Legal Practice Support Officer

We are excited to hire a new Legal Practice Support Officer to join our fantastic Legal Support team based in Dakota, Weybridge. We promote a hybrid working approach, with colleagues expected to attend the office for 2 days a week.

About the Team

We have an exciting opportunity for a Legal Practice Support Officer to join our friendly and fast-moving team. The team operates in a sensitive and confidential legal environment, requiring exceptional organisational and IT skills. The ability to prioritise work and meet strict deadlines is paramount. You will be expected to make straightforward decisions relating to your role while maintaining strict confidentiality rules and excellent attention to detail.

About the Role

In this role, you will be responsible for ensuring that financial processes within Legal Services and the wider council are followed. You will also maintain information databases and act as a guardian for our case management system, iCasework. As a Practice Support Officer, you will need to meet strict deadlines, so the ability to cope under pressure is essential.

• Provide support to lawyers, including preparing reports, creating and amending documents, and answering telephone calls.
• Handle administration work related to the county’s deeds and legal library subscriptions, including post (requiring physical attendance at the office on a rota basis).
• Open files for lawyers on our case management system and manage the physical retrieval and archiving of such files.
• Organise, locate, retrieve, and lift materials, involving some manual handling.
• Work cooperatively as part of a team to deliver seamless business support and provide an administrative service to over 60 lawyers in Legal Services, as well as clients from other departments within Surrey County Council.

Requirements

To be considered for shortlisting, your application must clearly evidence the following skills and align with our behaviours:

• Minimum 5 GCSEs at Grade C or above, or equivalent, or able to evidence ability at an equivalent level.
• Familiarity with one or more of the specific processes used in the relevant discipline.
• Competence in a range of IT tools, including all Microsoft Office applications.
• Good written and oral communication skills, with the ability to build sound relationships with customers.
• Ability to prioritise and plan your own workload in the context of conflicting priorities and work on your own initiative.
• Previous relevant work experience.

Benefits

• 26 days’ holiday, rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 31 days after 5 years’ service.
• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave.
• A generous local government salary-related pension.
• Up to 5 days of carer’s leave and 2 paid volunteering days per year.
• Paternity, adoption, and dependents leave.
• An Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing.
• Access to a learning and development hub with a wealth of resources.
• Wellbeing and lifestyle discounts, including gym, travel, and shopping.

Pay

Starting salary of £31,659 per annum, based on a 36-hour working week.

Schedule

Hybrid working with 2 days per week in the office.

Surrey County Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation, moving from a two-tier system to two new unitary councils in April 2027. If you are employed by Surrey on 1st April 2027, your role will transfer with current terms and conditions to one of the new organisations.