Secretary - Intellectual Property

The Firm

Please click here to see a video introducing our Firm.

At Baker McKenzie we are different in the way we think, work and behave. Like no other law firm, we were born global. Our Australian practice was established in Sydney in 1964, in Melbourne in 1982 and in Brisbane in 2014. Our lawyers work seamlessly with our global colleagues, collectively providing a capacity of more than 5,600 locally qualified lawyers and 6,000 professional staff in 78 locations across 47 countries.

The Team

The IP, TCC, Media Group is a broad based practice group built around IP expertise, industry knowledge in the technology and communications sector, and experience in regulatory and content issues for converging media.

Members of the Group have a wide range of skills including litigation, commercial, transactional and regulatory work plus more specialised skills in areas such as trade mark registration, distribution and agency arrangements, franchising and privacy. Areas of expertise include brand strategy, IP litigation, digital copyright, government procurement, defence contracting, pharma, defamation and telco infrastructure.

The Role

We are currently seeking an enthusiastic Secretary with at least 2 years experience in a simular fast paced role supporting multiple fee earners.

This role will centre on delivering timely, efficient and high quality administrative, secretarial and practice group specific services to Partners, associates and others across the IP group. Duties will include; drafting/preparation of correspondence, formatting of documentation, expense and billing management, financial reporting, diary management, filing, travel bookings and general administration duties.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Answering the phone – appropriately screening calls, resolving simple queries wherever possible, taking and relaying messages promptly and, if necessary, redirecting queries
• Creating and amending typed documents such as letters, emails, memos, contracts, agreements, presentations and pitch documents
• Amending due diligence templates, using version control and track changes
• Managing monthly billing processes and specific client invoicing requirements, including drafting and circulating invoices, distributing invoices to clients and necessary weekly, monthly and quarterly reporting responsibilities for key clients
• Supporting the client matter intake process
• Processing expense claims and cheque requisitions
• Undertaking conflict searching
• Time entry - production of narratives, creation of glossaries, etc.
• Screening and organising correspondence (with voicemail, email, and regular postal mail), in authors' absence and as per requests
• Working directly with clients, developing and maintaining relationships, and assisting with business development activities
• Organising couriers, conferences and functions, travel and accommodation, internal and external meetings (including room, car spaces, catering, invitations etc) for authors
• Assisting with client events and social functions for the Practice Group
• Managing authors' calendars and schedules and keeping informed about authors whereabouts at all times
• Assisting in preparing and distributing relevant documentation to authors prior to critical dates (e.g. meetings, court proceedings, settlements etc.)
• Identifying, opening, generating, maintaining, labelling, updating and closing files, according to task, author and the Firm's requirements
• Managing various ongoing projects

The successful candidate will have:

• Previous experience in a similar role, ideally in a law firm or professional services environment supporting multiple fee earners
• A minimum typing speed of 50 wpm (90% accuracy rate)
• Technical proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel
• Excellent customer service and client relationship skills
• Experience using SAP would be viewed extremely highly
• An Advanced Diploma of Business (Legal Practice) or equivalent qualification is desirable.

To Apply

If you are self motivated and excited by the connectivity that a global law firm can offer, then we would like to hear from you. Please click on the apply icon to start the online application process for this role. We will then be in touch with you once we have reviewed your application. 

For a confidential discussion or more information please contact Kathleen Blackburn, Talent Management Advisor, on