willingness to broaden experience and develop skills further.


• Ability to retain a positive and professional attitude under pressure.


• Ability to prioritise and act on own initiative with limited supervision.


• Relevant legal work experience would be advantageous.

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing. Please note that, in line with the requirements of the UK Border Agency, non-EEA candidates may not be appointed to a post if a suitably qualified, experienced and skilled EEA candidate can fill the position