Legal PA

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with 48 offices in 28 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world's most dynamic markets, enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future.

We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world's leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you're helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimise your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

Role purpose

Legal PA

The role of a Legal PA at A&O Shearman is exciting, challenging and rewarding. Working alongside leading lawyers, A&O Shearman recognises that Legal PAs are an important part of the team. Our Legal PA's are required to provide a professional and efficient legal administrative service to Partners and other fee earners. Being an integral part of the shared services team, you will encounter exciting career opportunities and challenges, working with the best legal professionals in the field.

LPA Coordinator

Ensure the smooth running of the Legal Professional Assistants (LPA) in all practice groups from an operational perspective. In addition to Business-as-usual LPA support to your team, proactively coordinate and manage the development of a professional and efficient LPA service to fee-earners, including supporting individual LPA's onboarding, development and training.

Key relationships

• LPAs
• Partners
• Shared Service teams
• Colleagues in other offices in the firm's network External suppliers to the business

Position Hours

The hours for this role are 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday with some flexibility required at times beyond the set hours to ensure the operational needs of the role can be met.

Role and Responsibilities

Legal PA

• Manage incoming communication (including email and voicemail). Drafting replies as required.
• Diary management, arranging meeting rooms, collating documentation for meetings and prompting the Partner as appropriate to maintain their working schedule. Spotting issues and thinking ahead to rearrange where necessary. Also prompt fee earners to attend meetings as required.
• Monitoring fee-earners emails and tending to requests from clients.
• Coordinating and booking travel as required.
• Ensure mail is processed efficiently (physically and electronically), always maintaining confidentiality. This includes management of mailing lists for Partners and practice areas and circulating newsletters as required.
• Establish and maintain an effective filing system to ensure completeness and accuracy of technical, professional and matter information.
• Produce and amend documents and correspondence. Take responsibility for the general management and turnaround of documents. As required, work with our outsourced design company to update marketing documents, amend pitches, prepare bios for client meetings / lunches and assist with client research requests. This also includes printing print jobs for Partners / Lawyers (over 50 pages can be sent to the print room).

• Help lawyers complete their timesheets every day.

• Provide cross-group and departmental support where necessary.

• Assess and prioritise client requests, ensuring that all messages are relayed in a timely fashion.
• Provide efficient and professional assistance to meet the needs of the client.
• Maintain basic marketing information.
• Field and process calls from ad hoc callers and prospective new clients.
• Enter and update various systems / programs such as EPIC and League tables.
• Schedule coordination of roadshows.
• Manage team CVs and general experience lists and tailor team CVs for pitches.
• Coordinate events including collating and managing invitation lists, printing names tags and distributing. Assisting with firm events such as clerk recruitment.
• Ensure desks are cleared and clean when; a team member leaves the firm, goes on leave, or when a new starter commences. It involves consulting with your team to ensure this is done efficiently and documents are stored appropriately.
• Organising stationery for any new starters to your team.
• Ownership and management of team's expense policies when preparing expense claims (refer to expense policies to understand if claim can be processed before sending to Finance).
• Ensure that Finance is advised of status for any outstanding invoices relating to matters and where any action is required from Finance.
• Ensure performance review meetings are organised for the team during review season
• Ensure team members book leave in the system.
• Help with annual processes including renewal practicing certificates.
• Edit narratives, review WIP and submit billing guides to Revenue team in line with communicated deadlines to facilitate the month end billing process.
• Assist with the matter inception process.
• Ensure all required forms and associated backup relating to client trust monies are completed and submitted to Finance in accordance with Law Society Trust rules.

LPA Coordinator

• Being the point of contact for other A&O offices with any LPA issues.
• Liaises regularly with the support services and ensure all relevant information is cascaded to the LPAs.
• Encourages LPAs buy-in with new initiatives and changes to processes.
• Proactively analyses and implements changes to processes to improve LPA efficiencies and effectiveness.
• Keeping the Sydney PA Intranet page (or equivalent PA manual) up to date with current LPA processes and useful information/links.
• Being the first point of contact for fee earners with any LPA related issues.
• Assists HR in preparing any LPA reporting.
• Assists HR with the recruitment of new LPAs including reviewing CVs, attending interviews and onboarding.
• Seeks approval from HR and coordinates temps booking when external LPA resources are required.
• Coordinating LPAs to cover reception when necessary.
• Keeping records of LPAs' contact details for Business Continuity Plan purposes and updating LPAs when incidents occur.
• Fielding LPAs general queries and directing them to the relevant person/department.
• Being the first point of contact for LPAs to raise any concerns/issues and escalating to HR if necessary.
• Arranging and chairing regular LPA meetings for information sharing and giving LPAs the opportunity to raise any issues/concerns.
• Monitors LPAs' capacity and coordinates any changes to work and/or fee earner allocation.
• Regularly checks in with all LPAs and keeps them up to date on all relevant firm information.
• Receiving all LPA absences and overtime requests and ensures they are all correctly recorded in PeopleSoft (including sickness).
• LPAs' contact when they are out of the office unwell.

• Coordinates appropriate cover for all LPA absences (including sickness).

• Ensures LPAs are aware when they have a new fee earner joining or current fee earner leaving their team and ensures that make the necessary preparations.

• Prepares for new LPAs arrival by updating their fee earners, other LPAs and relevant support services, arranging a buddy, ensuring induction training is booked and everything is ready for day one.
• Prepares for any LPA departures including arranging farewell/card and ensuring adequate handover is prepared.
• Ensures new LPAs receive appropriate training and informed of all office processes and procedures.
• Regularly monitors and checks in with new LPAs during probation and giving/organising extra support if necessary.
• Monitors LPA performance, gathers and gives feedback and, when necessary, escalates any issues to HR.
• Coordinates and participates in LPA performance review meetings when necessary.

Key requirements

The ideal candidate will be a flexible, resilient & robust individual who is confident in their approach, pro-active, quick to learn and someone that is able to exercise independent thought as to what needs to be done. We are looking for the following skills / personal attributes:

Legal PA

• Experienced Legal PA (5 years plus)
• High level of attention to detail
• Organized and able to prioritise
• Excellent administration skills, keyboard and software proficiency
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Calm, unflappable demeanour
• Professional telephone manner

LPA Coordinator

• Excellent knowledge of legal secretarial administration
• Client service experience
• Project management skills
• Proactive, able to work independently with excellent judgment and process management skills
• Track record of influencing and change management skills
• Able to establish credibility and exercise discretion
• Strong communication and influencing skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and good team-player
• Ability to work under pressure and manage conflict productively
• Proactive and flexible
• Responsive and efficient
• Always maintains confidentiality and discretion
• Proven ability to manage a demanding workload

Equal Employment Opportunity

A&O Shearman are committed to supporting a culture that drives inclusion. Every day, we're working hard to create an environment where everyone feels that they can bring their authentic selves to work. To be comfortable and confident to be who they are in the workplace. To feel like they belong.

We welcome applications from people of all ages, genders, sexual orientation, cultural backgrounds, family or caring responsibilities, and people living with a disability. If you need any support to fully participate in the application process, please contact Australian Recruitment for guidance.