Coordinator, Project Management Team

Baker & McKenzie Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH; London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job description

To work with the Legal Project Managers (LPMs), leading on successfully delivering tasks within both client- and internally-facing projects bringing solutions using established and new tools and processes.

Main responsibilities

• Support members of the LPM team on multiple projects with competing deadlines in coordination with other LPM team members
• Liaise with the client and the BM's client matter team, as well as BM's specialist departments and offices worldwide
• Perform assigned tasks with accuracy and timeliness; take responsibility for completing recurring tasks without prompting
• Prioritize workload (seeking clarification from project leads on project priorities), anticipating and escalating any foreseeable issues as well as availability, and remain aware of dependencies
• Build and use charts, timelines, and other visuals effectively; suggest improvements
• Work with team members to implement solutions to improve processes
• Accurately estimate and manage the time required to support coordination work
• Effectively and appropriately hand off work to other Professional Business Services (PBS) teams, engaging with them to clarify requirements and ensure a successful transition
• Support the post-matter review process for key matters and identify areas of improvement in practice area processes through discussions with the project team
• Triage help requests and raise ‘marginal’ requests with team members to determine LPM position on task involvement
• Identify opportunities for new service delivery and support analysis, and design workshops
• Collate information for project updates and adapt report templates for new projects
• Support scope clarification and management efforts on projects
• Identify own training needs and actively participate in training related to LPM topics
• Tailor and reuse existing templates and make suggestions for template improvements
• Contribute to BM’s Innovation Strategy; become a subject matter expert on LPM-relevant technology and standardized processes: evangelize, advise, train, apply to projects and support refinement
• Support implementation of existing and new technology to meet project requirements and to encourage LPM and Legal team uptake
• Source information at LPM request for proposals and pitches
• Build a network of professional colleagues across the range of PBS and legal functions, including Knowledge Management, Business Development, Finance, and IT and with external stakeholders
• Offer ad hoc support and PM expertise to non-LPM initiatives

Travel requirements: This role may require regional and global travel driven by client requirements and other internal and external events related to the Professional Business Services function.

About the team

Function

Actively support the project management of strategic matters and portfolios of matters to improve quality, profitability, speed, tractability, and transparency with an emphasis on repeatability, scalability, and pace. Drive through the same benefits to matters not actively staffed with LPMs, assisting with infusing project management discipline through consultations, training, templates, workflows, checklists, and automation. Remain agile in bringing appropriate focus on localization, technology, and process improvement.

Team

The Firm’s market-leading legal project management (“LPM”) function drives differentiation, an enhanced user experience and profit enablement on client work.

Collaborating closely with the other fee-earning professional units—the Intellectual Property Service Unit, Global eDiscovery and Data Advisory, and Alternative Legal Services—as part of the Reinvent Initiative, to best meet client needs, profitably, and at scale.

Under the Director’s leadership, the LPM team will continue to integrate more closely with Firm lawyers on the day-to-day planning, execution, and tracking of fee-earning legal work as the Firm keeps pace with evolving client expectations regarding the multi-disciplinary delivery of legal services.

You will report to: LPM, EMEA Team

Your direct reports, if any: N/A

Key relationships:

• Associate Directors, LPM for other regions /Service Delivery
• Teams within the Services function, such as Business Management, Pricing, Global eDiscovery, Alternative Legal Services and Service Design

About the candidate

Technical skills, qualifications and experience

• A bachelor's degree (law or business degree preferred)
• Understanding of/experience working in large complex organizations
• Basic understanding of relevant IT packages: e.g., Document Management Systems, Project Extranets (e.g., SharePoint/Teams) or other collaborative project management tools.
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft Office (including Excel), and financial systems and reports
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills
• Desire to work collaboratively with senior-level professionals to help them succeed in meeting their objectives
• Able to build matter budgets with guidance
• Able to work independently with a willingness to work flexibly and hands-on to achieve project objectives
• Able to analyze datasets to identify trends, issues, and gaps
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize work in a dynamic and complex environment to meet deadlines and daily requirements
• Demonstrated attention to detail to ensure quality of outputs
• Emerging competency in continuous improvement, change management, flexible approach, and exceeding expectations

These personal qualities represent the shared characteristics of high performers across Baker McKenzie, regardless of job level and location.

