Supervisor, Legal Support Services
Miller Thomson LLP is one of Canada’s fastest growing national business law firms, with offices located in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Toronto, Markham, Vaughan and Montréal. Our consistent ability to provide practical, creative and cost-effective advice, combined with an unyielding service commitment to our clients and a strong dedication to our lawyers, staff and the communities in which we practice, gives us a unique position in the Canadian legal industry.
We are seeking a Supervisor, Legal Support Services (LSS) to join our Toronto office. This role reports to the National Director, Administration (based in Vancouver) and the incumbent will be a key member of the national LSS management group with responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the LSS teams in the Firm’s Toronto and Vaughan offices. The local LSS teams are comprised of Legal Assistants, Administrative Assistants and Billing Administration Clerks, and responsibilities will include employee relations matters, performance management, resourcing, workflow, coverage, etc. The Supervisor will be expected to promote a client first focused culture and ensure effective operational management of all LSS teams to deliver high quality, efficient and consistent legal support services to the Firm’s legal professionals. As the front-line operational contact with the business, this is a high-profile and hands-on position that requires an excellent multi-tasker with strong administrative and communication skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment. The successful candidate will demonstrate responsiveness, sensitivity, initiative, and have excellent client service, relationship management and organizational skills. Being a contributing team player is essential, along with work hour flexibility to accommodate business needs. The Supervisor will be required to travel between the Toronto and Vaughan offices.
In this role, responsibilities will include (but will not be limited to):
- Monitoring levels of client service provided by the LSS team (including working closely with the Billing Administration team) and ensuring that ongoing and future investments in people, processes and systems are effectively developed, implemented and managed to continually drive improvements in team performance and service delivery.
- Overseeing the daily operations of the LSS teams and proactively managing the delivery of services including allocation of resources, workload / workflow management and working directly with legal professionals to ensure proper resource planning, knowledge sharing and resolution of issues.
- Managing legal assistant shares/teams and communicating with legal professionals regarding support and share/team arrangements and changes.
- Ensuring there is adequate coverage across the LSS teams in instances of planned and unplanned absences. Forecast and plan staffing levels during peak vacation seasons and leaves, ensuring the necessary resources are available.
- Fostering a collaborative working environment with LSS team members so that they take proactive approach to support and absence planning.
- Championing and implementing Firm changes with respect to technology, policy, process and procedure improvements, in particular alternate methods of working to increase productivity and client team effectiveness.
- Implementing local LSS team standards in line with national standards; assisting with implementation of national change initiatives as they relate to the LSS teams.
- Implementing standard operating procedures across LSS teams in line with national standards and maintaining procedures to ensure effectiveness and that they are well-communicated.
- Managing all aspects of employee relations for the LSS teams including conducting reviews, and coordinating performance management, coaching and goal setting process for LSS staff, working with local Talent Management as required.
- Collaborating on a national basis to formulate and implement operational strategies and initiatives pertaining to the standards and services provided by the LSS teams.
- Working closely with Talent Management to carry out compensation analysis and salary reviews.
- Collaborating with the Firm’s national Learning team to identify and deliver appropriate training to support skills development and career growth for all LSS staff.
- Working with the national Recruitment team to ensure the recruitment process for LSS staff is highly effective and their integration into the Firm is successful.
- Assisting in the development of talent pipelines, career development and succession planning to ensure the most suitable selection of LSS talent, and alignment of talent to specific business need.
- Providing input and recommendations to the National Director, Administration for budget preparation.
To be successful in this role, you possess:
- Knowledge and experience gained from working in a professional services support environment, preferably within a law firm context.
- Previous experience in supervising/managing teams.
- Minimum 5 years’ experience as a Legal Assistant. Equivalent experience as an Administrative Assistant in a professional services firm will be considered an asset.
- Knowledge of Human Resources best practices and/or experience would be an asset.
- Ability to negotiate and influence as well as challenge when necessary in a diplomatic and professional manner.
- Ability to build positive relationships with excellent performance management style.
- Strong communication, coaching and problem solving abilities.
- Excellent attention to detail.
- Strong judgment with the ability to adapt to different personalities/work styles.
- Ability to prioritize multiple demands in a fast paced environment.
- High level of personal integrity, diplomacy, discretion and tact.
- Intermediate to advanced technical skills (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
If you are interested in this position, please forward your resume, quoting the above job title to: pkalhor@millerthomson.com.
Attn: Talent and Recruitment Specialist
While we thank all applicants for their interest, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, we are unable to respond to queries individually and only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
No phone calls or agencies please.
Miller Thomson will provide accommodations on request throughout the recruitment, selection and assessment process for applicants with disabilities. If you require accommodations, please inform our Talent Management department of the nature of accommodations that you may require, to ensure your equal participation.