Executive Legal PA

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 Creators, Makers and Innovators team is made up of leading advisers for creative, innovative and brand-focused businesses, offering a deep understanding of the industry sectors in which clients operate combined with real expertise across a wide range of legal services. From start-ups to multinationals, the firm’s comprehensive and commercially focused advice helps clients succeed in an increasingly complex and converged international marketplace.

You will form part of the market leading Digital, Commerce and Creative team where our fee-earners deal with a diverse and exciting range of work, for example; technology, e-commerce, consumer, sponsorship, talent agreements, data privacy, IP, franchising, distribution, agency, advertising, media and entertainment, media buying, sports, video games and gambling law.  

Providing first class Executive PA support to allocated partners and associates within the Digital, Commerce and Creative Legal Practice Group, acting as their ‘ambassador’ both within the firm and externally, being the first point of contact for clients and colleagues.  Producing accurate and timely legal documentation, email correspondence and billing administration as required alongside handling general administrative duties on behalf of allocated partners and associates.

Key duties and responsibilities:

• Building a relationship with key clients and taking the lead to be proactive with client account management.
• Assisting senior partners with internal administration and complex diary management.
• Dealing with confidential and private matters - ensuring sensitivity and confidentiality.
• Drafting own correspondence as appropriate and producing fast and accurate documents, letters, e-mails and memos as and when required.
• Co-ordinating billing/credit control and accounting matters relating to clients of allocated partners and associates, including reviewing WIP, raising draft pro formas and liaising with credit control.
• Dealing with general admin duties as required, printing, copying, organising client meetings/lunches.
• Booking seminars and assisting with travel arrangements etc.
• Maintaining appropriate e-filing systems.
• Managing fee earners’ inbox as required.
• Taking an active part in developing own role and working to provide increasing support for allocated partners and associates - ensuring suitable training is undertaken.
• Assisting with marketing activities (relevant to own partners and associates), including liaising with Marketing team.
• Pro-actively ensuring database of clients and contacts is maintained.
• Supporting and guiding new members of the secretarial team as required.
• Assisting with workload of Creators, Makers and Innovators secretarial colleagues as required.

Candidate profile:

This is a client facing role and experience of liaising with and managing key clients is desirable. The successful candidate must have a professional manner, first-class communication, highly organised and with excellent administration skills. They will be able to demonstrate a pro-active approach to their work and be able to work on their own initiative. They must enjoy working in an involved team environment and able to guide and motivate others within the team. They will need to have a flexible nature and a co-operative and willing attitude.

Abilities and desired qualities

• A Legal PA will have at least five years’ legal secretarial experience, with at least two years working in a Senior PA role.
• Experience with managing partners’ diaries.
• Ability to be proactive and to work on own initiative without guidance.
• Confident in using own judgement when necessary.
• Excellent organisational and administration skills - must be highly organised and able to organise others.
• Ability to manage a heavy workload.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines in a pressurised environment.
• A confident and natural communicator - able to communicate at all levels.
• Team player and enthusiastic - flexible and willing to take on extra responsibilities.
• Good eye for detail - a high level of accuracy is essential.
• Excellent typing skills (at least 70 wpm audio/copy typing).
• Accurate numeracy skills.
• Punctual and highly professional in conduct at all times.

IT skills required

• Proficient IT skills - Office 365, Microsoft Word, Elite, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, PDF Docs, Word Compare (DocsCorp, CompareDocs), Document Management System (Netdocs), Intapp, Interaction, Chrome River - although full in-house training 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. We are committed to finding the right person for this role and are open to discussing flexible working patterns and office location.