Practice Assistant, Fsg - Toronto, Canada - Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Verified Company

Toronto, Canada

1 week ago

Posted by:

Sophia Lee

beBee Recruiter

Description

We are

BLG:
Canada's Law Firm. Our culture is one of vigilance and curiosity, Firm-wide collaboration, unfailing mutual respect and dedication. We pride ourselves on having standout talent and delivering an exceptional client experience.

We are a future-minded Firm delivering high-value advice and known for our unwavering commitment to innovation, diversity and inclusion, community involvement and talent development.

Learn more about us at

Purpose of the Role:

The Practice Assistant will be expected to act as a workflow coordinator for other support services including delegating and reviewing the completion of document production, file management, copying/scanning work and other administrative work.

The Practice Assistant takes an active interest in, and obtains a thorough understanding of, all aspects of client requirements to provide exceptional service levels to the lawyers and our clients.

Key Responsibilities:
Administrative

Manage calendars, ensuring they are up to date including reminding lawyers of upcoming deadlines
Arrange meetings, conference rooms, food/refreshments, check rooms prior to meetings and liaise with meeting attendees as required
Arrange for travel bookings and accommodations as required
May arrange photocopying, printing, organizing couriers, sending out of letters, faxes etc.
Arrange for files to be opened and closed; supervise general filing requirements including the record keeping
Use effective systems to ensure that both short and longterm tasks are completed within required timescales
Support lawyers in marketing activities including involvement in preparation of pitches and presentations.

Communication

Take internal and external queries, responding as appropriate and/or ensuring that all messages are passed on in a timely manner
Liaise with administrative support departments on behalf of lawyers as required
Liaise with the department's Team Leader over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant lawyers.

Client relationship management

Become an active part in the care of clients and be wholly familiar with contacts/clients
Ensure the entry, maintenance and update of client details and relevant information in the Firm's CRM contacts system, through Administrative Assistant or directly
Deal with basic client queries and general administration
Arrange client meetings

Document production

Short drafts/edits of documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint
As required, arrange and review material prepared by Document Processing for accuracy and completeness prior to lawyer's review, and arrange/perform corrections as necessary
Ensure documents in final form are saved electronically

Financial - Billing

Arrange opening/closing of client matters in accounting system, arrange updates, and coordinate changes with clients
Liaise with lawyer and billing coordinator to prepare accounts on a regular basis, including reviewing draft bills online, arranging/performing edits and delivery. Arrange revisions to accounts and coordinate with clients as necessary
Liaise with lawyer, client and Finance department to collect on overdue accounts
Assist lawyers in the billing and credit control process by liaising with the lawyer and accounts and to produce standard prebill financial/time reports through the system
Request cheques, bank transfers and paying in money received, as appropriate

Financial

Coordinate and process vendor payments, ensure payments are made

Other duties and responsibilities

In addition to providing support to the lawyer(s) to whom they report, a Practice Assistant will also provide assistance to their immediate colleagues in the department and, where practical, other departments.
Team duties will therefore include:
Assisting other members of the firm, both proactively and at the request of the Team Leader
Any other duties as requested by the Lawyers or Team Leader

Key Competencies:

A Practice Assistant has responsibility to ensure that their skill set is up to date and they are familiar with the firm's departments, key personnel, clients, internal systems and procedures.

This will ensure that the Practice Assistant is able to carry out his/her role effectively and, where appropriate, discuss any training requirements with the Team Leader.

In addition to this, they should have/be:

Completed Post-secondary program in a related discipline or combination of education, training and experience deemed to be equivalent
Experience supporting multiple lawyers in a diverse area of corporate law preferred
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, research tools and other systems implemented by the firm. iManage experience an asset
Experience with complex law firm billing and file opening processes
Excellent communication, organizational and collaboration skills
Outstanding attention to detail
Adaptable and dependable with the ability to thin