Manager Legal Support Job In Na

Job Description

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Dentons is designed to be different. Our firm leads the way in a rapidly changing legal marketplace. We challenge the status quo and deliver consistent results as well as uncompromising quality and value to our clients. Our global presence is renowned as a firm with over 21,000 individuals in more than 200 offices serving clients across 80+ countries.

Dentons Canada is committed to its people and communities. We are consistently recognized as an employer of choice having received numerous awards including being selected as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024); Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2024); Alberta Top 80 Employers (2024), and Canada’s Best Diversity Employers (2023).

This role is an opportunity for you to join the world’s largest law firm, a firm that offers opportunities to build your career while growing your skills and deepening your expertise.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Manager, Legal Support is responsible for managing and providing guidance to the Legal Assistant (LA) teams to ensure overall quality and consistency of services provided to lawyers and practitioners. The Manager, Legal Support is responsible for the development of Legal Assistants and ensures practitioners receive professional, efficient and high quality support from Legal Assistants to support Dentons client centric environment.

The role encompasses longer term development of the teams in line with the changing needs of the business, in collaboration with the objectives and standards set with the Director of Finance and Operations. The role plays a leadership role in identifying and implementing legal support process improvements, building talent through cross-functional skills and competency development, and stewarding technology implementations for the LA teams.

The Manager, Legal Support fosters a one-team working approach which encourages collaboration amongst the teams within and across all departments, and ensures Firm procedures are adopted and shared across the teams. 

RESPONSIBILITIES

General/People

• Maintains strong working relationships with lawyers, the Office Managing Partner and other professionals.
• Participates in meetings of the staff group and, where appropriate, participates in other working or project groups that may be formed from time-to-time.
• Manages (provides input to Director of Operations – Edmonton) the overall operational and financial responsibilities and activities of the teams.
• Works with the Talent (HR) team to recruit, interview, select, and hire appropriate resources as required.
• Creates a client centric work environment that supports the Firm’s commitment to maintaining high standards of client service.
• Communicates organization information through department meetings, one-on-one meetings, appropriate email and regular interpersonal communication.
• Reviews performance data to monitor and measure team productivity, goal achievement and overall effectiveness.
• Modifies department or group activities and procedures to be consistent with major new directives.
• Supports implementation of global initiatives as appropriate.

Workflow Management

• Manages all Legal Assistant resources in various practice areas to ensure efficiency and exceptional service delivery.
• Works with third party vendors to ensure high quality service delivery per service level agreements.
• Monitors coverage, allocations, sickness/holiday absence, overtime budgets and vacation usage in accordance with Firm policies. Signs-off and approves overtime requests and leave request for Legal Assistants.
• Prepares and updates FTE budget for Legal Assistants on a monthly basis.
• Determines requirement for effective production and processing of Legal Assistant work, ensuring that trained staff are in place and are efficiently meeting practice area needs and workload overflow. Monitors workflow and optimal ratios within the work team.
• Develops and maintains relationships with lawyers, timekeepers and other department to ensure work is completed as a team and not in silos.
• Ensures successful implementation of support services initiatives and programs as required by the Firm.

Resourcing

• Reviews resumes and takes part in interviews (in conjunction with the recruitment team) and successfully onboards new hires.
• Coordinates Legal Assistants (in conjunction with the recruitment team) summer student placements where applicable, including recruitment, mentoring and supervision of students during their placement.

