Purpose of Role:
Practice group aligned Legal Secretarial support to fee earners to deliver:
- Optimum client service
- Proactive suppor
- Realisation of firm-wide strategy, Purpose and business plans
- Continuous improvement
- Commitment to continuous professional development
- Industry expertise
Support may need to be provided to staff from more than one business unit and numbers and content of the group may change from time to time to reflect the current structure of the Firm.
This position is responsible for providing pro-active secretarial and administrative support to the lawyers of the firm in relation to both billable and non-billable work. It is important that secretarial services are delivered to the business in a manner consistent with the increasingly competitive environment in which the firm operates. This role is intended to embrace a team-working approach, collaborating with lawyers and other members of the support staff to fulfil the needs of the business.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Service Delivery
- Responsible for end-to-end service delivery
- Proactively manage and co-ordinate meetings, appointments and travel
- Manage fee earner communications
- Be aware of the firm’s risk policies and ensure new clients are onboarded in line with them
- Develop and maintain an understanding of the firm’s strategy and sector focus
- Build strong relationships with key stakeholders (assigned fee earners, partners and business operations colleagues)
- Provide support to other functions as and when required including covering Reception
- Support other ad-hoc requests from fee earners if required, such as:
o Actively contribute to client service initiatives
o Assist with matter management to maximise cost recovery
o Attend stakeholder meetings and take ownership of assigned tasks, duties, and outcomes, and
o Actively use and promote the correct use of firm wide resources
2. Business Development
- Work with fee earners to edit bids, tenders, proposal documents, team sheets, brochures and client briefing documents
- Work with fee earners to manage credentials database (i.e. add new matters that have been won) (training available from the Business Development team)
- Assist fee earners to update CVs, including those used in bids/proposals and online version used on the firm’s website (training available from the Business Development team)
- Effectively use the firm’s CRM system (Interaction) to add and amend fee earners’ client and contact data (training available from the Business Development team)
- Work in collaboration with fee earners and the Business Development team as required to provide support for in-person client events
- Support other ad-hoc requests from fee earners if required, such as:
o Build and maintain effective relationships with the firm’s clients and their internal teams and developing knowledge of the Group's clients and their business
o Research clients, potential clients and new business initiatives or opportunities at the discretion of the fee earners
o Proactively identify and assist with business development opportunities
3. Project Management
- Open client files (including completing conflict searches and money laundering checks in conjunction with lawyers), prepare client engagement letters, collate all the relevant information required for file opening and maintain client files on a day-to-day basis (including filing where required)
- Manage production of documents (produced in-house and externally), coordinate changes made including taking responsibility for the consistency of those documents (e.g. formatting, numbering, CompareDocs, etc), utilise the DP as and when necessary
- Transcribe, edit and amend legal and other documents including marketing presentations and materials. Convert, compare, copy type and proofread the same as necessary, ensuring that documents comply with house style
- Assist lawyers with the billing process and ensuring timely submission of bills, including drawing up pre-bills, editing of narratives, preparing cover letters/emails and finalizing bills
- Prepare and submit lawyers' expenses in accordance with the firm's policies and follow up on authorisations
- Undertake regular reviews of files and documents to ensure all non-active files and documents are archived/stored off-site
4. Innovation
- Have an innovative mindset and propose improvements to service delivery
- Proactively respond to priorities of the assigned practice group(s)
- Be committed to continuous improvement
Key Capabilities, Knowledge and Experience:
- Ability to work autonomously and also be a team player
- Displays resilience and can work under pressure
- Has high level of influence
- Driven and proactive
- Earns respect and trust
- Critical thinking and time management
- Maintains confidentiality
- Undertakes self-analysis and evaluation
- Strong personal brand supporting the Firm’s values
- Punctual
- Excellent communication and inter-personal skills (oral and written)
- Educated to diploma level standard or equivalent
- Professional certification in secretarial field
- Previous experience in a similar role within a professional services environment
- Excellent written and verbal skills in English
