Practice Support Executive - 12 month - CT10

Practice Group / Department:

Job Description

We're Norton Rose Fulbright - a global law firm with over 50 offices and 7,000 employees worldwide. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. At Norton Rose Fulbright, our strategy and our culture are closely entwined. We know that our expansion will mean little unless it is underpinned by truly global collaboration and we understand that pioneering work only takes place when our people have room to move and think beyond boundaries. As well as the relevant skills and experience, we're looking for people who are innovative, commercial and value the work that they do. 

The Practice Support Executive (12 Month FTC), will provide comprehensive support to the Global Head of Financial Institutions as well as supporting 3 Partners and the wider Corporate team, working with the PSEs in a one team delivery way. The ideal candidate will have experience in providing immediate support to the partners, possess the initiative to take the lead and manage tasks independently.

The delivery of high end legal services is becoming more complex and sophisticated. This is driven by new ways of structuring teams, the incorporation of new disciplines like legal project management and the use of new technology. This role will be in our London office, and you will be responsible for providing high value dedicated support to fee earners across the business. The role sits within the Practice Support Office, aimed at ensuring that our fee earners and clients receive the highest quality support and service delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide business and administrative support including managing complex diary requirements and tracking actions lists on an ongoing basis.
• Maintain calendars, including scheduling meetings, appointments, and travel arrangements. Exercise discretion in committing time and evaluating needs.
• Coordinate complex travel itineraries involving multiple destinations per trip, often with short-notice changes or additions. Frequently arrange travel for multiple travellers on the same itinerary.
• Act as a liaison between Fee Earners and clients, facilitating smooth communication and prompt resolution of requests. 
• Maintain relationships with clients, acting as a trusted point of contact for key clients. Partners regularly delegate client communications to the PSE, who is often contacted directly by clients and their PAs due to the strong relationships built.
• Manage the set-up, co-ordinate and attend weekly meetings with Partner, creating specific agendas for each meeting. Having holistic view of all Partners and proactively sharing information where there is overlap. Following up on action points.
• Oversee billing processes, tracking disbursements, and following up as needed. Attend weekly WIP meetings to take notes and manage action points, and provide monthly finance reports, including WIP updates, to Partners and clients.
• Matter lifecycle responsibilities from start to finish.
• Working collaboratively with Marketing & Business Development, supporting with client events, managing mailing lists and updating trackers.
• Lead the arrangements of client events from start to finish (including drafting and circulating invites on behalf of Partners).
• Take initiative in communicating progress by sending weekly status updates on scheduled meetings and outstanding tasks.
• Organising social events for the team.
• Ability to work collaboratively and build strong relationships with colleagues outside of the team e.g. Billing, MBD, Travel, DocProd, PSAs, Resource Managers etc.
• Manage workload by seeking support from the Practice Support Administrators or Document Production Team and working closely with the PSE team.

Key Skills and Experience

• Proven experience of supporting fee earners in secretarial/PSE positions in legal environments.
• Full comprehension of office management systems and procedures.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Exemplary planning and time management skills. 
• Ability to multitask and prioritise daily workload, and plan ahead. 
• High level of verbal and written communications skills, and ability to deal with people at all levels within the organisation.
• Discretion and confidentiality. 
• Solutions-oriented and client service focused.
• Self-starter, confident and not easily flustered.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, have a sense of belonging, and realize their full career potential. 
Our new enabled work model allows our people to have more flexibility in the way they choose to work from both the office and a remote location, while continuing to deliver the highest standards of service. We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive employment policies and provide access to programmes and services aimed at nurturing our people’s health and overall wellbeing. Find more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion  here .

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any tailored adjustments or accommodations, please let us know here .