I joined Oakwood Property Solicitors in the Conveyancing Department in January 2023 as a Legal Assistant.
In a nutshell, my role is to assist the Conveyancers with any tasks that are assigned to me to from inception to completion of a property transaction.
I first grab my coffee to start the day. Once at my desk, I log in to my computer and load up my emails. I review any emails that have come in overnight and allocate to the correct files. If I can, I quickly respond to any client queries.
I prioritise providing any required updates for our referrers to ensure they know exactly what is going on with our mutual clients. Doing the updates nice and early means that I can then concentrate on other tasks knowing that everyone is up to speed with the transactions
Whilst going through my emails, I then prioritise my tasks received from the Conveyancers and create myself a ‘To Do’ list so I can see in front of me exactly what I need to finish that day.
The tasks vary each day but generally consist of, providing quotes for potential clients, updating the system with new Memorandum of Sales received from Agents, preparing draft contracts packs for Buyer Solicitors, carrying out our necessary Identification checks on Clients and reviewing their initial documentation, requesting the property searches and redemption statements and dealing with Post Completion registrations.
I also assist in attending to any clients that may pop into the office and deal with basic administration jobs such as photocopying and scanning.
Along with my colleague, I assist with the incoming telephone calls from clients, Solicitors and other third parties. We receive a high volume of calls every day and I assist with any queries as far as I am able to.
I do spend a fair amount of time on the telephone also chasing clients, lenders and other Solicitors to enable transactions to progress as efficiently and quickly as possible.
Being on the telephone a lot requires great customer service skills which I have developed throughout my previous roles and various retail jobs. Also, this takes a lot of pressure off the Conveyancers who can then focus on their busy caseload.
By 1:00pm I take my lunch break. The perks about working on Oakwood high street is that there are many independent cafes nearby so there is always something new to try. I also love taking a walk to Roundhay Park to get my steps in and some fresh air.
After lunch I am ready to crack on with the rest of my day. I carry on working through my “To Do” list I set that morning and add any additional tasks received from the Conveyancers.
In the afternoon I try to work on Post Completion tasks such as registering completed transactions at Land Registry and dealing with any requisitions that have come in..
Near the end of the day, I review my ‘To Do’ list again to ensure this is up to date so when I come into the office the next day I can pick up where I left off ensuring I do not miss any tasks that have been allocated to me.
Throughout the day I monitor my emails and deal with as many as I can, delegating as and where necessary. By the end of the day I am ready to go home, knowing that my workload is organised for the next day and I know exactly what I am coming into.
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