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, Leeds, 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 Data, Privacy and Cyber practice groups are 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. Lewis Silkin’s employment, immigration and data, privacy and cyber team offers an unrivalled service supporting clients, including many of the world’s leading businesses, on their HR, employment, data 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 team’s work, largely on account of its membership of the Ius Laboris international alliance of employment lawyers. |
The Team Billing Support Secretary will be responsible for handling billing duties in conjunction with the partners, associates and secretaries in the Employment, Immigration and Data Privacy and Cyber practice groups and ensuring the accurate and efficient production of documentation and dispatch of invoices in line with the firm’s stated standards and deadlines.
This critical role is also responsible for ensuring that the Cardiff billing and credit control processes run smoothly. This involves working closely with the other Team Billing Support Secretaries; secretaries and the central Billing team, as well as the Co-Chief Practice Transformation Officer to identify and then implement agreed improvements.
This role interfaces directly with the Secretarial Coordinators and members of the Employment, Immigration and Reward Finance Bubble to ensure the highest levels of support are provided.
Key responsibilities:
- Collaborating and coordinating with the secretarial team to carry out billing duties on behalf of the Employment, Immigration and Data Privacy & Cyber partners, associates and secretaries. This role will provide support across all the offices as needed.
- Arranging and carrying out monthly billing meetings with Employment, Immigration and Data Privacy & Cyber partners and associates. Planning ahead for any lawyer absence during billing cycle and raising WIP reports.
- Implementing amendments and adjustments to proformas in accordance with Associates and Partners’ requests, to include coordinating complex group edits, Payable by invoices and invoice splits.
- Liaising with Associates/Partners, Risk team and billing team to arrange for invoices to be reissued under other entities, including completing the necessary documentation.
- Updating various immigration spreadsheets each month with dispatch instructions and figures where necessary.
- Managing the office billing process (from raising proforma’s to sending bills) in accordance with monthly deadlines, obtaining instructions from Associates regarding sending out accurate invoices.
- Ensuring confidential employment advice details are not sent to client’s finance teams unless permitted.
- Working closely with the credit control team in Finance to follow up on any client credit control queries.
- Coordinating with billing/cashiers regarding bill & disbursement amendments, transfer of time, write-offs, credit note receipts, VAT issues, change of client address, and return of monies on account/refunds where necessary etc.
- Producing accurate and timely documentation and correspondence as required.
- Ensuring dispatch of invoices within five working days or as agreed and ensuring correct contact details are recorded.
- Entering new timekeepers on e-billing portals, when required.
- Liaising with clients in relation to specific billing requirements (purchase order numbers, fixed fees etc.), as well as bill requests, queries and bill narratives.
- Coordinating quality review of received bills, capturing issues as appropriate for follow-up with Finance team/associates.
- Producing tailored narratives and accrual submission requests for clients, when required.
- Ensuring vendor forms, and any other required forms are completed when requested by clients.
- Assist with the administration of large client projects involving global invoicing.
- Build a sufficient knowledge of client billing requirements to be able to support partners, associates and clients, as appropriate.
- Identify and implement improvements to the existing billing process, working closely with central Finance/Billing team, Secretarial Coordinators and Office Managers as well as the Co-Chief Practice Transformation Officer and Finance Partners.
- Any other duties as required in line with the level or the role.
Candidate profile:
The successful candidate must have a professional manner and excellent communication and interpersonal skills. They must enjoy working in a team environment. They will need to have excellent numerate skills and be highly organised. They must have a flexible nature and a co-operative and willing attitude.
Abilities and desired qualities:
- Excellent typing skills (at least 70 wpm audio/copy typing) as well as accurate numeracy skills.
- Attention to detail – a high level of accuracy is essential.
- Ability to manage a busy workload.
- Ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure.
- Ability to communicate at all levels.
- Team player and enthusiastic.
- Ability to adapt to ongoing changes in the billing process.
IT skills required:
- Sound IT skills – experience of Word and Excel. Although not necessary, would be helpful to have experience of Elite. Full training on document management and practice management systems will be provided.
Educational and professional qualifications required:
- Good grammatical English and mathematical skills
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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. |