Client Relationship Executive (Onboarding & Invoicing)

at  Withersworldwide

AREAS OF FOCUS AND RESPONSIBILITIES (NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST):

• Liaising directly with clients in respect of onboarding requirements and financial aspects of matters including submitting invoices and dealing with queries
• Ensuring a personal level of knowledge and to be the first point of contact for Client Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators for complex onboarding and billing issues, liaising with Risk & Compliance and Finance teams as necessary.
• Taking responsibility for ensuring that the billing process is efficient, and collections are timely. This involves driving the efficiency of the Client Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators.
• Coordinating the work effort of Client Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators assessing workflow to ensure all tasks are carried out efficiently and within deadlines. This involves assessing capacity, utilisation and performance of the Client Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators to ensure consistency across the team.
• Working closely with the Divisional Operating Officer, Divisional Finance Officer, Regional Divisional Leaders and Divisional Supervisor as well as building good relationships across the firm.
• Taking responsibility for reporting, carrying out regular reviews of in progress matters and financial reports and following up with the Clients Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators for status updates where needed.
• Consistently reviewing processes and looking for potential problem areas.
• Taking responsibility for training and mentoring all new Client Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators as well as ongoing training on a regular (monthly) basis and acting as a best practice role model. This will include arranging training where knowledge needs are identified both for self and for the Client Relationship Specialists and Client Relationship Coordinators.
• Being fully responsible for all onboarding and finance tasks for allocated partners and matter supervisors and their clients (as well as all fee earners involved with each matter) as is the same in the Client Relationship Specialist role and to include the following:
• Dealing with the new business intake (NBI) process, ensuring all sections are completed and all relevant information is included, including but not limited to ensuring all relevant parties and appropriate matter descriptions are included before submission.
• Taking responsibility for all usual Client Due Diligence (’CDD’) tasks including client and matter risk assessments relating to each new matter, ensuring clients are appropriately vetted, and checks carried out and any requisite approvals sought in line with the firm’s policies, controls and procedures.
• Carrying out electronic identity verification checks where necessary to avoid delays, chasing CDD documentation where it has not been obtained, liaising with partners and fee earners to establish source of wealth and funds for completion of the risk-based assessment forms and completing the appropriate due diligence and anti-money laundering forms, double checking information to ensure rejections are kept to a minimum.
• Once forms are submitted to the Risk & Compliance team, ensuring that they, together with all associated CDD forms and documentation (and approvals), conflict check emails and matter opening emails are filed in the compliance folders at matter level in iManage.
• Troubleshooting and on-going monitoring of the CDD process, undertaking regular reviews, reporting discrepancies, and monitoring sanctions compliance.
• Producing the first draft of engagement letters based on the scope of work, for approval and sign off from the partners and fee earners. Pro-actively requesting money on account throughout the matter cycle and using best endeavours to ensure that it is received.
• Support the firm’s pricing function in the creation and monitoring of matter budgets using the firm’s pricing tool.
• Ensuring InterAction is updated during the matter opening process (and ongoing) including telephone numbers, email addresses and any amendments that may be needed to existing entries, ensuring that duplication is avoided. This involves capturing client referral information, collecting and maintaining client relationship data and accessing this data to support fee earners in being able to cater for their clients’ needs as well as being able to better report on referral information when looking at commercial conflicts.
• Liaising with partners and fee earners to make sure all time is recorded accurately and in a timely manner, ensuring it is transferred promptly once matters are open as well as recording time entries, when requested.
• Pro-actively taking responsibility for processing third-party costs, liaising with third parties where necessary to ensure all relevant disbursements are billed in the relevant billing month.
• Responsible for compliance with the third-party payment process, ensuring approval request forms are completed and any associated documents are obtained prior to submitting the request for approval.
• Proactively initiating billing, to include more complex billing, producing proformas, checking VAT exemptions, charge out rates and currencies are correct, obtaining and following instructions for transfers, write offs and splits of time, processing billing, updating narratives in the practice management system (Elite 3E) creating and amending narratives and heads of charge, processing bills and coordinating the timely despatch of invoices to avoid any cash flow bottlenecks. Ensuring that clients are aware of all outstanding invoices previously submitted and any queries clients may have regarding invoices are dealt with, to facilitate the prompt payment of invoices. Updating all relevant bill trackers throughout the billing process.
• Pro-actively working with the fee earners and the Finance team on their accounts receivable workflow requirements on a monthly basis - producing credit notes, ensuring auto-generated statements are not sent to clients inappropriately and on their credit control and debt management tasks.
• Take a lead role in the housekeeping of files, checking balances and dealing with residual balances remaining on the client account for allocated matter supervisors on a regular basis to adhere to Solicitor Accounts Rules. Closing completed and inactive matters which have a zero balance in a timely and frequent manner.
• Assisting fee earners who are sending out funds by checking details through ‘Lawyer Checker’ as required.
• Assisting with lateral partner hires – dealing with file transfers and onboarding of the lateral partner’s transferring clients. Acting as a point of contact for the lateral partner in advance of their joining date and delegating to Client Relationship Coordinators where appropriate.
• Assisting with the partner leaving process where a partner is leaving the firm.
• Delegating effectively to the Admin Assistants where appropriate, including giving substantive instructions and guidance.
• Keep up to date with compliance and regulatory firm policies
• Become a trusted expert in working effectively with the firm’s technology and systems.
• Pro-active and eager in approach to learning and support of change within the organisation.
• Keep up to date with latest technologies, including awareness of AI.

TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE:

• Strong verbal and communication skills
• Exceptional delegation and collaboration skills
• Leadership, training and workflow coordination skills
• Strong IT skills with the ability to use both existing and new tools and technology
• The ability to maintain your professionalism and seek to continuously update and develop your personal knowledge and skills
• A calm nature, with the ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• A professional, willing and proactive approach, with a keen attention to detail
• An interest in progressing knowledge of Compliance and Regulation
• Additional skills may be required depending on practice area