National Practice Assistant – Pro Bono

Norton Rose Fulbright has an exciting opportunity for a Practice Assistant - Pro Bono - apply now!

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At a glance

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In 2021, NRFA employed its first national pro bono partner, Chris Owen, who is based in our Perth office. In the last 3 and a half years, Chris has established a top tier national pro bono legal practice group as part of ourfirm's focus on increasing our contribution in the community, building stronger client relationships, and enabling our lawyers to develop their legalskills.The practice has won a number of awards for its work, including the 2024 Western Australia Attorney General's Award for community service.

Chris also serves as Chair of NRFA's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) work. In this capacity he leads the team providing ESG advice to commercial clients, as well as directing the internal ESG initiatives within NRFA.

Key Responsibilities

Supporting Chris and the National Pro Bono team you will be responsible for a variety of duties covering:

Client Service

• Liaise directly with pro bono and commercial clients (internal and external) by managing calls, taking and forwarding messages, dealing with inquiries by directing them to the appropriate area to ensure client expectations are met in a timely manner.
• Provide general administrative assistance, including photocopying, faxing and scanning of documents; and sorting and distributing internal mail.
• Prepare bundles, indexes and file Court documents (for contentious matters only).

Calendar, Mailbox & Travel Management

• Assist team with calendar management in an accurate and timely manner by ensuring sent/received appointments are accepted or declined, clashes are discussed, travel time is considered.
• Organise domestic and international travel arrangements for partners and all members of the pro bono team, in line with firm guidelines.

Practice & Financial Management

• Open and maintain updates to physical/electronic files, adhering to conflict checking and records management processes as part of the matter management process, including assisting to draft pro bono engagement letters.
• Assist as needed with coordinating pro bono projects, including clinics, by rostering volunteers to a clinic based on present capacity, informing clinic hosts as needed and booking, and invoicing interpreters if needed.
• Coordinate billing processes (as needed), including preparing correspondence and accounts for dispatch or upload to billing portals/platforms; resolve billing issues as required.

Business Development & Marketing

• Maintain contact information in the Client Relationship Management (CRM) system (Interaction) by updating, sharing and syncing Outlook contacts; work with the team to review bounce-back reports and update contact records accordingly.
• Update Interaction for team events and complete the CPD forms.
• Maintain and regularly update all versions of lawyer profiles and CVs.

Events Support

• Assist the team to organise from inception to completion, in-house staff events in accordance with the How-to guides developed by the Events team.
• Provide logistical and administrative support for standard client seminars held in the local office; and support signature whole-of-office client events as required.
• Assist with the production of webinars by scheduling rehearsals; testing and pre-event set up; support the event by sharing screens / presentation; running polls if required; recording and filing content.

The Successful Candidate

• Prior experience of practice support and/or administrative experience in a law firm or corporate environment preferred.
• Genuine interest in pro bono issues, including access to justice and environmental, social and governance topics.
• Client service-orientated focus with the ability to professionally communicate with internal and external clients at all levels, including vulnerable clients, individuals, not-for-profits and NGOs, as well as commercial clients.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills including proven ability to draft non-routine correspondence and documentation.
• Highly effective team player who maintains an enthusiastic, inclusive, positive and proactive approach.
• Strong knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite including advanced Outlook and Word, intermediate Excel and PowerPoint skills; exposure to practice management systems.

Apply now