Legal Assistant

SUPPORTIVE TEAM - 9.5 DAY FORTNIGHT - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – MENTORSHIP - CAREER PROGRESSION

About the role

Are you a law student looking to gain real world experience in the legal field? Are you ready to take the first step outside your comfort zone and begin your legal career?

Barton Family Lawyers is looking for a kind, positive and growth driven Legal Assistant to join our fast paced, trusting and supportive team. 

You will be supporting our Legal Practice Director at our head office at Petrie, where we help empower separating couples, many of whom have experienced domestic violence, to make informed decisions following separation and to have power and control over their future. 

Join our growing team as we continue to build the first Family Law Firm that receives training in and specialises in supporting victims of narcissistic abuse and coercive control.

Primary Responsibilities 

• Perform administrative tasks including opening files, preparing briefs to counsel and court documents folders. 
• Preparation of fixed fee agreements. 
• Communicate with our clients in person, by email and over the phone.
• Prepare letters, consent orders, binding financial agreements, court documents, position statements and parenting plans. 
• Reviewing, collating and analysing disclosure documents.
• Arranging and assisting with the process of valuations. 
• Assist your team member to prepare for Court.
• Proactively managing your team members files with support.
• Support the team to achieve their work related goals.

What we offer

• Our team works a 9.5 day fortnight.
• We support our team to ensure they have what they need to reach their maximum potential.
• We have a happy and healthy work culture. 
• We have professional development budgets and incentivised learning.
• We offer intensive mentoring and professional development training. 
• We give you the opportunity to participate in video marketing to enhance your personal brand.
• We facilitate monthly lunchbox learning seminars for our team.
• We have casual Friday's.
• We do regular team lunches and culture building events.

What we are looking for in an applicant

Top 6 non-negotiables, in order of priority:

1. Integrity/honesty/good character 
2. Motivation/discipline/positive attitude
3. Reliability 
4. Understanding & teachability 
5. Knowledge 
6. Experience. 

More skills we rate highly:

• Experience in customer service.
• A quick learner. 
• Good attention to detail. 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Proactive. 
• Enjoys a challenge and learning new and difficult things.
• Active team player, self-starter, and multitasker who can quickly adjust priorities. 
• Empathetic.
• Strong work ethic.
• Creative problem solver. 
• Organised and good time management skills.
• Process driven.

What Great Looks Like 

At 1 month:

• You will become a part of a mini team within the bigger BFL team, 
• The focus of month 1 is learning. Learning about how we operate, our clients, their challenges, and how we solve them. 
• You will understand the ins and outs of the team's processes to drive efficiency from the bottom up. 
• You will understand the ins and outs of the team's processes to drive efficiency from the bottom up. 
• You will understand our philosophy around supporting your team, the wider BFL team, and having each other's backs. 
• You will become familiar with our different fixed fee agreements and how to draft them to suit each individual matter and client. 
• You will start helping out our clients and interacting with clients via phone and email. 
• You are reviewing disclosure and collating index to disclosure documents. 
• You are writing basic letters and court documents in relation to basic parenting and property matters. 

At 3 months: 

• You are communicating with clients with empathy and confidence. 
• You are proactively managing clients and matters with the support of your team. 
• You are writing letters and drafting court documents competently.
• You will identify opportunities for process optimization to increase efficiency within the team, in line with our fixed fee model. 

At 6 months: 

• You are solving problems proactively. 
• You are reviewing disclosure and collating index to disclosure documents. 
• You are preparing letters and fixed fee agreements for more complex matters. 
• You are looking for more ways to further streamline processes to increase efficiency.  
• You are setting goals as to what you would like to achieve in the next 6 months. 

About BFL 

Barton Family Lawyers is a fast growing Family Law Firm with offices on Brisbane's north side at Chermside and Petrie. 

We specialise in supporting victims of narcissistic abuse and coercive control to take their power back. 

We offer fixed fees for all services giving our client's transparency and control over their costs. 

OUR VISION

BFL’s External Vision: We are committed to continuing our mission while looking for opportunities to advance our team’s skills and specialist experience in family law in order to provide an ever increasing quality of service to our clients.
BFL’s Internal Vision: We are committed to maintaining a workplace which prioritises team satisfaction through clear communication, work life balance and flexibility, to enable both individual and team growth and improvement. We seek to support and empower each other to be lifters and leaders in our team, and to maintain a workplace where people feel safe and can be themselves.

OUR MISSION

OUR CORE VALUES

Barton Family Lawyers Core Practice Values provide a moral compass upon which all our decisions are to be made and which guide our behaviour towards our clients and one another, in order to achieve our Vision and our Mission. 
In January of each year, the Barton Family Lawyers team comes together to review and revise our Core Values so each is of contemporary relevance to our team and we then hold each other accountable for those values.
Barton Family Lawyers External Core Practice Values, which shape how we practice law, are:
1. We promise the five C’s – Compassion, collaboration, clear communication, Certainty of our fees and Clarity of our advice;
2. We advocate for our clients in a way that makes them feel prioritised, supported, safe and heard;
3. We follow through on promises we make to our clients;
4. We give our clients practical, tailored advice and the pros and cons of each option to empower our clients to make informed decisions and to choose the best pathway for their future;

Barton Family Lawyers Internal Core Practice Values, which shape how we conduct ourselves personally and within our team, are:
1. We are always looking for opportunities to grow;
2. We provide a safe and welcoming environment where everyone can be themselves;
3. We work together to empower each other’s strengths;
4. We keep each other accountable;
5. We take initiative and look for opportunities to help one another.

Our Hiring Process 

Apply:

• We read every application and cover letter and make our best effort to reply to everyone.
• Please read the job description before applying.
• We will not read your application unless it includes a cover letter. Why? Because we want to know more about you than just your experience. We want to know who you are and why you want to work for us. We are focused on integrity and attitude more so than experience. We want to make sure you are the right fit for our team.

Interview:

• Goal: Understanding of your qualifications, experience and whether you will be a good fit for our team and vice versa. 
• 30 - 60 minute interview with 1 to 2 members of the BFL team including our Practice Director. 
• We want to know about your goals and plans for your future. 
• We want to know about challenges you have experienced within previous work environments and how you have handled them. 
• We will leave time for you to ask questions. 

To apply for this job please click Apply for this job and include a CV and Cover letter.

If you do not hear from us by 28 July 2024 unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful.