Senior Legal Assistant

The assistant is responsible for providing secretarial, clerical and administrative support to the lawyers and tax consultants in order to ensure that services are provided in an effective and efficient manner.

Main duties and responsibilities

• Ensure interface with people from outside the company;
• Assist in the planning and preparation of meetings, conferences and conference telephone calls;
• Draft daily correspondence, prepare and produce various materials for conferences, meetings and other events (local and abroad);
• Word-processing, insert comments, format documents and use the in-house style in all produced documents;
• Fill in forms and file documents with the local authorities;
• Oversee record of time and billings of the lawyers and tax consultants she/he is charge with;
• Collect client identification documents, help drafting legal assistance agreements with internal and/or external clients as well as engagement letters/confirmations with other DLA Piper offices;
• Open client matters within company system and store all documentation on paper and electronically according to the company internal policies;
• Set in the company operating system the hourly rates for lawyers and tax consultants for each matter according to the agreements concluded with clients and/or engagement letters/confirmations concluded with other DLA Piper offices;
• Record in the system the time worked by lawyers and tax consultants on each client matter, prepare monthly billing guides, operate the changes suggested by fee earners, tax consultants and clients;
• Ensure information flow between the firm and external clients as well as between their lawyers and the other firm’s departments;
• Consolidate, collate, safeguard and circulate (internally and externally) information;
• Maintain confidentiality of company information he/she has access to;
• Offer assistance to other colleagues (lawyers or business support staff) when workload is high;
• Perform other related duties as required.

This job description is not designed to be exhaustive and can be varied as required to develop or fulfil this role. 

About You

• Business sound written and spoken English;
• Highly computer literate (MS- Office, Word, Excel, Power Point, Email, Internet);
• Good verbal and listening communications skills;
• Communication and relationship skills both with colleagues and with external clients;
• Ability to find solutions for the problems faced;
• Ability to make decisions and assume responsibility;
• Ability to work independently and in a team;
• Sense of organization and ability to prioritize and plan;
• Attention to detail;
• Reliability;
• Initiative;

If you are looking to take a step up in your career, this is a fantastic opportunity for you to join DLA Piper, a leading global business law firm, and be part of our success. You will be part of an inclusive, approachable and supportive team with a global mind-set, celebrating our international coverage and delivering the highest standard of legal advice and service excellence across borders.