It's the end of the week already, and it
completely flew by! I am so excited to have an extra-long weekend ahead. I have
definitely gotten the feel of how to execute my daily routine. I believe the
key to being successful and cause minimal stress in my position is to ensure
that I am very organized!
When I get into work, the first thing I do is
check to see if I have any voicemail's waiting. My voicemail was set up prior to
me starting, so I think there is a standard greeting. Then I check my email.
Not only do I have to check my inbox, I also have to check the fax inbox, which
I set up in my email as well, through the settings. I go through all the real
estate faxes and either flag them for myself to work on, or forward them to the
clerk that is working on that file. I know that if it is an Agreement of
Purchase and Sale that I am to open the file for that client.
I open my client files first in PC Law to assign
the file a matter number. I then input all the information that I have. Many times,
I do not have the seller or buyers contact information, so I then have to email
the realtor to get that information. Once it's put in PC Law, I print labels
for the folder. After that I go into Conveyancer and input information like
parties names, sale price, pin, roll number, etc. After I have completed that,
depending on the closing date, I will print off the initial letters and either
fax them, email them or mail them. There are certain letters that I sign on
behalf of the lawyer and some that the lawyer is required to sign. All the real
estate files are organized by closing date on my desk until I have completed my
part of the file, then I will hand them over to the clerk I have assigned the
file to. Today was an exceptionally busy day, and I know after this
long-weekend that Tuesday is going to be nuts!
School Related Reflection
I think that smaller quizzes and portfolios are
what I preferred to do in the legal program. I felt that I learned the theory a
lot better by simply having to create a portfolio and guideline then I did when
I was stressing over studying. I also feel that in real life and at real jobs,
if you don't know the answer to something then you can look it up and ask, so I
feel for things in school that are worth a lot of marks it should be the same
way. The bulletin board did come in handy sometimes.
Hi Jenny - Thanks for completing your Week 1 posts so thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteCan you advise what letters you can sign on behalf of the lawyer? How do you know whether to send them out by mail, fax or email?
Hi Ms. Bradley! I sign off on the initial letters to the other solicitors advising that we are the lawyers for the other party. These letters get faxed to the other lawyers office, I know this because that is what I was told do to. However, with the initial letter to the client for a purchase or sale, if we have their email on file then I will email the letter to them, if we do not have the email for them then I will use regular letter mail. I will also enclose title insurance brochure and our fees sheet.
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ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to hear your enjoying your placement so far! This week did go by very fast as I feel we are becoming more comfortable in the workplace. I'm glad to hear you're working with legal software that we're familiar with such as Conveyancer. I also use Conveyancer at my placement as well. Before I began, my law firm told me I was mainly going to work on Real Estate law, but I'm getting a bit of everything. Does your law firm ever give you any work from any other area of law other than Real Estate?
Hey Susie!! I was hired on in the real estate department, so unfortunately that is the only area of law I am going to be experiencing. It is a rather big firm (about 30 lawyers) so there are people working in each department, so there is no need for legal assistants to work in any other area than what they were hired for, unlike if you are working at a smaller firm, you are likely to get experience in different areas.
DeleteHey Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering if along with PC law and Conveyancer if you also have access to Teraview?
At my law office only certain people have access to Teraview and so when I open files I usually have to leave the PINS and Roll numbers to be filled in by another legal assistant.
I currently do not have access to Teraview, however, I also don't have access to conveyancer either. I am waiting for the girl to come back from holidays to give me access, so then I will see if they are giving me access to Teraview as well.
DeleteHi Jenny!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your placement is going so well. I've heard very positive reviews from you, but is there anything you aren't enjoying or is there anything that you would change so far?
Best of luck on week 2!
Hey Maryrose!
ReplyDeleteI guess if there is anything I am not enjoying it would be not getting to sleep in (lol!!), and the fact that work is so busy that there is no feeling like you are ahead of the game. There is always something new rolling in. But, at least, I am busy!