Legal Secretary – Tokyo

We are currently recruiting for an experienced legal secretary to join our Japan office.

In this role, you will report into the Office Manager, Tokyo and provide administrative and secretarial support to the office to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiencies within our legal team.

This is a temporary full-time position with the possibility of moving to a permanent role in six (6) months.

The role

Working proactively within our highly collaborative team, the Legal Secretary will support assigned Partners and fee earners, as well as provide ad hoc assistance to the Tokyo Office Manager as required. This role requires an enthusiastic and team oriented person who is eager to support our Tokyo team. Candidates must be comfortable working in a bilingual environment, capable of multi-tasking while maintaining a very high level of support and attention to detail.

Key Responsibilities

Client Service

• Managing and maintaining diary planning and coordination for assigned fee earners, making appointments and co-ordinating internal and external client meetings, identifying, and resolving potential challenges and clashes, ensuring arrangements are made for equipment, venue and resources and that fee earners have all necessary paperwork.
• Travel management, booking transportation, hotels, client meetings and producing detailed itineraries.
• Coordinating business development and client liaison initiatives for fee earners, including booking restaurants, updating database information, and assisting with marketing initiatives and events (including occasional support at events e.g., registration desk).
• Handling all aspects of claiming expenses, including InterAction entries.
• Liaising with the firm’s clients in a confident and professional manner to build strong working relationships with clients and contacts.
• Dealing professionally and promptly with clients’ (internal and external) telephone calls and communications, including calls diverted to the team.
• Travelling to post office, Legal Affairs Bureau, embassies, government offices, law offices and other locations to receive and send documents.

Technical and Organisational Skills

• Preparing bills, including resolving queries and dealing with outstanding fees, maintaining accurate billing/contact details, preparation of narratives and drafting first bills with covering correspondence for partner approval.  Assisting fee earners by liaising with the billing team and following up with debt recovery as requested.
• Coordinating the opening of new client matters and assisting with Anti-Money Laundering, Know-Your-Client processes, undertaking as much research as possible before passing over to the Partner for approval.
• Copying, scanning, typing, formatting documents, creating correspondence, pitches and presentations for client meetings and business development events.
• Entering and management of client data/information into InterAction and Outlook.
• Responding to emails as necessary and prioritising correspondence to enable fee earners to focus on urgent matters.
• Providing English to Japanese and Japanese to English translations of legal and business development related documents where required.

Office Administration

• Assist Office Manager with administrative, facilities, IT and client services.
• Assist Office Manager in maintaining office premises, including pantry and meeting room.
• Responsible for answering general office phone and answering office door to vendors.
• Responsible for arranging incoming/outgoing mails by courier service and mail.
• Any secratarial tasks and duties upon instruction from Office Manager.

Requirements

Skills and experience – essential

• Minimum three (3) years of work experience as an executive assistant/secretary.  Experience working in a law firm will be an advantage.
• Proficiency in computer software, especially in MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Highly organised and able to provide proactive assistance.
• Able to prioritize multiple tasks and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in English, verbal and written.
• Excellent communication skills in Japanese.

Personal skills/attributes

• Enthusiastic, can-do and positive approach to tasks and often competing situations.
• Proactive, using initiative and flexible attitude for other ad-hoc tasks.
• Ability to take personal responsibility, ownership and behave responsibly.
• Friendly, co-operative and able to work well in team environment.
• Willingness to broaden skills to meet evolving requirements.