Owen Reed is looking to recruit a knowledgeable Practice Assistant to join a top law firm in London.

The Department

We have built a Real Estate department to meet the needs of ambitious deal makers. The result is one of London's largest, most diverse and most complete property teams, whose clients span the worlds of corporate and private wealth.

We drive opportunities for our clients through our understanding of the complex policy landscape, through the leading role we play in shaping industry discussion on regulation and technological change, and by harnessing the power of technology.

The department's core practice areas include construction, development and urban regeneration, fashion and retail, investment, planning and environment, residential, dispute resolution, finance and taxation.

Our use of proptech, from automation and visualisation tools to AI and structured databases, allows us to work faster and more efficiently and we draw on expertise from the firm's other specialist departments and our global network of connections in search of the best ways to bring people, capital and opportunities together. Everything is geared to finding practical, commercial solutions that get deals done.

The Role of Practice Assistant - Real Estate Litigation 

The Practice Assistant is primarily a Partner focussed role, based within a practice area in one of the Firm's fee-earning departments. The Practice Assistant will work with specified Partners and/or other senior fee earners to provide proactive, timely and high quality administrative/co-ordination support.

The Practice Assistant will need to be a self-motivated organised individual, who will be able to manage a busy workload and take responsibility for following tasks through to completion.

Duties and Responsibilities of Practice Assistant - Real Estate Litigation 

• Acting as a first point of contact on behalf of the fee-earners, fielding calls, emails, correspondence and meeting requests (both internally and from clients), responding on behalf of the fee-earner, if appropriate.
• Full proactive and advanced calendar management for assigned fee-earners, including scheduling calls/meetings (ensuring all supporting papers/information are available for each meeting), looking ahead and following-up as needed to ensure best use is made of fee-earners time).
• Ensuring the fee-earners working on the case are fully prepared for all client meetings by collating required information (and input from others), preparing background information and notes as needed, supporting the follow-through of action points etc.
• To work with the client lead Partner and BD team to plan and deliver the Client Care programme, including meetings, mailings and events and to co-ordinate and share client related news searches.
• To develop a strong working knowledge of the Firm's billing systems, including processes, IT systems and specialist support available internally, to support the fee-earners in being able to prepare and issue timely and accurate bills to clients.
• Supporting fee-earners with monitoring and addressing unpaid bills, liaising with Credit Control as required.
• To co-ordinate the WIP lists and billing on behalf of Partners, including liaison with billing team. Pro-active monitoring of time and bills against the estimate.
• To support fee-earners in the smooth running of the client/matter lifecycle, following documented procedures, and working closely with internal client on-boarding and compliance specialists to ensure all required information/documentation is obtained, issued and correctly stored on the Firm's systems. This will involve pro-actively chasing fee-earners and their clients for any missing information as well as full management of client files etc.
• To track and monitor client engagement with Firm-wide communications, mailings and events and to update client Partner. To co-ordinate smaller events, and to help prepare content and presentations to the client. Where applicable, to manage Client Handbook and to keep central CARE BD status report updated monthly.
• Assisting fee-earners keeping their LinkedIn and Mishcon profiles up to date.
• Organising business breakfasts, dinners or smaller events and assisting fee-earners with expenses.
• Researching company/client information and biographies.
• Logging referrals and contacts to interaction and management of Interaction lists.
• To oversee and monitor the MQ2 checklist for the relevant matters and to support the fee-earning staff to ensure compliance with the Firm's documented Mq2 (Compliance) checklist and guidelines, particularly around subsidiaries, new matters, conflict checks, searches etc.
• Full management of travel and expenses for assigned fee-earners, ensuring business travel is booked via the Firm's in-house provider. This will include both routine and more complex travel arrangements, ensuring that fee-earners are provided with full itineraries, supporting materials and that business expenses are captured, approved and processed for payment in line with policy.
• Ensuring all documents are maintained and filed in line with the Firm's electronic and hard copy filing protocols.
• Prepare, amend and proofread documents (e.g. letters, reports, attendance notes, memos, emails, pitches, presentations, articles etc. ensuring these are produced to the required standards and in line with House Style, and that they are retained and filed accurately.
• If hired within the team, collaborating with Administrative Assistants to ensure that they provide support with filing and archiving, scanning, photocopying, updating contacts on Interaction and arranging couriers etc.
• Working closely with internal document/presentation experts for more specialist tasks, such as the preparation of longer or more complex documents, pitch/presentation materials etc.
• Liaising with other internal departments to obtain specialist input as needed, taking ownership of issues and following up where appropriate.
• When required stepping up to cover the Division Assistant, Client Co-Ordinator/Case Administrator or other Practice Assistants.

Skills/Experience of Practice Assistant - Real Estate Litigation 

• Previous experience gained in an administrative role supporting a team in a legal environment.
• Strong time management skills; will need to juggle a number of tasks at any given time, plan ahead, and have the ability to re-prioritise and adapt to changes in requirements.
• Previous experience managing calendars for multiple individuals, with the ability to apply judgement and common sense to ensure the best use of people's time is made, and that any potential diary clashes are pro-actively identified and addressed.
• Excellent attention to detail, with the ability to deliver work to a consistently high standard of precision (even under pressure) in an environment where accuracy is prized.
• A flexible approach to work: able to respond positively and willingly to changes to requirements, schedules, work required etc.
• Organised and methodical, and able to operate effectively within structured work processes, in particular, with compliance/quality control frameworks.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with a range of people and working styles.
• A strong team player, willing to take on work for additional fee-earners and/or help with other tasks as needed in order to meet the needs of the business.
• Able to communicate effectively, with warmth and professionalism, to clients and colleagues both orally and in writing, including drafting business emails/correspondence.
• High levels of discretion, with the ability to deal effectively with sensitive or confidential information.
• Previous experience using bespoke in-house systems (e.g. client contact databases, matter management systems, billing systems etc.) with the willingness and potential.