Practice Assistant

Owen Reed is looking to recruit a Practice Assistant to provide proactive, high-quality support for fee-earners within the Real Estate practice area for a top law firm in London on a fixed term contract basis.

The Practice Assistant is primarily a Partner-focused role, working within one of the Firm’s fee-earning departments to support specified Partners and/or other senior fee-earners. This role requires a self-motivated and organised individual who can manage a busy workload and take ownership of tasks from start to finish.

Key Responsibilities of Practice Assistant Fee Earner Support

Act as first point of contact on behalf of fee-earners, fielding calls, emails, correspondence, and meeting requests from internal and external stakeholders, responding on their behalf where appropriate.

Full proactive and advanced calendar management for assigned fee-earners, including scheduling calls/meetings, looking ahead, and following up to ensure optimal use of fee-earners’ time.

Ensure fee-earners are fully prepared for client meetings by collating required information, preparing background notes, and supporting the follow-through of action points.

Support fee-earners with expense claims.

Matter Lifecycle

Support fee-earners in managing the client/matter lifecycle, following documented procedures, and working closely with internal client on-boarding and compliance teams to ensure all required information/documentation is obtained, issued, and stored accurately.

Proactively chase missing information from fee-earners and clients and manage client files efficiently.

Develop a strong understanding of the Firm’s billing systems and processes to assist in preparing and issuing accurate and timely client bills.

Monitor and address unpaid bills, liaising with Credit Control where required.

Coordinate WIP lists and billing on behalf of Partners, including liaising with the billing team and monitoring time and bills against estimates.

Ensure compliance with the Firm’s documented policies and guidelines, particularly regarding subsidiaries, new matters, conflict checks, and searches.

Maintain all documents in line with the Firm’s electronic and hard-copy filing protocols.

Business Development

Coordinate smaller events and assist with preparing content and presentations for clients.

Manage Client Handbook and maintain central BD status reports monthly.

Work with the client lead Partner and BD team to deliver the Client Care programme, including meetings, mailings, and events.

Organise business breakfasts, dinners, and smaller events; assist fee-earners with expenses.

Research company/client information and biographies.

Log referrals and contacts in the CRM system (InterAction) and manage CRM lists.

Travel Management

Manage all travel arrangements for assigned fee-earners via the Firm’s in-house provider, including complex itineraries, supporting materials, and ensuring expenses are processed in line with policy.

General Administration

Collaborate with administrative assistants to provide support with filing, archiving, scanning, photocopying, CRM updates, and courier arrangements.

Work with internal document/presentation specialists for complex tasks such as preparing pitch/presentation materials.

Liaise with other internal departments to obtain specialist input, taking ownership of issues and following up as required.

Step in to cover the Division Assistant or other Practice Assistants when needed.

Skills & Experience Previous experience in an administrative role supporting a team within a professional services environment, ideally legal.

Strong time management skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks, plan ahead, and reprioritise when required.

Experience managing calendars for multiple individuals, with sound judgment to ensure optimal use of time and proactively resolve diary conflicts.

Exceptional attention to detail, delivering consistently high-quality work even under pressure.

Organised, methodical, and able to operate effectively within structured work processes, including compliance and quality control frameworks.

Well-developed interpersonal skills, able to work effectively with a range of people and working styles.

Team player, willing to take on additional tasks or support other fee-earners as needed.

Excellent oral and written communication skills, including drafting professional correspondence.

High levels of discretion and ability to handle sensitive or confidential information.

Familiarity with bespoke in-house systems such as client contact databases, matter management systems, and billing systems.