Legal Services Manager

Practice Group / Department:

Legal Services Management - Newcastle

Job Description

We're Norton Rose Fulbright - a global law firm with over 50 offices and 7,000 employees worldwide. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. At Norton Rose Fulbright, our strategy and our culture are closely entwined. We know that our expansion will mean little unless it is underpinned by truly global collaboration and we understand that pioneering work only takes place when our people have room to move and think beyond boundaries. As well as the relevant skills and experience, we're looking for people who are innovative, commercial and value the work that they do. 

The Team

The Newcastle Legal Services Team (LST) is a team of 50+ Paralegals and (Senior) Associates, all of whom work across Norton Rose Fulbright’s practice areas in many jurisdictions. This role is focused on the Paralegal population. The Paralegals work on conventional junior legal work and also focus on the provision of innovative legal services built around the implementation of legal process and legal technology where the opportunities present themselves. The team is a key component of NRF Transform, the firm’s legal transformation programme.

The Role

Based in Newcastle, the Legal Services Manager (Manager) will assist the Newcastle Head of Legal Services in managing and supervising the LST Paralegals and will need to be able to draw upon their prior legal experience and strong commercial awareness to be able to serve all corners of Norton Rose Fulbright’s network of offices and teams. The Manager will be supported by other LST (Senior) Managers and LST Supervising Paralegals.

This role will require you to work closely with the Head of Legal Services, other LST (Senior) Managers and LST Supervising Paralegals (the Management Team) to ensure the continued success and growth of the Legal Services Team. The Manager will be a leader in respect of the paralegal population of the LS.

Key Responsibilities  

Operational Effectiveness and Team Management

• Working within the Management Team to ensure the highest standards of compliance with the firm’s time recording policies and other best practice is maintained at all times;
• Working within the Management Team in respect of day-to-day team management, ensuring effective procedures and processes are in place to ensure smooth operation of the LST;
• Proactive involvement in managing incoming instructions to ensure best chances of success from the outset, managing the expectations of instructing teams where required;
• Allocating and staffing matters appropriately and promptly as and when instructions are received to optimise productivity and meet client demands;
• Ensuring instructing teams (Partners, Associates etc.) are fully informed regarding working with the LST and holding rates discussions / challenging rates when required, monitoring work in progress figures and financial hygiene of matters supported;
• Liaising with the Head of Legal Services and People & Culture with regards to all people issues, having the requisite emotional intelligence to deal with such situations both efficiently and sympathetically;
• Assisting with the recruitment and on boarding of new paralegals and with their probation and performance reviews;
• Helping to ensure that the LST is seen at all times to be highly responsive to the needs of our clients internally and externally, seen as enablers and seen to be working to the same rhythm as the wider network;

Mentorship

• Providing guidance and mentorship to the LST Paralegals, assisting them with and promoting professional development and fostering a collaborative, supportive and enjoyable work environment where LST Paralegals can thrive and fulfill their potential;
• Addressing complex legal issues, offering your expertise to guide the LST Paralegals in understanding and resolving complex matters and elucidating core legal concepts and principles;
• Proactively identifying areas for improvement in the day-to-day work being undertaken by LST Paralegals whilst taking every opportunity to identify and acknowledge good work and outstanding contributions;

Business Development, Networking and Brand Ambassador

• Playing a central role in maintaining and building client relationships (internal and external) and demonstrating an understanding of the commercial and legal needs and drivers for each;
• Being an ambassador for the LST and proactively seeking out new opportunities for work and driving work into the LST to ensure strong levels of utilisation and performance in line with annual targets;
• Establishing and maintaining collaborative working relationships with wider legal transformation teams in order to build out new services / improved legal services and to identify new opportunities;
• Being active, and promoting engagement of the wider team, in the North East legal and university communities in person and through social media and assisting with brand and outreach initiatives by attending and presenting at appropriate forums etc.;

Quality Assurance and Risk Management

• Assisting with implementing and overseeing quality control processes to ensure highest standards of delivery of legal services by the LST Paralegals. This will require excellent broad-based awareness of the activities within the team and QC procedures in place in respect of each work stream and where this might need more robust QC from a member of the Management Team;
• At all times looking ahead and being able to proactively spot potential issues with delivery and performance ahead of time;
• Assessing and managing risk in the context of the work streams received into the LST, and considering what measures are required to mitigate the risks.

Continued Professional Development

• Actively staying up to date with industry trends, legal developments, and NRF best practices, to maintain ability to effectively manage, supervise and mentor whilst also assisting in identifying training needs of LST Paralegals.

Skills and Experience Required

Essential

• Experience in managing and supervising junior legal professionals within a corporate / commercial practice, with the ability to motivate and engage a large team;
• Strong client focus and demonstrable commitment to outstanding service delivery; and
• Excellent personal presentation, articulate and professional with strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

Desirable

• Qualified solicitor with an international commercial background, either in private practice or in-house.

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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

To attract the best people, we strive to create a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work, have a sense of belonging, and realize their full career potential. 
Our new enabled work model allows our people to have more flexibility in the way they choose to work from both the office and a remote location, while continuing to deliver the highest standards of service. We offer a range of family friendly and inclusive employment policies and provide access to programmes and services aimed at nurturing our people’s health and overall wellbeing. Find more about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion here.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams. We strive to create an inclusive and accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any tailored adjustments or accommodations, please let us know here.