About Linklaters
Linklaters is a global law firm, with 31 offices in 21 countries worldwide.
We have been named as one of The Times’ Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality for the tenth consecutive year; recognised by Stonewall as a top 10 employer for LGBTQ+ inclusion, and by the Social Mobility Employer Index as a top employer for advancing social mobility.
We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the Legal industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! At Linklaters, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply.
The Role
- You will provide a full range of PA, secretarial, co-ordination and administrative tasks, including all document work, matter management, billing, developing pitch material, and supporting on marketing and K&L activities.
- You are expected to build close relationships with your fee earners to anticipate their needs in advance and understand how they prefer to manage their time. This will enable you to manage their diaries effectively and proactively. It involves understanding which clients or colleagues need prioritisation and deciding whether to block out time for meeting preparations.
- You will support fee earners by managing both internal and external meetings. This includes collating and circulating materials to attendees. You may also attend meetings to take minutes and follow up on action points. Your role is crucial for ensuring smooth operations and significantly contributes to the team’s overall efficiency.
- As the first point of contact for your fee-earners, you will manage their inboxes, liaise with clients, and handle incoming phone calls. Effective PAs proactively respond to queries on behalf of their fee earners and anticipate areas where further support might be needed, completing follow-up actions without needing direction. Building effective relationships and trust with your fee-earners will enable you to operate with the appropriate level of autonomy agreed upon with them.
- You are expected to meet regularly with your fee earners to foster strong relationships and enhance your understanding of their business, clients, and workload. In these meetings, you should aim to take on any tasks they can delegate to you.
- You will manage all travel arrangements, ensuring that your fee-earners have everything they need in advance of meetings and travel. This includes reminders about timings and locations.
- You will collaborate with other PAs, Secretaries, and Administrative Assistants in the team. Appropriately delegate administrative tasks such as printing, expenses, and invoices, so you can focus on delivering a highly valuable service.
Responsibilities
Network Building and Relationship Management:
- Collaborate with the firm’s ‘one team’ philosophy, sharing experience and workload while using firmwide resources to meet deadlines. Engaging positively with the Secretarial Services Team is crucial.
- Establish effective relationships within the firm and with clients to enhance task completion. Build connections with clients’ PAs to improve communication.
Technical and Professional Expertise:
- Support fee-earners with Business Development and Marketing, including pitch production and event coordination. Engage with event organisers and business teams, ensuring cost efficiency.
- Manage the billing process from start to finish, including liaising with local counsel for invoices and creating detailed narratives for clients. Aim to ease billing tasks for fee earners and work on process efficiencies. Collaborate with the Revenue Management team and Billing Administrator when needed.
- Use firm systems and policies to anticipate issues and ensure compliance with Legal & Risk policies.
Continuous Improvement:
- Continue developing skills and competencies, attending training as needed. Generate and implement ideas for improving processes within your practice and the broader team.
Teamwork:
- Collaborate effectively as part of a team, demonstrating commitment and determination. Adopt a proactive, enthusiastic approach, delegate tasks effectively, and support junior Secretarial team members.
Communication Skills:
- Maintain strong communication skills, being approachable and flexible. Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, tailoring messages to the audience.
Reliability:
- Ensure accuracy and confidentiality while working under pressure. Prioritise workload efficiently and be flexible with time to accommodate urgent tasks, which may occasionally require adjusting work hours.
About You
- At least 3 years’ experience working as a secretary/ PA.
- A strong understanding of MS Office, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Proven IT skills and an interest in new ways of doing things.
- Strong organisational / self-management skills
- Articulate and confident in communicating at all levels within and outside the organisation (written and verbal).
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Well organised and comfortable taking the initiative
- Strong client service orientation – proactive, adaptable, flexible and responsive.
- Resilient and able to perform under pressure
- Professional approach, strong integrity and appreciation of the confidential nature of the work.
Our Benefits
Joining Team Linklaters will see you qualify for a range of benefits designed to reward the vital contribution you’ll be making to our success. These include:
Health & Wellbeing:
- Private Medical Insurance
- Free in-house fitness centre and subsidised health club memberships
- Free onsite GP service and periodic health assessments
Finance:
- Pension and flexible savings options
- Income protection and life assurance
- Mortgage advice and will-writing services.
Family & Lifestyle:
- Electric car and cycle to work schemes.
- Emergency family care
- Additional holiday/birthday leave.
- Maternity/paternity/shared parental leave.
- Travel insurance and season ticket loan
- Option to join sports and social clubs, as well as our employee networks groups (such as our Gender Equality, With Pride, or Social Mobility Networks.
Technical Skills
This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive. It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.
Application Policy
Applications and CVs (direct or via agency) are only accepted online via the portal. Queries related to our roles must be directed to the relevant recruitment team and not the partners, practices or stakeholders (lateralrecruitment@linklaters.com for legal roles or ukbtrecruitment@linklaters.com for business team roles).
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