Legal Support Assistant (6-month FTC)

About the Company

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is a world-leading global law firm, where our ambition is to help you achieve your goals. Exceptional client service and the pursuit of excellence are at our core. We invest in and care about our client relationships, which is why so many are longstanding. We enjoy breaking new ground, as we have for over 170 years. As a fully integrated transatlantic and transpacific firm, we are where you need us to be. Our footprint is extensive and committed across the world’s largest markets, key financial centers and major growth hubs. At our best tackling complexity and navigating change, we work alongside you on demanding litigation, exacting regulatory work and complex public and private market transactions. We are recognized as leading in these areas. We are immersed in the sectors and challenges that impact you. We are recognized as standing apart in energy, infrastructure and resources. And we’re focused on areas of growth that affect every business across the world. All of this is achieved by supporting the growth of our people, who help us deliver on our ambition – which is to help you achieve yours.

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer: Your goals. Our ambition

The Opportunity

The legal support team provides the practical secretarial support our lawyers need so they can deliver the best possible service to our clients. The role of our legal support team is critical in assisting our people to perform at the highest level. The team provides high-quality support to partners and throughout our practice areas. This ranges from providing administrative support and diary management to producing a wide range of complex documents. Our legal support team also plays a client-facing role as secretaries are typically in regular contact with our clients on behalf of lawyers.

Reporting to the Finance and Administration Manager, you are expected to provide administrative support in a timely and responsive manner to legal staff, with a consistent and high standard of quality to partners, lawyers and business services staff in the practice group to meet client requirements and deadlines to deliver an exceptional client experience. The role will involve:

• Deliver high quality, accurate work whilst managing deadlines, responding to change and competing priorities.
• Coordinate and produce accurate Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s compliant documents and correspondence (including draft engagement and billing letters).
• Meet required deadlines and negotiate alternate timeframes when necessary.
• Utilize other services as appropriate (eg, Printroom, Document Services).
• Follow effective work practices with partners and lawyers to assist the Practice Management Assistant (if applicable) 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.
• Collaborate with business services and other key stakeholders across the HSF Kramer network (eg. including Printroom, Document Services, etc) to meet the administrative needs of the practice group.
• Follow telephone call management (including voicemails) and other communication work practices set within the practice.
• Ensure callers and other parties receive a consistent, high quality service and their expectations are managed.
• Take all steps necessary to ensure that team members are aware of partners’, lawyers’ and your own movements.
• Manage partner and lawyer internal and external appointments, across different time zones and offices, with appropriate meeting lead and travel times.
• Assist with meeting preparation, including IT infrastructure (video conference, teleconference, Teams, etc), and the coordination of post meeting actions (this includes coordinating/printing documentation and organizing meeting room logistics as required).
• Coordinate detailed travel arrangements for the assigned partners and lawyers including appropriate visa documentation, meeting requirements and domestic and international itineraries. Ensure connection with Business Development on all travel.
• Manage own email and partner and lawyers’ email as required. This includes ensuring timely filing of emails (including hard copy filing where necessary), filtering incoming correspondence, proactively dealing with queries and meeting invites. Deal with hard copy mail/post in the same manner.
• Proactively maintain and manage file bring-ups and reminders for partners, counsel, consultants and SAs.
• Develop and maintain a robust file management system for all electronic and hard copy documents.
• Assist lawyers with expense claims in a timely manner.
• Work with Practice Management Assistant to manage the billing process, including the creation of pre-bills, editing, finalizing bills and narratives and posting onto the system as per the firm’s policy and process.
• Proactively collect client information and ensuring relevant databases are updated, including client specific requirements, in a timely manner (eg, InterAction) to ensure all data is accurate at all times.
• Delegating work as appropriate to ensure the legal support needs of the practice are met by the person with the appropriate skill set.
• Arrange lunches and dinners and other events as required, including reviewing venues and menu planning and ensuring costs are maintained against budget.
• Take an interest in your own practice area, key matters, issues and ‘hot topics; so that appropriate priority is given to queries and requests and issues are escalated where necessary.
• Adhere to firm, office and practice group policies and procedures, including those that are formal, informal, documented or verbal.
• Take all necessary steps to ensure you are aware of correct procedures.
• Maintaining inquisitive, collaborative and vigilant work habits, keeping abreast of changes and developing more efficient work processes. Demonstrate this in your interactions with others.