Legal PA - Dispute Resolution, International Construction

The role

This is a great opportunity for an experienced Legal PA to join our International Construction team, who work alongside the Commercial Dispute Resolution team, and are part of our Dispute Resolution Department. The team are incredibly collaborative; 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 work includes many interesting, ground-breaking cases.  

 Our International Construction team specialises in the avoidance and resolution of international construction and engineering disputes, with particular expertise in the FIDIC forms of contract. The team works all over the world advising the construction and engineering sector on dispute avoidance and dispute resolution.

Role responsibility

• 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. 
• 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.
• Supporting Business Development with the logistics for conferences, managing delegate logistics and ensuring the team is fully prepared with materials and briefing packs.
• Undertaking research using the internet, databases etc.
• Liaising with clients, Counsel, Experts and other external parties.
• Liaising with service providers (transcribers, common translators, hearing venues)
• 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.
• Ensuring relevant BD and financial systems/reports are up to date.

Team specific

• Bundling – both electronic and hardcopy (compiling high-volume documents; copying; preparing an index; paginating).
• Preparing of hyperlinked schedules of documents in word or excel.
• Preparing demonstrative exhibits and document threads from case materials.
• Proof reading and reports amongst other documents and cross-referencing exhibits.
• Attending key internal and external meetings to capture high‑quality, comprehensive and actionable minutes. 

About you

Ideally you will be able to demonstrate:

• Experience in a high performing legal services environment (preferably in Dispute Resolution or Construction Disputes)
• Previous experience of working in a client facing deadline driven environment 
• 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. (important due to clients – very direct clients) resilient and robust 
• A willingness to support your colleagues in a team environment
• Knowledge of Microsoft packages such as Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience with Elite 3E, J Drive/iManage/FileSite, Exhibit Manager, Share Point and WordPress would be advantageous.

At Howard Kennedy we believe that everyone deserves the space to thrive. We’re committed to creating an inclusive recruitment experience that reflects the diversity of both our people and our clients.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities, and we’re committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and accessible to all.

We understand that every candidate’s needs are different If there’s anything we can do to make your application journey more comfortable— whether for interviews, assessments, or onboarding—please let us know. We’ll work with you to remove any barriers and ensure our recruitment process is comfortable for you. 

Contact our recruitment team at recruitment@howardkennedy.com to discuss any support you might need.

Agency Introductions

Please note that we are not accepting applications via agencies for this role at this time. Before sharing any named candidate CVs, please contact your recruitment representative. If any named CVs are sent from agencies without approval from our recruitment team, they will not be deemed valid introductions, and no agency fee will be paid.

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.