We are looking for an experienced Legal Secretary to join our Estates team, supporting fee earners on probate and estate administration matters.
This is a varied and detail-focused role, ideal for someone who enjoys providing high-quality support while working closely with clients during sensitive and often emotional times.
The role
You will play a key part in ensuring probate and estate administration matters progress smoothly, providing proactive administrative and legal support to solicitors and acting as a professional point of contact for clients, executors and beneficiaries.
Key responsibilities
* Providing comprehensive diary management for fee earners, including arranging meetings, calls and travel.
* Acting as a first point of contact for clients, executors and beneficiaries, handling calls and correspondence with professionalism and discretion.
* Liaising with third parties including HMRC, the Probate Registry, banks and the Land Registry.
* Drafting standard correspondence, letters of authority and completing closure and encashment forms.
* Preparing and processing accounts documentation, including payment and receipt forms, and assisting with basic estate financial administration.
* Opening and closing probate files in line with firm procedures and regulatory requirements.
* Collating and maintaining accurate client, beneficiary and estate information, including bank details and identification documentation.
* Logging and tracking key documents such as wills and Grants of Probate, and managing key dates throughout the estate administration process.
* Conducting bankruptcy searches and supporting due diligence requirements.
* Uploading and managing documents using HighQ or similar document management systems.
* Maintaining Excel spreadsheets, including estate account updates and tracking information.
* Supporting fee earners with meeting preparation, document collation and business development activity where required.
About you
* You will have previous experience as a legal secretary, ideally within private client or probate work.
* You are confident dealing with clients and third parties and understand the importance of sensitivity and confidentiality.
* You are highly organised, accurate and comfortable managing multiple priorities.
* You have strong IT skills, including Word and Excel, and are confident producing correspondence and spreadsheets.
* You are a team player with a calm, professional approach and a strong client-service ethos.
You’ll be part of a supportive and collaborative Private Wealth team, working on high-quality probate and estate administration matters and providing meaningful support to clients at important times in their lives.
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