Description
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
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.
**Responsibilities**:
- 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.
- 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