Senior Practice Assistant

Owen Reed is looking to recruit a Senior Practice Assistant to join a top law firm in London in a Hybrid setup – 2 days in the office and 3 days at work. We provide broad legal assistance and expertise to the charity and not-for-profit sector, covering all the areas affecting institutions in these sectors, and those engaging with them.  The Team are the source of innovative solutions for clients across the UK and overseas.

Scope

We are looking for an extremely organised and proactive Practice Assistant to provide a high level of professional support to their allocated Fee Earners as well as other members of the Department. The candidate will be experienced in their specialist area but will be expected to be flexible to cover the broader remit of the Department. They will be highly motivated, display outstanding attention to detail and have the ability to multitask with ease.  It is essential that they are a strong team player with a positive, up-beat approach.

Responsibilities

Organisational Support

• Effective and proactive diary management, and awareness of Fee Earners' workloads to plan ahead
• Processes relevant applications, forms or searches, with minimal supervision
• Has an excellent knowledge of all systems/processes used within the Department
• Is professional and maintains effective communications with clients and Fee Earners, using an appropriate mix of communication styles
• Maintains up-to-date knowledge and understanding of Fee Earners' matters to enable a proactive support service
• Researches new clients/contacts and collates the papers required for client meetings, and conducts basic research (on-line or otherwise) for Fee Earners when required
• Arranges travel and any other activities on behalf of others, where appropriate
• Monitors critical dates in the diaries of Fee Earners for their matters including setting up online/hybrid meetings liaising directly with clients
• Uses initiative and takes a pro-active approach to work by regularly seeking ways to improve the level of PA support provided to Fee Earners and to the wider Department, developing techniques and systems for coping with time and deadline pressures

Business Development and Client Relationship Management

• Provides excellent service to clients, Fee Earners and colleagues, in a timely and professional manner, presenting a positive image of the Firm at all times
• Acts as a first point of contact for Fee Earners, their clients, external contacts and clients. Responding to requests in a timely manner
• Recognises, respects and honours client confidentiality at all times
• Organises business development meetings and events for Fee Earners, and where they are held online offers technical support on the day
• Assists the BD team in the production of business development materials
• Understands and uses InterAction effectively to support Fee Earners BD efforts including recording all business development meetings in InterAction, and sets up reminders where follow-ups are needed with prospects on InterAction or other systems/logs as required
• Demonstrates a good knowledge about the type of work that the Department carries out, in order to be able to assist with new client enquiries
• Enables the Firm to provide bespoke communications to key contacts by being aware of particular client requirements and ensuring that these are catered for where possible
• Proactively builds an understanding and knowledge of clients and organisations to help Fee Earners develop future relevant opportunities for both their team and other areas of the Firm

Document Production

• Creates typed work of a high quality, formatting in accordance with house style, at high speed, with accuracy and following internal guidelines
• Makes effective use of the Document Management System
• Creates new documents from the Firm’s templates, using contact data from InterAction to ensure accuracy
• Proof-reads all documents for spelling, grammar and sense, querying wording where appropriate
• Proactively uses initiative to compose correspondence on behalf of Fee Earners, requiring focused concentration and attention to detail
• Assists Fee Earners in the production of preparing and processing documents in electronic format
• Thoroughly understands and uses the full suite of tools used in production of documents and the Firm’s templates for these 
• Acts as a role model and mentor to others in document production. Assisting and advising Fee Earners on house style. Works with IT to help to develop, improve and test document production templates and Department precedents

IT Skills/Systems

• Has attained super-user level of proficiency in core IT applications including the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), Aderant for billing, InterAction, Intapp and Big Hand and is sought out as a source of help from others in the Department
• Works with IT to help to develop and improve systems, acting as a focal point for testing and providing constructive and professional feedback
• Is capable of troubleshooting IT issues for Fee Earners and liaising with IT where these cannot be resolved within the team

File Management

• Ensures that files within the case management system are kept in good order so that documents can be easily accessed
• Works in accordance with the Department protocol in relation to e-filing
• Adopts a pro-active approach and works with Fee Earners effectively, to maintain regular file management, ensuring all files are closed and archived, as appropriate, and a risk assessment having been undertaken
• Keeps accurate records of all files sent to off-site storage via Records

Financial Risk Management

• Has an excellent knowledge and application of the Firm's procedures in billing, AML, Credit Control and debt management
• Liaises with clients to obtain AML documentation and obtains relevant documentation from clients in a timely manner, as required by Fee Earners 
• Sets up conflict searches for review by Fee Earners, correctly identifying the appropriate classification for each entry
• Thoroughly understands what is required for client care letters and prepares first drafts of CCLs for Fee Earners
• Prepares bills (including bill narratives if required) and covering letter to client, as required by Fee Earners with minimal supervision, as required by Fee Earners
• Pro-actively manages billing processes in accordance with Department's billing cycle
• Liaises with credit control and alerting Fee Earners to unpaid bills
• Deals with time-recording matters for Fee Earners as required (for example, to record holiday absence)
• Regularly monitors finance related KPIs

Skills and Experience

• Qualified to GCSE standard, grade C/ level 4 (or equivalent) at Mathematics and English essential
• Previous secretarial experience in a law firm essential
• Experience working within a charity, social enterprise or not-for-profit team would be an advantage 

Person Specification

• Has excellent timekeeping and prioritises work effectively
• Is flexible, reliable, co-operative and has a professional approach to work
• Works as a positive, friendly and helpful team player
• Communicates in a positive and constructive manner and always interacts in good faith and demonstrates effective listening
• Uses initiative and takes a proactive approach to work by regularly seeking ways to improve secretarial support
• Positively supports and promotes change within the Department
• Adjusts approach to work as the demands require
• Respectfully and confidently puts forward solutions when dealing with competing demands from Fee Earners or others in the Department
• Functions effectively under pressure and acts with confidence and composure