PA - Tax & Incentives

Hogan Lovells; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader in London seeks an experienced Personal Assistant (PA) to support the Tax & Incentives team. The role combines professional secretarial and administrative duties with client billing, supported by hybrid working (up to 40% from home, 60% in the office).

You will manage diaries, meetings, travel, and document production while building relationships with fee earners and clients. The ideal candidate has legal PA experience and excels in communication and organisation.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 GCSEs (English and Maths)
• Experience as a legal PA is preferred.
• Strong organisational and admin skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent communication with clients and fee earners.

Responsibilities

• Secretarial and administrative support including client billing.
• Proactive diary management and arranging meetings/logistics.
• Travel arrangements and itineraries in line with policy.
• Client relationship management and BD support for pitches.
• Billing cycles using 3E and maintaining accurate records.

Skills

Excellent interpersonal skills

Proactive approach

Excellent written and verbal comms

Strong document production skills

Billing experience (3E)

Excellent organisational ability

Advanced MS Outlook/Word/Excel/PowerPt

Education

GCSEs incl English and Maths

Tools

3E billing system

MS Outlook

MS Word

MS Excel

MS PowerPoint

Job description

Keen to become part of a truly global, collaborative team of professionals? Your journey begins here.

Job Title: PA

Office Location: London office

Department: Tax & Incentives

Working Hours: 35 hours per week, 9:30am to 5:30pm but additional hours may be required.

We are happy to consider agile and flexible working patterns.

Our approach to hybrid working allows for up to 40% of time working from home and 60% working in the office.

Role Overview

Delivering a professional secretarial, organisational and administrative service, including supporting client billing. The role requires a proactive and responsible individual with a proven track record of independently managing their workload, demonstrating initiative, and delivering comprehensive, client-focused solutions in a dynamic and evolving environment for an allocation of lawyers within a legal group.

Key Responsibilities

• Specific duties or responsibilities may be reviewed from time to time to reflect changes in personnel and management structure, staff location or services.
• All members of the firm participate in our Responsible Business program.

Organisational skills

• Take ownership of tasks, ensuring delivery of high-quality work on time and to expectations.
• Organise and prioritise workload and maintain a composed and professional approach in a dynamic working environment, Plan for and deliver high quality, accurate work.
• Manage deadlines and respond to change and competing deadlines or priorities of all work.
• Demonstrate strong and effective organisational skills, regularly demonstrate initiative, identify issues and propose potential solutions where appropriate.

Diary, Meeting and Mailbox Management

• Support inbox management including e filing where required.
• Proactive diary management including arranging meetings and associated logistics, conference calls, lunches and other appointments using business knowledge.
• Organising travel whilst adhering to the Global Travel Policy requirements (including flights, accommodation and restaurant suggestions/reservations) and providing detailed itineraries.

Client Relationship Management

• Client Interaction & Relationship Building.
• Build an understanding of the nature of the fee earners’ work, get to know their clients and build relationships with them and the client PAs.
• Initiate regular communication with allocated fee earners to understand their priorities and support requirements.
• Take ownership of client enquiries, resolving or escalating (or identifying alternative contacts) as appropriate.
• Build a network of strong working relationships both internally and externally.
• Demonstrate awareness of client circumstances and pressures, and proactively anticipate and prioritise client needs.

Business Development & Commercial Awareness

• Demonstrate active interest in the firm’s clients, business needs and commitment to responsible business.
• Assist partners and fee earners with their BD responsibilities including pitches and proactively updating CVs and credentials.

Billing and financial administration

• Work independently to a high standard in billing cycles, with a good understanding of client preferences and firm systems.
• Support the client billing process using 3E by preparing and generating bills, maintaining accurate records of expenses, disbursements, and fees, liaising with the billing department to track payments, and responding to internal and external requests for supporting documentation and details.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of risk and compliance procedures, including the preparation and management of client engagement letters.
• Skilled in supporting firm-wide compliance initiatives by ensuring documentation accuracy, upholding confidentiality, and adhering to internal policies and external legal requirements.

Team Support and Collaboration

• Support wider team and department administration tasks to manage workload peaks and troughs when capacity allows.
• Provide cover for others in the wider team as requested and support team admin (including across other practice areas where necessary).
• The role and responsibilities are subject to change at any time to reflect the needs of the business.

Collaboration and Communication

• Actively contribute to a collaborative team environment by sourcing, sharing, and exchanging knowledge while supporting new colleagues.
• Proactively communicate with line manager on workload issues, capacity and hybrid working arrangements.

Learning and Adaptability

• Take responsibility for your own continued learning, undertake recommended training, keep up to date with and comply with firm policies.
• Learn and maintain strong knowledge in your own practice area.

Documentation and filing

• Proficient in working with long and complex documents; remain up to date with HLC house-style and able to correctly apply to documents, manuscript amends, audio dictation and document comparisons, proofreads own work to ensure accuracy.
• Utilises the firm’s document support services effectively, with clear instructions and realistic deadlines, taking ultimate ownership of task.
• Consistently maintain accurate filing systems, including e-filing, in accordance with the firm’s archiving protocols, effectively retrieving stored files promptly and the opening of new matter files.
• Demonstrate proficiency in firm templates, styles, and document processes, ensuring consistency and quality.

Skills and Experience

• Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to interact with people at all levels.
• Self-motivated individual with a proactive approach.
• Keen to take ownership.
• Ability to think quickly and solve administrative challenges effectively, leveraging support service departments when needed.
• Client orientated approach - client-focused both internally and externally.
• Willing to become involved with a desire to learn.
• Demonstrate resilience and adaptability when faced with change, consistently maintaining strong performance under challenging conditions.
• Flexibility with overtime.
• Previous legal PA experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong document production skills.
• Billing experience, preferably 3E.
• Excellent organisational and administrative ability.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Professional/Technical Skills: Accurate typing at minimum 60 wpm.
• Advanced knowledge of MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Experience of 3E and billing processes.

Qualifications and training

• Minimum 5 GCSEs or equivalent at 4 or above, including English and Mathematics.

Equal Opportunities Statement

It is the policy of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader to provide equal opportunities for all employees in relation to recruitment, training and promotion. Decisions in these areas will be made only by reference to the requirements of the job and shall not be influenced by any consideration of racial or ethnic origin, religion, sex, gender and gender identity, age, sexual orientation, marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy or disability.

Agency Recruitment Policy

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader operates a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for Business Team and Secretarial Services recruitment in the UK. We do not accept speculative or unsolicited agency submissions / candidate introductions, via email, from agencies outside of the PSL. Nor will we be liable to pay any placement fees for submissions / candidate introductions submitted directly to any Partners or employees of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.

Company Overview

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader brings together more than 3,100 lawyers across 36+ worldwide offices, combining global reach with deep sector expertise. Strategically placed at the intersection of business, finance, and government. Working seamlessly across practice areas and borders. Our combination marks a new chapter. Prepare to join teams of people that want you to succeed, where ideas move quickly, support is shared freely, and colleagues help each other grow, creating an inclusive culture where everyone can belong. You’ll be challenged to perform at the highest level in an environment shaped by precision, judgement, and exceptional standards. It’s a culture that expects excellence and gives you the opportunity to develop in every moment. Hogan Lovells Cadwalader is a global law firm with offices in many jurisdictions and countries. Some of the information displayed may not be applicable to the region in which you are applying, your individual situation or the local legal framework. The system uses standard terminology that applies irrespective of whether you are/will be an employee, partner or self-employed. #LI-WS1