Management and Staff Development

• Identifies training and development needs of Legal Assistants and schedules in house training with IT, Finance or Human Resources as required.
• Manages Legal Assistant positions, including daily and weekly assignments, obtains regular feedback from Legal Assistants and lawyers regarding performance and prepares year-end.
• Plans, schedules and evaluates the performance of staff; establishes performance objectives, provides coaching and encourages and supports staff development; participates in development planning discussions.
• Identifies individual skill gaps and team training needs and provides objective feedback with a view to motivating and engaging staff.
• Creates performance improvement plans for Legal Assistants to address performance concerns; follows up with the staff member and their respective lawyers as applicable to ensure performance is met and maintained.
• Develops and maintains positive employee relations; provides guidance and advice relating to conflict management and discipline to bring resolutions in accordance with Firm policies.
• Determines successful/unsuccessful completion of probationary periods for all new hires.
• Liaises with Practice Group Leads and business services leads regarding LA concerns, or issues, i.e.: coverage for lengthy absences, developmental/training needs, share arrangement changes, performance concerns etc.
• Manages risk and maintains proper confidentiality of all matters. 
• Meets with the Director of Talent on lawyer changes with a view of Legal Support needs.
• Work with WGL on share changes and ratio to ensure work flow is balanced.
• Supporting offboarding of Lawyers with Executive Assistant for the Office Managing Partner, managing the team approach for completion of tasks and OT submissions
• Conducts regular team leads meetings to discuss and take action on items such as process changes, technology changes, best practices, training needs and engagement.
• Communicates the importance of performance management and Dentons competencies, and sets the expectation that all staff participate in and contribute to goal setting, feedback, and development planning.
• Develops and builds talent; focuses on strengths, career competencies, and business needs to create team member development plans that identify areas for learning and professional development.
• Works with the National Learning Team to develop a curriculum of learning for Legal Assistants.
• Participates in own education and professional development.
• Helps staff understand change and what it means to them by providing guidance and support (e.g. communications, education, team development, coaching, and assigning subject matter expert roles).
• Input and feedback on Compensation of the team in collaboration with the Director of Finance and Operations, the OMP and the Talent Advisory Manager
• Presents and coaches Articling Students, building a positive connection and coaching on Legal Support partnership operations
• RRD Queries, billing review and follow on billing items.
• Coordinating the partner compensation process including arranging meetings, materials, and hospitality requirements.

REQUIREMENTS

• A Legal Assistant Diploma and a minimum of 10 years Legal Assistant experience supplemented with management experience.
• Human Resources courses or experience would be an asset.
• Experience in managing teams, particularly through organizational change.
• Strong sense of team and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to multi-task and juggle priorities.
• Able to negotiate and influence as well as challenge when necessary in a diplomatic and professional manner.
• Strong communication skills both verbal and written.
• Strong ethical standards, integrity, confidence, objectivity and ability to maintain confidentiality.
• A positive role model to others and will demonstrate initiative, enthusiasm, professionalism and high level of quality service delivery.
• Ability to build positive relationships.
• Comfortable dealing with Dentons members at all levels.
• Demonstrated knowledge of basic budgeting principles and practices.
• Demonstrated ability to serve as a knowledgeable resource to the organization's management team that provides leadership and direction.
• Excellent computer skills in a Microsoft Windows environment. Must include knowledge of Excel and skills in Access.

We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. 

At Dentons we are committed to offering equitable and competitive pay, we achieve this by aligning internal salary ranges for specific roles to similar positions in the external market. In the normal course, our practice is to hire, transfer and promote employees within the entry part of our range, adjusting as needed based on the prior experience, skills and competencies required for the role along with any market differentials. 
 
Recognizing our exceptional talent means providing a comprehensive total rewards package beyond a competitive salary. We have curated our employee benefits portfolio to offer inclusive and comprehensive wellbeing and developmental programs for our people. With extended benefits and mental health plans, paid time off, savings plans, fitness subsidy, parental leave top up and more, our benefits are flexible, aligned to our core values and supports the various needs of our people. Additionally, our personal and professional development programs include people networks, mentorships, and leadership series programming to help people grow their career. 

Note: Availability of the benefits and perks may be subject to your location and employment type and may have certain eligibility requirements. Dentons reserves the right to alter these programs and offerings in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.
 

Equal Opportunity Statement

At Dentons Canada, inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) are not just ancillary values, they are foundational to our business. We believe that ID&E is essential to the shared success of our team and our clients. Our forward-thinking and inclusive culture supports the professional development of all our people, enhances the leading services we offer to our clients, and informs our commitment to make a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. As a testament to our commitment to ID&E, we have been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employer’s for 12 consecutive years (2011-2022), as well as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People (2022) for the fifth time.

Dentons Canada is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome your application. All employment decisions, including hiring, will be made without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender assigned at birth, gender identity, marital status, place of origin, race, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable human rights legislation.

We are committed to providing you with an inclusive, barrier-free and accessible workplace to support your success. Should you require accommodation during the recruitment process, for example as a result of a disability, please contact us at careers.canada@dentons.com .