Executive Assistant

Successful businesses rely on a unique set of ideas and people. We help our clients protect and develop those vital assets, unlocking possibilities for future success.

From iconic brands and leading multinationals to pioneering start-ups, we are proud to work with a huge range of inspiring clients, helping them to turn their ideas into reality and get the best from - and for - their people.

Our people are not only exceptional at what they do, they also enjoy doing it and consistently give their best to a firm they’re proud to be part of. This stems from our firm culture and our ethos of bravery and kindness. That ethos runs through everything we do, from our approach to recruitment, business practices, and DEI activities to the day-to-day environment in our office and our relationships with clients.

With an internationally minded team of more than 800 working across key areas of law – plus strategic partnerships around the world – we’ve got both the combination and calibre of legal experts it takes to enable our clients’ businesses to thrive. Whether it is providing global employment law advice, managing a global IP portfolio or piecing together a multijurisdictional corporate transaction, we are able to have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

Consistently top-ranked amongst our peers for over two decades, we advise UK and multinational clients of all sizes, with most of our Partners independently rated as leaders in the field. Not only do we have the largest employment team in the UK, we have truly global reach as members of Ius Laboris, the world’s leading employment law alliance, and with our Asia Pacific base in Hong Kong and our Dublin offices.

We help clients realise the potential in their people and navigate their strategic HR and legal issues, with dedicated specialists in all areas of employment law and a track record of leading precedent setting cases on issues of the day.

The Executive Assistant provides high level support to Partners and fee earners, acting as a trusted member of the client and matter teams. The Executive Assistant will anticipate needs, take ownership of tasks from start to finish, and reduce fee-earner involvement wherever possible while maintaining excellent client service, financial hygiene and compliance standards.

• Develop a strong understanding of how the Partners and Associates supported work, including their clients, active matters, priorities and preferred ways of working.
• Provide proactive support by anticipating needs, identifying next steps and completing tasks as far as possible before escalating for fee-earner input.
• Act as a single point of contact for delegated administrative tasks, taking end-to-end ownership and ensuring matters are progressed efficiently.
• Build relationships with clients, handling queries appropriately and professionally, and becoming involved in large client matters from the outset as part of the wider client team.
• Deliver an exceptional client service experience, acting as the first and last point of contact for clients by answering calls, meeting and greeting visitors, handling queries appropriately and representing LS as a trusted ambassador.
• Proactively manage administrative aspects of large client matters, ensuring actions, deadlines, documentation and communications are handled accurately and on time.
• Support client events, including meeting and greeting clients, coordinating logistics and developing effective working relationships with client PAs and administrative contacts.
• Provide marketing and business development support as required, working closely with fee earners and relevant central teams.
• Manage diaries, inboxes, travel arrangements, call handling and general EA duties within agreed parameters, always exercising judgement and discretion.
• Maintain strong financial hygiene through close coordination with Finance and the Billing Secretary teams including monitoring WIP, debt, cash collections and client billing requirements.
• Develop strong expertise in finance reporting to provide clear, timely visibility on billing, payments, WIP, debt and cash collections, ensuring reports are accurate, useful and aligned to Partner and client needs.
• Understand and respond appropriately to client-specific billing nuances, reporting regularly to Partners and escalating issues where necessary.
• Take responsibility for the administrative elements of matter management and compliance-related processes, including conflict checking, liaising with Partners and the central Compliance team as required.
• Ensure quality control of work completed by others where tasks have been delegated, maintaining accuracy, consistency and high service standards.

You will have a professional manner, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and have previous experience working within an office. You’ll have a flexible nature and will enjoy working within a fast-paced team and will be highly organised. You’ll also possess strong numeracy and attention to detail skills, which will be key within this role. We are looking for someone who is passionate about being a team player, who is keen to support others.

Our ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• Proactive and forward-thinking approach - able to anticipate needs and take ownership of tasks from start to finish.
• Excellent attention to detail with the ability to maintain quality control and high service standards.
• Ability to manage multiple stakeholders with competing priorities, exercising sound judgement and discretion.
• Strong financial acumen - comfortable with billing, WIP monitoring, debt and cash collections.
• Confident communicator able to build effective relationships with clients, Partners and internal stakeholders at all levels.
• Commitment to delivering an exceptional client service experience, acting as a trusted ambassador for the firm.
• Team player with a flexible, solutions-focused approach and willingness to reduce fee-earner involvement wherever possible.
• Strong IT skills - Office 365, Word, Elite, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, DocsCorp PDF Docs, Word Compare (DocsCorp CompareDocs), Document Management System (Netdocs), Interaction, Chrome River, although full in-house training will be provided.

At Lewis Silkin our ethos is simple. We strive to do the best for our clients, our people and the communities in which we operate. We recognise that an inclusive workplace allows for all kinds of ideas and thoughts, a variety of points of view that can trigger discussions or deliver innovative results, and a wide range of versatile skills and expertise. We are proud of the diversity within Lewis Silkin and of our culture that allows people to be themselves at work, ensuring we provide the best possible service to our clients. We are committed to supporting candidates throughout the recruitment process by supporting anyone who requires adjustments, in order to ensure they have the opportunity to perform at their best. All applicants will be considered equally and fairly. If you’d like to request any adjustments throughout the recruitment process, or would like to discuss flexible working patterns, please email the recruitment team in confidence (recruitment@lewissilkin.com).