Secretary

Lewis Silkin works with leading businesses to protect and enhance their most important assets - their ideas, their people, their brand and their future. We call it: Ideas. People. Possibilities.

With offices in London, Oxford, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin and Hong Kong, we are recognised by clients and industry alike as being distinct for our unique culture, market-leading practice areas, sector focused approach and for providing solutions to complex, multijurisdictional business challenges, with a pragmatic and human touch. We have two things at our core: people — both ours and our clients’— and a focus on creative, tech and innovative businesses.

Our culture is encapsulated by an ethos of bravery and kindness, guided by our values of Integrity, Clarity, Unity and Excellence (our ‘I-CUE’). We aim to provide a supportive environment for our people, clients and wider community and embrace diversity & inclusion, ensuring people are able to bring their full selves to work.

The Employment, Immigration and Reward Division is one of the leading employment law practices in the UK and consistently top ranked by independent legal directories, we have more recognised experts in employment than any other UK firm.  With over 150 lawyers, Lewis Silkin’s employment and immigration team offers an unrivalled service supporting clients, including many of the world’s leading businesses, on their HR, employment and immigration law needs domestically and internationally.

The work of the team as a whole is a mix of contentious and non-contentious matters, for a wide range of clients. The lawyers undertake a significant amount of business development and knowledge - sharing including giving seminars, training the team and creating content for various channels and publications. There is a significant international element to the Division’s work, largely on account of its membership of the Ius Laboris international alliance of employment lawyers.

• Be the first point of contact for clients dealing with them efficiently and appropriately – liaising with them dealing with any queries or issues and fielding calls.
• Build a working knowledge of the legal area of expertise of partners and associates.Be responsible for assisting partners and associates with their clients’ monthly invoicing/credit control matters as follows;
  • Diarising and conducting monthly partner/fee earner WIP meetings;
  • Preparing requested draft bill requests;
  • Checking and correcting bill narratives and ensuring time recording is accurate;
  • Managing third party fees and uploading to systems in preparation for invoicing;
  • Liaising directly with clients raising Purchase Order Numbers where required;
  • Receiving and responding to any invoicing queries received in from clients;
  • Re-issuing invoices as required;
  • Ad hoc client liaison re unpaid bills as required.

• Carrying out requested Conflict Searches.
• Onboarding new clients using Client Matter Inception software and preparing Terms of Business correspondence.
• Ensure sensitivity and confidentiality when dealing with clients, colleagues and private matters on behalf of partners and associates across the division.
• Build a strong knowledge of the firm’s strategy and an understanding of how the work of partners and associates fits with this strategy.
• Maintain partners’ and associates’ diaries by liaising with them discussing forthcoming appointments and any required meeting and/or call arrangements.
• Schedule internal and external meetings, ensuring all arrangements are in place and any required materials and documentation are prepared in good time.
•  Assist with workload of secretarial colleagues as required.
• Assist with marketing activities as required including liaising with the Marketing team and assisting with the preparation for seminars and other events as required and ensuring Client Relationship Management systems are kept up to date.
• Assist with the preparation of tribunal bundles and lists of documents as required.
• Develop a sufficient knowledge of the division’s work to be able to work with any of the partners and associates in other locations, or with colleagues from the other division when necessary.
• Build a sufficient knowledge of files and matters to be able to support partners and associates in assisting clients and others in their absence.
• Managing absent Fee Earner/Partner inboxes. Take an active part in developing own role and working to provide increasing support for partners and associates – ensuring suitable training is undertaken.
• Any other duties as required in line with the level or the role.

Candidate profile

The successful candidate will have experience working at a high secretarial level and have a good understanding of how a law firm operates. They must have a professional manner, first-class communication and administration skills, and be highly organised.  Be able to demonstrate a pro-active approach to their work and be able to work on their own initiative, with confidence in their own judgement. They must enjoy working in an involved team environment. They will have a flexible, co-operative and willing attitude. Whilst office-based be willing to help assist with its smooth-running ensuring stationery and other supplies are available for use, occasionally answering the doorbell taking deliveries, etc. 

Specialist experience

• The successful candidate will ideally have at least three years’ secretarial experience (ideally within professional services if not legal).

Abilities and desired qualities

• Excellent typing skills (at least 70 wpm audio/copy typing) as well as accurate numeracy skills.
• Good eye for detail – a high level of accuracy is essential.
• Excellent organisational and administration skills –be highly organised and able to organise others.
• Ability to manage a heavy workload and support a wide range of people in a thriving busy environment.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines.
• A confident and natural communicator at all levels.
• Proactive and work on own initiative, seeking help where necessary.
• Ability to motivate and share skills with members their secretarial colleagues.
• Team player and enthusiastic - flexible and willing to take on extra responsibilities supporting partners and associates and divisional or firm objectives.
• Highly professional in conduct, at all times.

IT skills required:

• Proficient IT skills – Microsoft Office 365; Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, Sharepoint, PDF Docs, Word Compare (Deltaview), practice management systems, client matter inception, Elite 3E (or similar financial software). Full in-house systems training and in-role supervision will be provided.

Educational and professional qualifications required:

• Good grammatical English - at least to GCSE standard or equivalent.

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients.