Owen Reed is looking to recruit a Strategic Practice and Tech Administrator to join a top law firm in Cambridge.

The Role

The Practice & Tech Administrator is a team focused role, that will sit within the Private department and support both Real Estate and Private Wealth and Tax. The role holder will also be a key point of contact for Tech matters within the team.

The Practice & Tech Administrator will work as part of the Legal Operations team to provide timely and high quality administrative/co-ordination support to a group of lawyers. This is a varied role, involving client contact, working as part of a friendly and high-performing team providing great service to our lawyers, and ultimately, the Firm's clients. In addition the Practice & Tech Administrator will be highly skilled in the Technology systems used in their teams, and will have a particular interest in new technology, and will work with the Technology and Strategy teams to test and design new systems, as well as working closely with the Academy Tech learning team to identify training needs within the team.

Duties and Responsibilities

• To build a good understanding of the practice's clients and work, how these align with the Department's business strategy and that of the Firm.
• 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 calendar management for assigned lawyers, 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).
• To support fee-earners in the smooth running of the client/matter lifecycle, following documented procedures, ensuring 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.T
• o 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.
• 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, pitch, presentations, articles etc. ensuring these are produced in the Firm's house style, and that they are retained and filed accurately.
• Assisting fee-earners keeping their LinkedIn and Mishcon profiles up to date.
• Organising business breakfasts, dinners or smaller events and ensuring that business expenses are captured, approved and processed for payment in line with policy. Researching company/client information and biographies.
• Assisting fee-earners logging referrals and contacts to Interaction.
• Supporting the fee-earning teams in using existing tools and technology (including giving access, providing admin support etc.)
• Contributing to requirements gathering for new technology and solutions, including testing and providing active feedback.
• Facilitating testing and engaging other members of the team in any pilots for new technology.
• Contributing to training and engagement planning for new technology and solutions, in collaboration with the Tech, Strategy and Academy Tech Learning teams.
• Supporting the rollout of new technology and solutions.
• Being actively involved in the MDR LAB programme as and when required.
• Ongoing involvement in technology product development, including identifying new use cases for existing technology. Working closely with the Academy tech learning team to identify training needs for Legal Operations training on Tech subject matter, and to act as a key point of contact between both teams as well seeking and providing feedback.
• 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.
• 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 Practice Assistants or working flexibly across other Legal Operations teams as needed.

Skills/Experience

• Previous experience gained in an administrative role supporting a team in a similar professional services environment (ideally legal).
• Excellent IT skills across a broad range of MS Office and other business management applications, with a natural affinity for Tech and the ability to share knowledge with others in its use.
• Previous experience in a role that has involved some responsibility for testing or supporting the rollout of new technology and solutions would be highly desirable.
• 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.