Overview The principal responsibility of the Professional Assistant is to perform a variety of administrative support and word processing duties, ensuring documents are produced to a high standard and that enquiries are handled in an informed, friendly and professional manner. Professional Assistants are expected to deputise for other PA’s in the office as necessary, to provide relief assistance in any part of the firm, if required. Duties and Responsibilities: o Assigned to multiple fee earners. o Types and edits documents and dictation quickly and accurately, proofreading for content and typographical errors. o Utilises firm technology (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Interaction and Outlook) effectively. o Handles general administrative duties, including management of fee earners’ diaries, ensuring necessary documentation is prepared in advices of meetings; coordinating complicated travel arrangements preparing itineraries for complex business travel; organising client lunches, dinners and other internal/external meetings. o Maintains a professional dialogue with clients and visitors, either by phone or in person. o Opens and closes client matter files, as necessary, with the assistance of the Records Department in Houston, including AML and CDD paperwork, with proper sign off from London office Compliance Officer of the Legal Practice (COLP). o Responsible for organising and maintaining paper and e-filing systems pursuant to firm policies and procedures and coordinates client matter files to be stored off site. o Responsible for photocopying, scanning and document preparation, in particular data site printing. o Prepares and completes complex expenses using the Firm’s expense accounting software and reconciles monthly American Express statements, ensuring all firm deadlines are met. o Maintains diary and schedules for multiple fee earners. o Enters time in the Firm’s billing software for all fee earners, meeting deadlines and chasing fee earners when necessary. o Provides additional back-up coverage to other Professional Assistants as needed to cover fee earners at all times. o Any other duties as assigned by fee earners of the London office or Director of Administration Education \: High School or equivalent Experience \: Three years legal secretarial experience Essential Skills o Accuracy in word processing o Ability to prioritise conflicting demands o Ability to work under pressure o Excellent communication at all levels o Familiarity with detailed and sometimes complicated filing o Sound knowledge of all administrative functions relevant to senior lawyers Technical Skills: Fully proficient in word processing and document production, in particular Microsoft Word, with the knowledge to resolve complicated formatting issues, emailing documents, charts and tables etc; intermediate Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Other Qualifications: o Must score 60 wpm with 2% or lower error rate on the firm’s legal typing test and 76% or higher on the firm’s legal spelling test. Must understand and maintain confidentiality for the attorney-client relationship. o Be flexible in working hours - some evenings, weekend and public holiday work will be required and able to adapt to the changing work priorities throughout the day. o Have a pro-active approach to managing work flow. o Demonstrate excellent attention to detail. o Take responsibility and pride in quality of work assignments. o Ability to demonstrate behaviour in keeping with the firm’s core values of Teamwork, Respect, Integrity and Fairness. Attributes: Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills and be able to follow instructions effectively. Must be a self-starter who can work independently or in a team environment. Must possess excellent customer service skills and be flexible to handle changing priorities to support business needs. Must have good telephone etiquette and demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills.