Professional Support Lawyer - Insurance/Reinsurance (part-time)

The Firm

HFW is a sector focused global law firm. We have over 600 lawyers working across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. We take a progressive approach to our roles in commercial business – thinking creatively and pragmatically to support our clients.

Whether we are solving complex issues within the construction, aviation or shipping industries, or providing advice across insurance, commodities and energy we are specialist lawyers here to add value to our clients. We think about the commercial solution first, and then underpin our advice with a solid foundation of legal expertise.

The Department

The knowledge management team consists of 8 Professional Support Lawyers and two Knowledge Management Paralegals in the London office, one PSL in the Hong Kong office and one in Sydney covering Australia. The PSLs are qualified solicitors, each with over 10 years' fee earning experience in their respective areas. 

HFW's insurance & reinsurance practice is recognised internationally as an industry leader. Through our integrated global network of offices, we offer a comprehensive range of dispute resolution, transactional and regulatory legal services to the insurance sector, including insurance and reinsurance companies; policyholders; captives and mutuals; brokers and other intermediaries; managing agencies and MGAs; TPAs and other service providers. Our insurance and reinsurance work is high value, likely to be complex and multi-party, and often international in nature.

The aim of the KM team at HFW is to ensure that, in line with the firm's business strategy, our lawyers can offer technical excellence with efficient delivery, so as to provide clients with valued quality legal advice globally. 

The Role

The Professional Support Lawyer will work with the existing knowledge management team to expand and promote the KM function within the Insurance/Reinsurance practice and the wider firm to create an environment where knowledge can be easily shared.

Key Responsibilities

The insurance PSL role will be varied and include:

1. Current awareness: Responsibility for preparing regular internal bulletins and proactively alerting fee earners to key changes in the law and practice affecting their work. Chairing work group meetings and providing updates on current topics/significant changes in the law of relevance to the group.
2. Knowhow: Taking responsibility for the collection, dissemination and management of the Insurance/Reinsurance team's knowhow and ensuring that it is readily accessible to global fee earners on the firm's knowledge base on the intranet (see below).
3. Maintenance of knowledge database: Analysis of material, profiling/indexing documents for inclusion in databases, reviewing material for currency and promoting the tools to end-users.
4. Templates: Drafting, developing and maintaining necessary templates, checklists, practice notes and toolkits. Reviewing drafts prepared by others. Ensuring that the group has easy access to the necessary templates, etc. for use in client work. 
5. Intranet management: Performing a key role in the management of our online knowhow offering: updating, expanding and maintaining the group's information and knowhow material available on the firm's intranet site.
6. Technical legal queries: Dealing with technical legal queries from fee earners within the group and the firm. Acting as a sounding board for complex legal, tactical and strategic queries. Advising fee earners on the appropriate use of knowhow resources. 
7. Training and development: Working closely with the Learning & Development Department and wider KM team, designing, organising and (where appropriate) delivering the group's internal technical training programmes for lawyers across all levels.
8. Supporting marketing and business development: Working closely with the lawyers in the group and the Marketing & BD Department: horizon scanning and identifying topics which can be used to showcase the group's expertise. Preparing articles and content for published client briefings, bulletins, newsletters and information on the website.
9. Client-facing knowhow: Supporting the firm's client relationships by preparing and delivering knowhow and training to clients. Designing client training programmes, preparing materials for and speaking at internal and external seminars/conferences and assisting with other knowhow-based client services.
10. KM tools and resources: Reviewing new tools and resources, working with the Library and IT to ensure that the fee earners have access to the best tools/resources for their practice. 
11. Projects: Managing and leading projects within the group, for example to promote more efficient and effective working practices or help to attract more work of a specific type. Working with the wider KM team on longer-term KM projects to develop the firm's KM function.
12. Knowledge Management team: Working with the COO and wider KM team to contribute to the delivery of the firm's knowledge management strategy and encourage the use of best practice in the group and the firm globally. Sharing ideas about knowledge management within the firm and identifying ways in which developments/innovations can best be communicated internally and externally.

The Person

Our new Professional Support Lawyer will demonstrate the below key skills and experience:

• A track record of high-quality fee earning experience – a minimum of 7 years' PQE - undertaking insurance/reinsurance work, gained in-house or, ideally, within a global law firm;
• Previous experience working as a PSL, or the ability to demonstrate an active involvement in KM initiatives whilst a fee earner;
• Excellent drafting skills;
• Good presentation skills;
• Keen interest in professional training and development, marketing and business development;
• Project management skills, and the ability to motivate and influence others to achieve goals;
• Self-motivated and excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate confidently at all levels;
• Good working knowledge of the main IT packages; familiarity with intranets and internet, and a process driven approach to matter management;
• A strong commitment to promoting the benefits of knowledge sharing.

Additional Information

If you would like to be considered for this excellent Professional Support Lawyer role, please submit your application now.

Kindly note that this job description is not contractual. It will be reviewed periodically and may be amended or altered to meet the needs of the firm.

Due to the volume of applications, only those candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted.

HFW operates a Preferred Supplier List (PSL). Recruitment agencies should not submit CVs unless they are part of the PSL and have been engaged regarding this specific vacancy.

HFW aims to ensure equality of opportunity, and we are actively working towards improving the diversity of our staff. All applications to this Professional Support Lawyer role will be considered only on merit and the applicant's suitability to meet the requirements of the role.

HFW collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants to manage its recruitment process. The firm is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations. For information on how the firm will process your data, please see our Privacy Notice on our website (www.hfw.com/Privacy-Notice), in the section "What we collect and how we use it".