Conveyancing Assistant (FTC Maternity Cover)

• Job type: Full-time
• Salary: Dependent on qualifications and experience
• Department: Residential Property
• Office: Hertford

Are you looking to advance your legal career whilst enjoying a healthy work/life balance? Do you want to join a firm that is as interested in your career progression as you are? Are you searching for a fulfilling role where what you get out is considered just as important as what you put in? And where the only ceiling is your ambition?

Then Attwaters Jameson Hill could be the firm for you. Come and find out what makes us one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024.

With five offices spanning Hertfordshire, Essex and London, Attwaters Jameson Hill is a respected regional law firm with origins dating back well over a century. Our vision is to be the ‘go to’ private wealth legal practice in our region, through our commitment to excellent client care, integrity, teamwork, innovation, quality and respect.

In order to achieve our vision, we need people who are committed to excellence. We are experts at what we do and we’re looking for people with the ambition, dedication and work ethic required to become leaders in their field.

But we also know that our people have a right to expect excellence from us. That’s why we are dedicated to providing our staff with a nurturing environment, a structured career path that offers clear opportunities for progression, and all the support they need to thrive.

The role:

We are looking for a bright, enthusiastic Conveyancing Assistant to join our busy Residential Property team in Hertford, on a fixed term contract to cover a period of Maternity leave.
This role may suit a Law Graduate with an interest in Conveyancing and / or candidates with previous experience of working within a busy Residential Property department.
Responsibilities will include:

Sales
• Sending estimates, TOBs and sale packs to client
• Dealing with file openings including AML checks and ensuring all information is inputted into case management system (Liberate) and ensuring monies paid on account
• Obtaining office copy entries and issuing contracts
• Requesting leasehold packs and redemption statements
• Liaising with housing association (if shared ownership)
• Liaising with estate agents
• Dealing with files from pre-exchange through to post-completion
• Reviewing the file and ensuring all signed documents held, any documents required to remove charge(s) on property received
• Exchanging contracts and dealing with the relevant post-exchange requirements
• Preparing completion statements and apportionment statements (if leasehold)
• Completing – sending monies to client post-completion, ensuring mortgages redeemed and any outstanding service charge accounts cleared (relevant to leasehold properties), paying estate agents
• Ensuring verbal confirmation of account details are obtained before sending funds
• File closure – ensuring certified copies of original documents saved to file and closure of file on Liberate, ensuring the client account is cleared and no outstanding disbursements/fees
• Recording any retentions post-completion and diarising dates for release of funds to client
• General administrative duties
• Carrying out cabinet checks monthly
• Daily issuing disbursement only bills via Liberate
• Answering the residential phone line/fee earner’s line if unavailable and responding to any new enquiries and drafting quotations
• Obtaining indemnity policy quotations and policies if required
• Ensuring files are closed regularly and sent to deeds storage
• Covering reception duties as and when required
• Ensuring each file has a checklist confirming the stage of the transaction and what remains outstanding and ensuring the checklist is regularly updated (in the event the file needs to be covered in absence by another assistant/fee earner)
• Updating lender portals

Purchases
• Sending estimates, TOBs and sale packs to client
• Dealing with file openings including AML checks and ensuring all information is inputted into case management system (Liberate) and ensuring monies paid on account
• Reviewing source of funds and ensuring they satisfy our AML requirements
• Requesting contract papers from seller’s solicitors
• Liaising with estate agent’s
• Calculating stamp duty land tax liability and familiarity with the rules (i.e. higher rate payers, first time buyers, standard rate, etc)
• Requesting searches via InfoTrack
• Liaising with housing association (if shared ownership)
• Regularly reviewing LMS and Lender Exchange – saving any new mortgage offers/amendments to offers to fee earner’s case on Liberate
• Reviewing file pre-exchange using checklists, ensuring mortgage funds requested from lender, Land Registry searches obtained, lawyer checks
• Liaising with mortgage lender to ensure fund release
• Checking if retentions agreed/recording the same within our retention spreadsheet
• Reviewing up to date proof of funds pre-exchange
• Exchanging contracts
• Ensuring verbal confirmation of account details are obtained before sending funds
• Preparing completion statements, requesting apportionment statements (if necessary)
• Ensuring accounts are correct and ledger corresponds with completion statement
• Post-completion formalities of stamping with Inland Revenue and registering title at HM Land Registry
• Dealing with Land Registry requisitions if applicable
• Updating LMS/Lender Exchange (lender portals)
• Sending updated title documents to client and lender post-completion
• File closure – ensuring certified copies of original documents saved to file and closure of file on Liberate, ensuring the client account is cleared and no outstanding disbursements/fees

What we expect from you:

• You’re dedicated to providing excellent client service in line with our Service Pledge.
• You’re somebody who takes pride in their work and of whom we can be proud.
• You’re interested in promoting the firm’s good name both internally and externally.
• You’re a team player who will always go the extra mile.
• You have a positive attitude and always look to lift spirits, not lower them.
• You show good judgement and maturity.
• You’re risk-aware – you know what you don’t know.
• You’re a hard worker with a ‘can-do’ attitude.

What you can expect from us:

• A structured career path that provides all the information you need to develop and progress.
• A supportive and nurturing working environment with monthly one-to-ones, department meetings and a six-monthly appraisal scheme.
• Flexible and hybrid working.
• Firm-wide and fee-earner bonus schemes.
• Holiday entitlement of 25 days per year, rising by one day per year of service to a maximum of 30 days.
• Automatic enrolment to our contributory corporate pension scheme (salary sacrifice).
• Automatic enrolment to our Employee Assistance Programme, which helps staff members experiencing personal problems that might adversely impact their work performance, health and wellbeing.
• Enrolment to our Healthcare Cash Plan after the probationary period. Cover includes dependant children and may be extended to partners or spouses at the employee’s expense.
• Access to Mintago, a comprehensive employee financial wellbeing platform.
• Each office has its own designated Social and Wellbeing champion, who is there to help promote good mental and physical health with a range of initiatives including social walks, book clubs, charitable activities and out-of-hours get-togethers and events.
• Annual staff events including summer and Christmas events, quarterly office lunches and our annual online Staff Quiz!
• And so much more! Click the button below for our full list of employee benefits.

Click ‘Apply’ to complete and submit your application – we can’t wait to hear from you!