Know how

• Demonstrates the ability to identify the real issue, and to anticipate requirements and potential consequences; distills a range of possibilities by thinking in a considered, prudent manner
• Has the capacity to take on new ideas and develop knowledge and think holistically about business and address media, analyst, employee, and client audiences
• Able to move through a variety of tasks requiring different approaches, knowledge, and expertise, with the agility of mind and capacity for analysis and synthesis

Dedication

• Driven by a strong personal sense of integrity and upholds exemplary quality standards
• Prepares thoroughly, takes responsibility, uses initiative and is self reliant to ensure work progresses to the fullest extent possible
• Hardworking and diligent with a keen understanding of client demands
• Demonstrates composure when dealing with difficult situations

Personal Impact

• Uses complex, coordinated influencing/negotiation strategies, adapted to people, organizations, and/or the situation, e.g. networks
• Leverages direct reports to facilitate increased collaboration across the organization
• Builds partnerships based on a common agreement that acknowledges individual differences but creates a new commonality beyond root belief large-scale
• Creates a positive impression at all times; develops relationships through collaboration and reciprocity
• Negotiates to achieve mutually satisfactory outcomes; shows good judgment on when to stand strong and when to compromise
• Invests in, nurtures, and builds a network of productive relationships

Humanity

• Respectful to others, regardless of their position, and earns the respect of others by being transparent
• Has care and concern for others and a genuine interest in others as people
• Treats delicate or confidential issues with grace and discretion.

Why Join Us?

Baker McKenzie is a truly global law firm. Founded in 1949, we advise many of the world's most dynamic and successful business organisations through our 13,200 people in 74 offices in 45 countries. Yet big does not mean impersonal. We work hard to ensure that everyone knows their role and has the support they need to perform it to the highest standard. Our culture encourages this - how we work, think and behave in a collaborative and fulfilling way.

In London you will be part of a 1,000 person office, which is also our largest office globally. Originally opened in 1961, Baker McKenzie London is well established in the UK as a leading international law firm and is regularly involved in some of the country's most high-profile legal matters. We can offer you the work, pride and experience of being part of a leading law firm but in a local office environment that is hardworking, friendly and supportive.

The strength of the firm and our culture is evidenced by a number of recent awards, including:

• Thomson Reuters (formerly Acritas' Sharplegal) Global Elite Law Firm Brand Index, 2010- 2022 - ranked 1st
• The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2021-2022: currently ranked 52nd
• Thomson Reuters ranked the Firm No. 1 for cross-border deals for the last 12 years. More than 70% of our deals are cross-border.
• For the 14th consecutive year, the Firm was ranked first for deals with emerging market involvement, by both number of announced and completed deals.
• Law360 ranked the Firm as one of the 400 Largest US Law Firms in in its annual survey in 2020.
• Identified as one of the Hall of Fame for best law firms for women by Working Mother magazine, 2011-2021.
• Received a Gold Award in Stonewall's Global Workplace Equality Index of Top Global Employers for LGBTQ+ Inclusion.
• Ranked as one of the Top 20 Employers in the 2023 Social Mobility Employer Index.
• Received Double Certification for earning top marks in the 2022 Corporate Equality Index and Equidad MX of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
• Winner of the Europe Mentorship Programme - International Firm award in the Euromoney Women in Business Law Europe Awards 2021
• Winner of the Gender Diversity International Firm, Talent Management International Firm, and Work-Life Balance International Firm awards in the Euromoney Women in Business Law Asia Awards 2021

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Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity & Equity

As the first truly global law firm, diversity and inclusion are foundational to our culture and strategic vision. We are a Firm of individuals from across the globe with different backgrounds, ideas, and points of view who collegially work together to solve complex problems and design practical solutions for our clients. Our multiple perspectives come from many sources, including the diverse ethnicity, culture, gender, nationality, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, parental status, education, social background and life experience of our people.

Our global strategy is focused on our people, our culture, our clients and the communities where we operate. In 2019 we enacted ambitious new targets related to gender, racial and ethnic diversity at the Firm. These targets are viewed as a floor, not a ceiling, to advancing underrepresented groups, and they are backed by a variety of strategic initiatives aimed at achieving our goals. Our strategic vision is supported in London by six active employee led networks which champion diversity, lead on a number of internal campaigns and deliver a range of activity to celebrate differences in identity, inclusion, and key dates throughout the year including: LGBT+ History Month, International Women's Day, International Trans Day of Visibility, Mental Health Awareness Week, Pride, Black History Month, Social Mobility Week, International Day of Disabled Persons and many more!

Baker McKenzie London has been accredited by Disability Confident, joining over 18,000 organisations that have signed up to help change behaviours and cultures in businesses, networks and communities and reap the benefits of inclusive recruitment practices.