Job Description

The Role

Department: Employment and Pensions

Location: London

Role: Practice Assistant

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. 9.00am-5.30pm

The Team

As the single point of contact for Partners and the completion of their work, the role will undertake all aspects of the Practice Assistant role, or where appropriate, manage the workflow by utilising Team Assistants and Document Production, retaining ownership and accountability of all tasks through to completion. Provide a high quality, comprehensive workflow management and organisational service to fee earners in the group and exceptional client service.

Key Responsibilities

Client Relationship Management

• Become an active part in the care of clients and be wholly familiar with contacts/clients and dealing with basic client queries as appropriate.
• Manage the production of documents and check returned work produced by the Document Production team/speech recognition for accuracy/formatting, before it is passed to the relevant lawyer.
• Taking and making client related calls, dealing with and handling message taking as appropriate.
• Liaise with Client & Marketing and provide support for scheduling tender meetings, directory interviews, client training etc.
• Manage Interaction and ensure new prospects, clients and contacts, activities and business development informationare added.
• Responsible for keeping up to date with client specific protocols and processes, implementing, providing guidance and training to others where necessary and ongoing monitoring.

Administrative

• Responsible for files to be opened and closed and supervise general filing requirements and record keeping and production of engagement letters ensuring compliant at all times.
• Monitor and manage key dates for clients and ensure compliance procedures are up to date on all files and matters.
• Support fee earners in business development activities including the involvement in preparation of pitches and presentations, scheduling meetings e.g. tenders, directories, internal clients.
• Work with business development managers on the maintenance of CRM to ensure key client contacts are in Interaction and \'bounce-backs\' e.g. contacts with rejected email addresses are reviewed, updated or archived from system.
• Assisting in the organisation of internal and external events, seminars and conferences (vulture).
• Manage diaries, ensuring they are up-to date, anticipating requirements e.g. associated travel /accommodation bookings, meeting rooms, drafting itineraries, preparing agendas, preparing and circulating papers.
• Produce and maintain Excel spreadsheets as required.
• First point of contact for the team, dealing with queries and acting on initiative to provide exceptional client service, promoting and developing ownership within the teams.
• Assisting in the tender process - liaising with Business Development, collating outstanding information, assisting with draft/final submissions.
• Arrange for the preparation and collation of internal sector newsletters and briefings
• Arrange photocopying, printing, organising couriers, sending out letters, faxes etc
• Receiving instructions via digital dictation for tasks and acting upon the same
• Maintaining LinkedIn profile, updating connections and adding new activity
• Checks CVs, copies of old tenders
• Manages enquiry inboxes, and website queries

Communication

• Key point of contact for allocated Partners, Fee Earners and Clients to maintain relationships and ensure a high level of support is always provided by the team.
• Monitor post and/or emails and dealing with as appropriate ensuring all client related correspondence is passed on to an appropriate Fee Earner and actioned as necessary; proactively responding to and drafting responses on behalf of others, prioritising emails, collating necessary paperwork and e-filing.
• Liaising with and providing support to their immediate colleagues in the department, and where practical, other legal and support departments as requested by Hub Leader. Assisting others where there is spare capacity or it is evident that a colleague needs assistance with their workload.
• Answering phone calls for other members of the team when they are away from their desk and participating in a lunch time telephone rota within the Practice Assistant team.
• Minute taking, following up designated actions to ensure completion ahead of the next meeting.
• Liaison with and taking direction from your Legal Support Manager
• Liaise with the Legal Support Managers over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant Fee Earners.

Processing

• Responsible for managing priorities and workloads to ensure deadlines are met. Liaising with Hub Leader/Legal Support Managers where challenges arise.
• Responsible for managing the creation and maintenance of data rooms and client information in accordance with case milestones.
• Responsible for ensuring client and matter data is maintained and updated within appropriate systems, raising requests with the BAU team as appropriate.
• Online applications e.g. Companies House, Land Registry, Searchflow, CRU forms
• Undertaking searches and completion of requisite forms and submissions
• Ensuring compliance with firm wide/department policies and procedures

Customer Service

• Arranging and attending team meetings
• Liaising with Fee Earners, Hub Leaders and Legal Support Managers to take instruction and liaise on work requirements.
• Consistently and appropriately update service users on progress where appropriate
• Regularly offer assistance wherever possible

Essential Skills & Experience

• Advanced knowledge of document management/case management systems
• An effective communicator with the ability to establish and build client relationships; striving to provide exceptional service at all times.
• Customer/client service focused
• Proven experience of managing high level client facing tasks and priorities, with a hands-on, practical approach.
• Effective at investigating issues and seeing a problem through to conclusion
• Conscientious, taking personal responsibility for own work and accountability for its delivery and quality.
• Excellent team player, sharing in team goals to provide excellent quality and efficiency of service, with a willingness to take on new responsibilities and challenges.
• Positive can-do attitude with the ability to adapt to change
• Confidential and discreet but able to redirect information when appropriate to ensure areas of concern are resolved effectively.
• Well organised and methodical with excellent attention to detail, ensuring accuracy in all client communications and deliverables.

Technical Skills

• Experience of working in a legal or professional services environment
• An aptitude for providing top level organisational support, anticipating support needs, producing documents and client communications of the highest standard.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office

The Firm

Clyde & Co is a leading global law firm, specialising in the sectors that underpin global trade and commercial activity, namely: insurance, transport, construction, energy, trade and commodities. It is globally integrated, offering a comprehensive range of contentious and non-contentious legal services and commercially-minded legal advice to businesses operating across the world. Clyde & Co is committed to operating in a responsible way. This means progressing towards a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of its communities and clients, using its legal skills to support its communities through pro bono work, volunteering and charitable partnerships, and minimising the impact it has on the environment. The firm has 480 partners, 2400 lawyers, 3200 legal professionals and 5000 people overall in over 60 offices and associated offices worldwide.

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Clyde & Co