Practice Executive

Owen Reed is looking to recruit a Practice Executive for a top law firm in London on a Permanent basis.

The Opportunity

Key Internal Relationships:

• Partners, lawyers, Practice Team Assistants and other Business Services staff

Key External Relationships:

• Clients, service providers

Primary Responsibilities:

• Plan for and deliver high quality, accurate work whilst managing deadlines, responding to change and the competing priorities of all work.
• Coordinate and produce accurate compliant documents and correspondence (including drafting engagement), reports and presentations. Utilise other services as appropriate (eg, Printroom, Document Production).
• Establish and maintain effective work practices with partners and lawyers to manage the matter life cycle from file opening to closure/archival. This includes adhering to the firm’s conflicts process, managing information barriers, contributing to the effective management of electronic and hard copy content and active legal project management.
• Proactively manage and understand partner and lawyers’ diaries using business knowledge to prioritise commitments. This will include organising appointments, conferences and meetings via multiple methods (videoconferencing, teleconferencing, client office software etc), considering lead and travel times, and coordinating meeting preparation and post-meeting actions.
• Implement effective telephone call management. Take necessary steps to ensure that team members and business stakeholders are aware of the partner/lawyer/team’s and your own movements. Ensure calls and other parties receive a consistent, high quality service and their expectations are managed.
• Manage the coordination of the billing process including liaising with Revenue, the editing of bills, coordinating write-offs and discounts, collating bills and narratives in their final form as per firm policy and process. Manage alternative pricing arrangements and cross-border invoicing. Liaise with and delegate to the PTAs for their assistance with billing admin throughout.
• Work with the partners and lawyers to meet required WIP, billing and debtor day's targets.
• Assist partners and lawyers with their BD responsibilities. This includes producing pitches, proactively updating CVs and credentials, producing International BD visit reports and updating the necessary client information databases in consultation with the relevant BD representative.
• Help partners and lawyers to build, manage and maintain strong relationships with clients and their secretaries by demonstrating diligence, professionalism and a commitment to providing them with an exceptional experience including being a key point of contact for the them and the team. This includes proactively maintaining accurate client contact information and ensuring client related activities are recorded on the relevant databases, and keeping abreast of partner and lawyer BD objectives.
• Delegate administrative tasks to the PTAs and maintain overall responsibility for ensuring:
• Filing is up to date and undertaken regularly;
• Timesheets and all banking and billing admin is completed promptly
• WIP client matter reports are compiled and errors and omissions are rectified.
• Client information is accurate at all times, including client specific requirements, in a timely manner via InterAction)
• Take responsibility for your own learning, undertake recommended training, keep up to date and comply with firm policies, adopt new or improved firm and practice group recommended work practices, and share information with others about better ways of working.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Seen as a role model to PTAs, other secretaries/PAs in the practice group and office with both technical skills and adherence to the firm’s Business Services support competencies.
• Excellent organisational skills and management of competing priorities. Effectively delegates administrative tasks to the appropriate person or area of Business Services.
• Assigned partners and lawyers are satisfied with the level of support they receive, and agree that the quality of support you provide meets expectations.
• Documents produced and coordinated are accurate, comply with our standards and guidelines, and are completed within agreed timeframes.
• Task based work is consistently completed as requested, within agreed timeframes and is of a high standard.
• A reputation within the practice group for being an effective, helpful and supportive team member.
• Colleagues (including all partners, lawyers, PAs/secretaries and Business Services staff) are confident that they can approach you and will receive a level of assistance that is appropriate in the circumstances.
• A reputation amongst Business Services groups for being an excellent communicator and for working with them to achieve positive outcomes.
• Compliance with the firm’s and practice group’s policies, guidelines and recommended ways of working.
• Assigned partner and lawyer client contact and activity information is up to date and accurate.
• Support provided to partners and lawyers on matter management activities has assisted to meet client and firm obligations in an effective manner (eg, assisting in WIP and debt management, client communication).

Qualifications, Skills & Experience:

• Typing speed minimum of 55wpm with 98% accuracy
• Intermediate to Advanced skill level with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and Word).
• Basic skill level with Visio.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated ability to building effective and trusting relationships with people internally and externally to the firm.
• Proven high level organisational and time management skills with the ability to think ahead, prioritise workload, respond to and manage changing circumstances and work under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail