Legal Practice Assistant / Legal Secretary (Finance)

Overview

Mayer Brown is an international law firm positioned to represent the world’s major corporations, funds, and financial institutions in their most important and complex transactions and disputes. We are recognised by our clients as strategic partners with deep commercial instincts and a commitment to creatively anticipating their needs and delivering excellence in everything we do.

We are a collegial, collaborative, and diverse firm where highly motivated individuals with an unwavering commitment to excellence receive the opportunity, support, and development they need to grow, thrive, and realise their greatest potential all while supporting the Firm’s client service principles of excellence, strategic partnership, commercial instinct, integrated strengths, innovation, and collaboration across our international firm.

If you enjoy working with team members whose defining characteristics are exceptional client service, initiative, professionalism, responsiveness, and adaptability, you may be the person we are seeking to join our Legal Practice Support Team as a Legal PA in our London office.

The Role:

This role is for a proactive and highly competent Legal Practice Assistant who can operate successfully during pressurised and often intense periods around financial closings, within a fast-paced and highly detail-oriented environment. The position provides client-focused and business-focused legal practice and administrative support to a small group of partners and their practices.

Responsible to:

Secretarial Team Leader and Partners/Associates in the Finance Group.

From time to time it may be necessary to make changes to the secretarial allocations within the group. Any such changes would be discussed with you.

Hours:

Standard hours are 9:30am to 5:30pm with flexibility in accordance with the needs of the business.

Our current working from home policy allows for two days working from home, subject to business need.

The Legal Practice Support Team is expected to provide cover within the office five days per week, so working from home days must be coordinated with the Legal Practice Assistant Team Leader.

This policy is subject to change and does not form part of contractual terms.

Responsibilities

Technical:

• Take full ownership of diaries, proactively managing all appointments, meetings and related logistics, working with partners to ensure that their schedules run smoothly and that they are where they need to be, at the scheduled meeting time, and that they are prepared for each meeting
• Proactively manage diary conflicts and take appropriate action on queries or clashes
• Assist with new matter opening and heavy coordination of multiple counterparties
• Arrange travel requirements, understand individual's personal preferences and manage all arrangements from start to finish including journey details, itineraries, accommodation, visa requirements, currency) and update diary to reflect all information
• Preparing material (often using PowerPoint) for presentations.
• Coordinate the billing process on behalf of the partners, proactively organising WIP and other financial management meetings, working with the wider department and Client Administrators to ensure billing processes meet deadlines
• Take ownership of financial and matter management processes for the team, for example coordinating chasing up unpaid bills
• Typing and amending correspondence and documents, which are with complex numbering, cross referencing and schedules and undertaking amendments as necessary.
• Accurate proofreading of documents, paying particular attention to headers/footers.
• Assisting with timesheet posting if required.
• Use and update InterAction, including running reports, working with the data to compliment the partners' practice and strategic/BD plans.
• Prepare New Matter memos, ensuring accuracy and correct spelling of companies/individuals/checking with fee earners where necessary.
• Complies with all internal policies, procedures and processes and keeps technical skills up to date (i.e. identifies where refresher/new training is required in response to any changes in the role).
• Photocopying, filing and other general administrative duties

Personal Management

• Demonstrate commercial and financial management understanding, by handling complex compliance and billing matters
• As agreed with each individual partner, manage inboxes, responding to emails on their behalf, drafting emails appropriately, forwarding any client critical emails to other fee earners and secretaries in the team to action and respond and highlight any urgent/important emails that partner needs to respond to Filing of paper documents, electronic filing and keeping administrative files up to date.
• Follows firm's archiving process as set by Records Management.
• Closing files promptly, transferring files over when a fee earner leaves, etc.
• Arranging courier deliveries.
• Ensures distribution lists are kept up to date, amending as necessary after new conflicts checks.

Client Focus

• Develop a thorough understanding if the partners' practice area(s), clients, priorities, the teamworking practices and goals
• Introduce and implement best practice around key operational processes to enhance partner effectiveness and department performance
• Attend meetings and take minutes if required and follow up on designated actions to ensure completion ahead of next meeting
• Liaise with the Marketing and Business Development team and key contacts, proactively coordinating BD activities, playing a key role in the organisation of events, seminars & conferences for the team
• Assisting with client queries in a professional and timely manner.
• Assist internal clients (all groups within the business) with queries and respond in a timely manner.
• Assisting with business development initiatives, i.e. organising client lunches, etc., builds and maintains relationships with stakeholders

Communication

• Work in partnership with partners, building highly effective relationships with each of them, ensuring good working practices are put in place and adopted increasing efficiency and adding value.
• Arrange regular catch ups with each partner to review their diary and commitments, to ensure that a good understanding of partners' clients
• Liaising with clients and telephone callers when fee-earners are out of the office. Taking down accurate messages and dealing with queries or assisting callers wherever possible.
• Maintains confidentiality and discretion at all times, flagging any concerns or issues at the appropriate level.

Teamwork

• Be a role model, work closely with the Legal Practice Support - team leader, be seen as a change agent and show a willingness and confidence to make suggestions for change where appropriate
• Build strong relationships internally and externally
• Assisting with general office duties and providing back up support for other secretaries and/or fee-earners as required to ensure the smooth running of the business.

Results Driven

• Act as a professional and client service focused ambassador for partners internally and externally
• Assists/supports Partners with internal processes, i.e. organises work to Evening group, picks up IT issues and resolves accordingly.
• Checks new matter memos for accuracy, checks for clearance and keeps fee earners abreast with any issues or reminders. Co-ordinates a file where this may be cross-group.

Qualifications, Experience and Personal Attributes

• Educated to GCSE standard or equivalent, A Level preferable;
• A Legal Secretary qualification an advantage.

Experience/Candidate Specification:

Experience:

• Knowledge of Finance work within a legal environment preferable.
• Experience of working in a partnership environment
• Experience supporting senior and high-profile individuals.

Technical Abilities:

• Accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Strong technical skills, advanced Word and Outlook and a working knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, and Internet.

Personal attributes:

• Personable, flexible, and enthusiastic approach to teamwork.
• Good, articulate telephone manner.
• Self-starter, ability to use initiative and provide pro-active support to fee-earners and have the ability to plan ahead.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to interact at all levels.
• Excellent attention to detail, particularly with emails, and to check own work.
• Ability to remain proactive and flexible at all times.
• Anticipate and identify potential problems and provide innovative solutions.
• A strong team player who proactively seeks out opportunities to help others by reprioritising workloads
• Reliable and well organised.
• Ability to work under pressure within strict deadlines and takes responsibility for their work .

At Mayer Brown, we are committed to creating an inclusive work environment that offers our people the opportunity and support they need to succeed. We are therefore happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments that individuals may require throughout the recruitment process and once they have joined the Firm.

In addition, one of our core values at Mayer Brown is to promote inclusion at all levels within the business which is actively supported by our diversity networks - LGBTQIA+, Fusion (Race and Ethnicity), Women, Enable (Disability) Social Inclusion and Opportunities and Work and Me (Family).