Conveyancing Secretary

**Job Title**:Conveyancing Secretary

**Location**:Johannesburg

**About the Business**:
Here at Pinsent Masons we bring together the best people to get the job done. We’re naturally curious, constantly learning, listening, and growing. We’ll truly value your ideas. You’ll be joining an award-winning, hardworking and commercially minded team, where you’ll have the opportunity to work with leading experts and form meaningful relationships, while making a difference. You’ll get the opportunity to be involved in varied and challenging work. Working in an open and supportive environment, to deliver outstanding results.

**Purpose of the role**:
Conveyancing Secretaries perform an advanced level of administrative, legal secretarial and related duties in support of assigned Conveyancers and the ongoing operations of the office. At this level, the employee has increased responsibility in such areas as liasing with clients, interpreting the supervisor’s point of view; exercise discretion in matters, staff and higher-level management; researching and preparing materials for administrative decisions and preparing of deeds to be lodged at the deeds office as well as participating in other advanced, legal secretarial activities. The employee is responsible for the most complex combination of legal secretarial duties i.e. Bonds / Transfers Registrations and ensuring compliance with bond instructions / sale agreements & ensure success for the registration thereof, project management and coordination of the administrative support functions of a Real Estate division.

**Main duties and responsibilities**:
**GENERAL ADMINISTRATION AND CORRESPONDANCE**
- Receives and screens telephone calls and resolves queries.
- Arrange appointments and parking for clients and book boardrooms and arrange the same if consultation is at the client’s premises.
- Meeting & signing conveyancing documents with end users ).
- Check and update diary daily and have diarised files drawn
- Ensuring that the finances required for each matter is secured and that there are sufficient funds for all disbursements.
- Maintains the team’s filing system (Opening, Closing, Updating and Archiving of Files).
- Complete FICA documentation when opening files and ensure documents are handed to the FICA office.
- Ensure all copies are captured on file site and return copies and original documents to the fee earner
- Ensure documents are bound as required by the fee earner
- Determines need for, requisitions stationery supplies, and/ensures that repair and maintenance services are completed as required.
- Performs the most complex, administrative, legal, secretarial activities, which may be highly confidential, and sensitive, for the director and legal division.

**PREPARATION OF AGREEMENTS AND OTHER LEGAL DOCUMENTS**
- Draft all correspondence, deeds documents and fully utilising the conveyancing packages in accordance with the firm's house style conventions as well as the firm's precedent bank
- Draft formal letters, memoranda and reports using knowledge of work area instructions and guidelines.
- Proofreads and correct all prepared documents with due regard to speed, grammar, punctuation and accuracy
- Arranging lodgement and registration after obtaining all necessary consents
- Liaising with outside conveyancing firms on simultaneous transactions.
- Informing clients of registration progress reports
- Obtaining correct info relevant to the matter from client
- Adhering to banks service level agreements: relating to client’s service, compliance and turnaround times
- Timeously informs bank of registration and activating electronic systems for payment to be effected on date of registration.
- Obtaining deeds office printouts in respect of every transaction and checking for interdicts and endorsements.
- Tracking matters in the deeds office on a daily basis and signing off the daily deeds preparation list for registrations.
- Responds to written and electronic queries with the assistance of the conveyancer, regarding the process of registration and checking for endorsements and restrictive title deeds.
- Is able to compile non-standard correspondence as required.
- Attaches incoming correspondence to case file and related materials needed for action.
- Assembles and summarizes information from files, newspapers, bulletins, journals, documents, and other available resources for use by the conveyancer, staff, or others.
- Makes recommendations for improving efficiency and economy of existing operations.
- Briefs Conveyancer on matters to be considered before staff meetings and on problems and issues affecting the Conveyancer’s area of responsibility.
- Establishes and revises forms, procedures, formats, and standards for office correspondence.

**ACCOUNTS AND DEBTOR ADMINISTRATION**
- Draft accounts as per fee earners agreements
- Manages the invoicing, billing and debt administration process for the conveyancer - full account management (Reconcile fees, disbursement