Hybrid Practice Manager – Practice Advisor

at Bates Wells

• Job title: Practice Manager – Practice Advisor
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: No Education Requirement
• Location requirements: Hybrid, London, United Kingdom

About the role

• Practice Manager supporting the Practice Director in managing practice groups at a leading UK law firm. Engaging with various teams to streamline processes and improve operations.

Responsibilities

• **Business management******Supporting the Practice Director with business management across the firm’s largest practice groups, including:
• Partners' meetings: helping to prepare agendas and papers; note taking; tracking actions and giving reminders; inviting and briefing guests from other teams; general co‑ordination
• Department meetings: helping to prepare agendas; inviting and briefing guests from other teams; general co‑ordination
• Allocating legal work: if requested by partners or senior lawyers
• Department inductions: delivering to new joiners
• Process improvement: working with Practice Support Managers and other Business Teams
• Supervision arrangements: co‑ordinating and documenting changes for new joiners, promotees, returners etc., liaising with HR.
• Gathering feedback: for annual reviews in collaboration with HR.
• Team updates: preparing updates for the department on joiners, leavers, secondments etc.
• **Secondments**
• Managing client secondment requests end‑to‑end, including reverse secondments, liaising with the practice and other Business Teams.
• **Resource sharing**
• Coordinating resource‑sharing requests across practice groups, e.g. during busy periods or absence cover.
• **Utilisation**
• Monitoring utilisation across the practice, identifying trends and concerns to raise with supervisors or Heads of Department.
• Identifying reporting errors and working with colleagues to resolve them.
• Responding to queries from lawyers and partners about individual or team utilisation.
• **Intranet**
• Maintaining and improving the Practice Management team’s intranet pages.
• **Projects**
• Supporting the Practice Director on projects, including:
• Working with the Emerging Talent Manager on paralegal role design and resourcing
• Improving management information for the practice
• Streamlining communications from Business Teams to the practice

Requirements

• You’ll have experience working as a Practice Manager or Practice Advisor, ideally gained within a law firm or professional services environment.
• Proactive self‑starter with a can‑do attitude.
• Well‑organised with excellent attention to detail.
• Comfortable navigating new areas and working fluidly with colleagues across functions.
• Able to build effective and trusting relationships quickly at all levels, from partners and directors to early‑career colleagues.
• Strong influencing skills, including the confidence to provide constructive challenge where appropriate and the openness to adjust approaches based on feedback.

Benefits

• **Impact‑Driven Purpose:** We align profit with social purpose to create lasting positive impact for our people, communities and planet.****Committed to the Climate:** Through our Climate & Nature Group, we reduce environmental impact and support a just transition to net zero.****Championing Inclusion:** We foster a diverse and inclusive culture where creativity and innovation thrive.****Flexible and Hybrid Working:** Our hybrid model supports balance, with at least two office days per week.****Progressive Benefits:** We offer sustainable pensions, IVF support, private healthcare and a range of wellbeing and personal‑development benefits.****At Bates Wells, equity, diversity and inclusion are part of who we are and how we work. As a B Corp and purpose‑driven law firm, we’re committed to building a workplace that is fair, inclusive and representative of all.