Personal Assistant (Dubai)

Role Overview

Personal Assistant at Freshfields in Dubai, providing administrative support to fee earners across MENA and participating in office operations as required.

Role Purpose

To deliver high-level administrative support to fee earners across MENA, including client liaison, business development coordination, diary management, and general administrative tasks, ensuring effective scheduling of work activities and efficient service delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Client Engagement

• Respond to, assess and prioritize clients' requests through all communication channels and provide efficient business-like assistance.
• Maintain current knowledge of ongoing matters and carry out client liaison duties including regular work-in-progress updates.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date knowledge of matter stages, fee earner workloads, potential issues and sensitivities.

Marketing and Business Development

• Proactively support fee earners' marketing and business development responsibilities.
• Submit content to marketing and business development systems including CV databases, pitch and experience lists, intranet and LinkedIn publishing.
• Prompt fee earners to provide material for uploading and conduct basic research on potential clients.
• Run regular activity and tracking reports to support marketing and business development initiatives.
• Carry out basic business development duties such as updating contacts and sending business development materials.
• Update Introhive and Salesforce with new contacts and business development activities.
• Assist with administrative support for internal and external business development and client events, working with central and practice-based marketing and business development teams.
• Support fee earners with maintaining BD Foundation database to ensure firmwide credentials are captured.
• Support the marketing and business development department on production of pitches, client presentations and maintaining up-to-date CVs for fee earners.

General Administrative Support

• Manage incoming communication including fee earners' email, draft and transcribe replies when directed, and process all mail accurately and timely.
• Proactively manage fee earners' diaries, make appointments, arrange meeting rooms and organize travel arrangements and expense claims to ensure work activities are scheduled effectively.
• Make reasoned decisions when diary conflicts occur or escalate to fee earner as appropriate.
• Arrange all travel effectively and efficiently, anticipating preferences, additional requirements, accommodation, currency, returns and transfers, and planning contingency.
• Type letters, correspondence and legal documentation including confidential material.
• Proofread all work to ensure documents are delivered accurately and to high standard.
• Establish and maintain robust electronic filing systems and other administration systems such as client files to ensure completeness and accuracy of technical, professional and matter information.
• Use Worksite for email filing as per departmental standards.
• Carry out day-to-day administrative tasks to ensure high quality service provision, liaising with department business centres and other service departments as appropriate.
• Provide administrative support and cover to the Receptionist on office administration and operations tasks as required.
• Assist fee earners with basic technical queries and support them in making best use of available IT and knowledge base resources.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of technical packages.
• Assist with administration, coordination and logistics for internal seminar and training events, ensuring relevant events are diarised for fee earners.
• Carry out risk checks, matter openings and draft engagement letters.
• Assist fee earners with billing processes, prepare first drafts of bill narratives and manage end-to-end bill sending process.
• Provide fee earners with appropriate support in managing personal matters to enable focus on efficient client service.
• Understand and comply with department's policy on confidentiality walls.

Communication

• Communicate daily with all fee earners to maintain high level of awareness of current priorities, whereabouts and service requirements.
• Proactively communicate with Team Supervisor on workload issues and other difficulties.

Team Support

• Provide proactive support to other business services teams where necessary.
• Contribute to departmental support projects on an ad hoc basis.

Qualifications & Experience

• Formal legal secretarial qualification.
• Administrative support experience.
• Experience in a legal professional services environment (desirable).
• Sound knowledge of legal environment including legal terminology appropriate to the department (desirable).

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Good organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritize and act on own initiative.
• Ability to work fast to tight deadlines.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Flexible and proactive approach with professional attitude under pressure.
• Excellent IT skills including fast, accurate audio and copy typing at 60 wpm.
• Ability to produce high quality Word and PowerPoint documents.
• Ability to create, manipulate and interrogate Excel spreadsheets.
• Experience with FileSite, Intapp, WorkDay, Salesforce, Foundation, IntroHive or industry equivalent systems.
• Willingness to broaden experience and develop skills further.

Additional Information

• Flexibility to work evenings and/or weekends as required.