Legal PA - Commercial Dispute Resolution

The role

This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Legal PA to join our friendly and supportive Dispute Resolution department, providing first-class professional PA support to a number of partners and fee-earners.

The Legal PA will be an integral part of our busy Commercial Dispute Resolution team (which sits under the wider Dispute Resolution department) and will work principally for named fee-earners, but also as part of our PA team with shared responsibilities. We're looking for an experienced Legal PA who can prioritise and delegate effectively, with excellent communication and organisation skills.

Role responsibility

THE TEAM

This role sits within the Commercial Dispute Resolution team, which is part of our Dispute Resolution Department. The team are incredibly collaborative and social; as well as principally assisting your fee-earners, we always seek to support one another and pull together to provide seamless and complete support to our fee-earner population, whose wok includes many interesting, ground-breaking cases.  

Our Commercial Dispute Resolution team serves a wide range of entrepreneurial clients, from individuals through to larger, cross-jurisdictional organisations. The team's experience covers all forms of commercial dispute resolution including litigation (both domestic and overseas), appellant work, arbitration, restructuring and insolvency, civil fraud and mediation. We work across a wide range of sectors and deploy a bespoke strategy based on our clients' specific commercial objectives and budgets. 

PRINCIPAL TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Proactively managing and maintaining fee-earner diaries, making appointments and co-ordinating internal and external client meetings including ensuring fee earners have relevant materials required for any meetings, the booking of meeting rooms, video conference facilities, refreshments, restaurants, taxis etc.
• Making extensive travel arrangements (domestic and foreign, including completing and submitting visas), producing itineraries and ensuring expenses claims and trip reports are completed. 
• Management of fee-earners' inboxes when they are out of the office; monitoring and responding to emails, prioritising correspondence to enable fee earners to focus on urgent matters and using initiative to route emails to the appropriate individuals for swift response and action; wherever possible, responding to and filing emails into iManage.
• Onboarding new clients by following compliance rules, to include requesting official KYC documentation, managing opening of new matters.
• Acting as the key contact point for internal and external queries posed to the fee-earners who you support.
• Producing documentation as required - typing, drafting and amending documents, letters and correspondence where appropriate and proofreading all work to ensure consistent accuracy and high standard.
• Preparation of account forms and coordination of the end-to-end billing process and Elite 3E financial reporting; assisting fee-earners by liaising with the billing team, producing the relevant documentation and reports, and prompting fee-earners to complete all necessary paperwork etc.
• Bundling – both electronic and hardcopy (copying; compiling; preparing an index; paginating).
• Undertaking research using the internet, databases etc.
• Liaising with clients, Counsel and other external parties.
• Supporting other PAs where required, especially during any absence.
• Using initiative to take responsibility of administration that will assist the fee earners.
• Ensuring all correspondence/documentation is correctly electronically filed on iManage.
• Ensuring relevant BD and financial systems/reports are up to date.

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate;

• Experience in a demanding, high performing legal services environment (preferably in Dispute Resolution but not essential)
• Strong organisational skills with excellent diary management and time management skills.  Having supported senior fee earners, including partners in your previous roles.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• A proactive, flexible and self-motivated approach.
• A willingness to support your colleagues in a team environment
• Knowledge of Microsoft packages such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with BigHand, Elite 3E, iManage/FileSite would be advantageous.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / SYSTEMS USED

• Microsoft / Windows 11 Suites e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams
• PDF Docs/Acrobat Reader/Bundledocs
• iManage
• BigHand Digital Dictation System
• Elite 3E
• Chrome River
• InTapp Time
• One Place (CRM)
• My Performance Leader
• Docusign
• HubShare

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 25 days annual holiday
• Permanent Health Insurance
• Life Assurance
• Interest free Season Ticket Loan
• Private Healthcare
• Pension Scheme
• Staff Introductory Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme

About us

With almost 200 lawyers in one location, we ensure our clients have the right team to help them get from where they are to where they want to be. We advise major corporates and institutions as well as entrepreneurial, ambitious enterprises which are often privately or family owned, or private equity backed. As well as our significant business law capability, we are one of only a few London-based law firms with a large private wealth offering. Our clients find our straightforward approach a compelling alternative to larger, less personal firms.

Whether you are an ambitious and talented individual wanting to hit the ground running from day one, or an established professional looking for a new opportunity, Howard Kennedy is the firm where you can really make it happen.

We have earned a strong reputation for our exceptional and uniquely talented people who between them deliver outstanding results for clients. In a firm of our size, our strong team dynamic creates a thriving culture of creativity and entrepreneurialism. Howard Kennedy is a pragmatic and non-hierarchical environment where success is shared, and you are proactively encouraged to thrive at your own pace.

Our distinctive culture is built on fairness and respect. Guided by the firm’s values of talk straight, think smart and be yourself, everyone in the firm holds equal value, and everyone plays their role in supporting, encouraging and inspiring colleagues to do their best work.

At the same time, we recognise and reward individualism, celebrating the diversity of our people and supporting them to grow their practice and drive their own career advancement.

As well as client work, there is opportunity to broaden your horizons at the firm with fulfilling pro bono and charity projects. We have a regular social calendar full of wellbeing activities, charitable and social events too.