Legal Support Assistant

**About Herbert Smith Freehills**

As one of the world’s leading law firms, we advise many of the largest and most ambitious organisations across all major regions of the globe. With over 5,000 people, including 3,100 lawyers and over 2,000 business services professionals, operating from our global network of offices across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice.

We recognise that the success of our business and our clients relies on the skills, knowledge and ideas of all our people. Our environment is one in which high performance is expected, in return, we will provide you with rewards and opportunities tailored to your personal and professional goals.

**The Opportunity**

**Legal Support Assistant**

The legal support team provides the practical secretarial support our lawyers need so they can deliver the best possible service to our clients. The role of our legal support team is critical in assisting our people to perform at the highest level. The team provides high-quality support to partners and throughout our practice areas. This ranges from providing administrative support and diary management to producing a wide range of complex documents. Our legal support team also plays a client-facing role as secretaries are typically in regular contact with our clients on behalf of lawyers.

**The Opportunity**

Reporting to the Finance and Administration Manager, you are expected to provide administrative support in a timely and responsive manner to legal staff, with a consistent and high standard of quality to partners, lawyers and business services staff in the practice group to meet client requirements and deadlines to deliver an exceptional client experience.

**The role will involve**:

- Deliver high quality, accurate work whilst managing deadlines, responding to change and competing priorities.
- Coordinate and produce accurate Herbert Smith Freehills’ compliant documents and correspondence (including draft engagement and billing letters). Meet required deadlines and negotiate alternate timeframes when necessary. Utilise other services as appropriate (eg, Printroom, Document Services).
- Follow effective work practices with partners and lawyers to assist the Practice Management Assistant (if applicable) manage the matter life cycle from file opening to closure/archival. This includes adhering to the firm’s conflicts process, managing information barriers, contributing to the effective management of electronic and hard copy content.
- Collaborate with business services and other key stakeholders across the HSF network (eg. including Printroom, Document Services, etc) to meet the administrative needs of the practice group.
- Manage partner and lawyer internal and external appointments, across different time zones and offices, with appropriate meeting lead and travel times. Asist with meeting preparation, including IT infrastructure (video conference, teleconference, Teams, etc), and the coordination of post meeting actions (this includes coordinating/printing documentation and organising meeting room logistics as required).
- Coordinate detailed travel arrangements for the assigned partners and lawyers including appropriate visa documentation, meeting requirements and domestic and international itineraries. Ensure connection with Business Development on all travel.
- Proactively maintain and manage file bring-ups and reminders for partners, counsel, consultants and SAs.
- Develop and maintain a robust file management system for all electronic and hard copy documents.
- Assist lawyers with expense claims in a timely manner.
- Work with Practice Management Assistant to manage the billing process, including the creation of pre-bills, editing, finalising bills and narratives and posting onto the system as per the firm’s policy and process.
- Proactively collect client information and ensuring relevant databases are updated, including client specific requirements, in a timely manner (eg, InterAction) to ensure all data is accurate at all times.
- Delegating work as appropriate to ensure the legal support needs of the practice are met by the person with the appropriate skill set.
- Arrange lunches and dinners and other events as required, including reviewing venues and menu planning and ensuring costs are maintained against budget.
- Take an interest in your own practice area, key matters, issues and ‘hot topics; so that appropriate priority is given to queries and requests and issues are escalated where necessary.
- Adhere to firm, office and practice group policies and procedures, including those that are formal, informal, documented or verbal.
- Take all necessary steps to ensure you are aware of correct procedures. Maintaining inquisitive, collaborative and vigilant work habits, keeping abreast of changes and developing more efficient work processes. Demonstr