Knowledge Lawyer, Employment- EMEA

The Knowledge Lawyer, Employment- EMEA will support the Practice Group Leader (PGL) and the Practice Group Business Manager (BM) by providing Knowledge services aligned with the Group’s strategic direction, vision, and values within a highly matrixed organization. The role-holder will manage and execute legal content projects, training, and knowledge initiatives for the Group in line with the Firm’s strategy. The individual will operate as a Knowledge Management business professional for the PGL and BM, understanding the strategic needs of the Group’s Associates and coordinating with the appropriate business professionals to deliver aligned solutions.

Main responsibilities

• To make first-class knowledge easily available to lawyers, increasing the quality, consistency, cost-effectiveness, and/or value of the advice that Baker McKenzie gives its clients, including:

• Knowledge and Expertise:

• Precedents: Draft (or supervise Associates), develop, and where appropriate automate the Group's precedents and other legal content.
• Current Awareness and Commercial/Industry Know-how: Use primary subscriptions, their tools, and relevant technology, keep abreast of and provide regular updates on key developments impacting the Group; apply an understanding of Key Clients’ industries and businesses to all activity; work with other Practice Groups (PGs) and Industry Groups (IGs) to provide holistic legal, commercial, and industry know-how.
• Lawyer Requests: Develop self-help capability and, where appropriate, respond to ad-hoc enquiries from lawyers with on-point, thorough, and timely answers; develop a reputation as a practice expert.
• Know-how Development: Collect and input the Group's know-how into the Firm's global repository of knowledge and populate global, multi-jurisdictional databases and resources; identify gaps in knowhow and work to fill them, ensuring content development is progressive.
• Training: Identify the Group's training needs; meet these needs by driving or helping drive the planning, delivery, and promotion of training; participate in and promote training; leverage Firm resources, technology, and processes to produce efficient, high-quality training materials and courses.
• Client-Facing Knowledge in Collaboration with Business Development (BD): Supervise Associates to provide legal input into client-facing initiatives and client alerts; where relevant, assist or supervise Associates with client training and legal content for proposals and other BD resources, and where appropriate take the lead; identify Group hot topics and write, commission, and deliver content such as alerts, thought-leadership reports, and talking points; develop awareness of the Group’s Key Clients and collaborate with BD to recommend knowledge strategy for BD opportunities.

• Relationships: Promote and identify ways to strengthen the Group’s knowledge culture; build lasting relationships throughout the Firm through collaboration, mutual respect, and a reputation for competence; advocate for and be a positive spokesperson for Knowledge; nurture relationships with trainees and junior lawyers; support Diversity & Inclusion, CSR, and pro bono activities.

• Operations and Innovation: Proactively seek ways to improve your own and the team’s service and efficiency and contribute to best practices, including using where appropriate the latest legal technology and artificial intelligence; actively participate in Knowledge projects.
• Systems: Support and drive adoption of Knowledge systems; take ownership of the quality, accessibility, and usability of knowledge content and know-how contained in systems and platforms, including using where appropriate the latest legal technology and artificial intelligence; where appropriate, schedule one-on-one meetings and presentations to promote Knowledge systems.
• Strategy, Alignment, and Integration: Understand and promote the Group’s business and Knowledge plans; structure time and priorities accordingly, and provide input into these plans.
• Collaboration: Work with, for example, Technology, Practice Innovation Lawyers, and other Business Professionals to enable, for example, artificial intelligence and legal-technology tools over knowledge content and know-how.

Skills and responsibilities

• A law degree.
• A current license to practice law or eligibility for one.
• Extensive experience as a practicing lawyer within England and Wales.
• Deep knowledge of employment law.
• Good knowledge of English contract law.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.
• Experience working directly with senior counterparts on strategy and execution.
• Excellent time management and organizing skills; able to prioritize and manage time to meet deadlines.
• Strong word processing and spreadsheet skills.
• Experience in, or willingness to learn, document automation, artificial intelligence, and other legal technology.

Part-Time Status: 0.9 FTE

Reports to: EMEA PGL with dotted line to EMEA BM or as to whom they delegate.

Travel requirements: Some travel may occasionally be required.