“I have made some terrific friends at Withers Bergman during my 9 years here ”
I am a UK citizen and prior to working/living in the United States (12 years ago) I worked, amongst other things, in various solicitors (attorneys) offices as a legal secretary. I was also a dental assistant and I worked in the litigation department of a collections company in central UK.
I have worked with a Partner in the International area of Wealth Planning for just over 9 years assisting with one of the firms major clients, a US citizen resident of UK. I also assist with many of the Firm’s charitable foundation clients.
I have the usual secretarial duties such as answering phones, liaising with clients and attorneys, typing dictation, drafting correspondence, drafting new client matter forms and engagement letters, entering attorney time, billing, filing, keeping updated records, calendaring attorneys appointments and deadlines, organizing travel. I also monitor quarterly tax payments for certain clients. I cover reception in the absence of our receptionist both in the morning when needed and once a month during the lunch hour.
I also mentor and train new hire secretaries/legal assistants which I thoroughly enjoy. I'm therefore delighted that the Firm has recently offered me the opportunity to develop this side of my role further, by offering me a part time junior IT Trainer role.
I am a UK citizen living in the US, married to a US citizen who I met while working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. We have 1 daughter, Hannah. All of my family and my old friends are back in the UK but have made some terrific friends at Withers Bergman during my 9 years here. I enjoy walking, reading, vacations and laughing!
Having had the opportunity of working in the UK and the US, there are some not so obvious differences I could share. The most relevant being, even though they speak “English” here, the language is very different in the US. In order for me to be understood in the US I have changed my vocabulary and definitely the pronunciation of words substantially. When EU secondees have arrived in the US I was often asked to translate dictation!!
For a new secretary or legal assistant if I had to advise in one word it would be “proofread”. Nothing less than perfection is expected in the work product.