Job Description
Knowledge Lawyer International Trade Team in EMEA
Job Location
Brussels
Job Category
Business Services
Practice Group
N/A
Support Department
Knowledge Management
Job Title
Knowledge Lawyer International Trade Team in EMEA
Description
Role purpose
To manage and execute legal content projects, training and knowledge
initiatives for the Group within the context of the Firm's knowledge strategy
Main responsibilities:
To make first-class knowledge easily available to lawyers, increasing
the quality, consistency and/or cost-effectiveness of the advice that
the Firm gives its clients, including:
Knowledge and Expertise
- Precedents. Review, draft, develop and automate the Group's
precedents and other legal content
- Current awareness and commercial/industry know-how. Deeply
understand clients' industries and businesses and use that knowledge
to optimize opportunities for knowhow creation, current awareness
updates including client alerts and connecting business and industry
knowledge relating to the Group to broader Firm initiatives. Monitor
and spot forward-looking Group issues and trends and translate their
legal impact to clients and lawyers in a commercial way. Possess a
fundamental understanding of the work performed by the Firm's other
practice and industry groups in order to connect their work to the
Group and vice versa. Enhance internal awareness of Group-specific
issues and equip lawyers to talk about them irrespective of their
practice group
- Lawyer requests. Be a sounding board and trusted advisor to
lawyers on complex legal issues and devise systems for capturing and
analyzing lawyer enquiries in order to produce knowhow to address gaps
- Know-how development. Devise and implement a strategy to ensure
that know-how is comprehensive and up to date across the Group.
Ensure that know-how best practices are being followed throughout
the Group and contribute to developing them
- Training. Devise and deliver a training plan linked to the Group's
business strategy and identify opportunities for using different
media and collaborate with the Learning and Development team. Link
the Group's training program to broader Firm training initiatives
- Client-facing knowledge. Set the agenda for thought leadership
campaigns after discussion with key stakeholders and alignment with
the Group's strategy, advocating industry-focused analysis, not just
"news." Create processes to ensure timely and relevant
horizon scanning products are created across the Group. Identify
ways to structure work and work output to produce tangible products,
including training, for clients
- Policy initiatives and capacity-building. Work with the Group on
policy
initiatives and lobbying, including offering training
and knowledge sharing sessions, responding to consultations and
generally maintaining good channels for dialogue with political and
governmental individuals and bodies
Service Orientation
- Relationships. Promote an integrated, "one global team"
mind-set among the team and implement and influence the knowledge
culture throughout the Group. Establish and nurture long-term
relationships with key decision-makers across the Firm to help
achieve results and coach and facilitate the building and
establishment of long-term relationships by members of their team.
Ensure that Knowledge work for the Group is recognized and rewarded.
Connect the Group work with the work of Knowledge Lawyers in other
practice and industry groups for wider benefit
Work Management
- Operations and innovation. Redefine the Group's Knowledge services
and best practices and promote them among lawyers in the Group.
Promote an innovative and quality-focused mind-set and challenge the
team to consider how to deliver services more effectively and
efficiently. Promote greater use of offshore Service Centers,
integrated use of project managers and other technology tools to
manage costs and improve efficiency in the Group
- Systems. Act as an internal champion for Knowledge systems,
ensuring the engagement of all lawyers in the Group. Identify and
implement Knowledge system changes (technological and behavioural)
needed in order better to deliver legal content
- Strategy, alignment and integration. Build and implement a
comprehensive Knowledge Plan for the Group. Align the Group's
Knowledge Plan with its business plan, the Firm's strategic
framework, the Knowledge strategy and the Industry Groups' strategy.
Create a single joint community among fee-earning lawyers, Knowledge
Lawyers and other Knowledge and business professionals within the
Group and across countries and regions. Emphasize and illustrate the
cross-practice group nature and impact of Group knowhow
Travel requirements: Some travel will be required,
largely within the EMEA region
About the team
Function
The Knowledge function is a Firm-wide team of nearly 300
professionals, including Knowledge Lawyers, Information & Research
professionals, and a variety of other functional specialists. The
Knowledge function helps the Firm deliver better legal solutions by
producing and providing easy access to high quality, relevant legal
information for both lawyers and clients. The focus is on the
following areas:
- Content - creating, collecting and providing access to
market-leading precedents, sample documents, practice notes,
training materials and other knowhow for our lawyers and clients,
reviewing and updating regularly, to ensure that the content is
current and market-leading.
- Systems - working with the Technology function to design, develop
and build user-friendly and flexible platforms to store knowhow and
deliver it intuitively to lawyers and clients, adopting common
systems across all offices and practice/industry groups.
- Culture - striving to establish Knowledge as a core part of every
lawyer's role, engaging actively with all lawyers in the firm and
encouraging them to share their own knowhow and expertise with
colleagues as openly as possible; embracing a "one team"
culture within the Firm's Knowledge community ensuring that all team
members create and develop high quality local content while being
aligned with our global strategy and approach.
You will report to: Director of Knowledge (Practices)
Your direct reports, if any: N/A
Key relationships
Your clients are the Group's key partners and lawyers. You will
receive day-to-day project assignments and overall direction from the
Group's chair and steering committee, as well as the Director of
Knowledge for Practices. You should ensure that you are highly
visible, and have strong relationships with key stakeholders, in the
market in which you are based as well as within the Group more broadly.
You must liaise closely with other members of the Professional and
Business Services team - especially within the Knowledge function - to
ensure that Knowledge projects and initiatives are carried out
consistently with the Firm's overall business objectives and its
Knowledge strategy.
About the candidate
Technical skills, qualifications and experience:
- Law degree
- Current license to practice law (or eligibility for one)
- Extensive post-qualification experience as a practicing lawyer
with direct involvement in International, Commercial & Trade
- Excellent English language skills (verbal and written) and the
confidence to communicate in a multi-cultural, multi-level environment
- Experience working directly with senior counterparts on strategy
and execution
- Excellent time management and organizing skills; ability to
prioritise and manage time to meet deadlines
- Strong word processing and spreadsheet skills
- Experience in or willingness to learn document automation and
other legal technology
Personal qualities
These personal qualities represent the shared characteristics of
high performers across Baker McKenzie, regardless of job level and location.
Know how
- Keeps across key developments in all relevant areas and
demonstrates the ability to develop substantive authority about the
Firm's specialist fields
- Demonstrates the ability to identify the real issue, and to
anticipate requirements and potential consequences; distils a range
of possibilities by thinking in a considered, prudent manner
- Able to move through a variety of tasks requiring different
approaches, knowledge, and expertise, with the agility of mind and
capacity for analysis and synthesis
Dedication
- Driven by a strong personal sense of integrity and upholds
exemplary quality standards
- Prepares thoroughly, takes responsibility, uses initiative, and is
self-reliant to ensure work progresses to the fullest extent possible
- Hardworking and diligent with a keen understanding of client demands
- Demonstrates composure when dealing with difficult situations
Personal Impact
- Creates a positive impression at all times; develops relationships
through collaboration and reciprocity
- Negotiates to achieve mutually satisfactory outcomes; shows good
judgement on when to stand strong and when to compromise
- Invests in, nurtures, and builds a network of productive relationships
Humanity
- Respectful to others, regardless of their position, and earns the
respect of others by being transparent
- Has care and concern for others and a genuine interest in others
as people
- Treats delicate or confidential issues with grace and discretion
About Baker McKenzie
Complex business challenges require an integrated response across
different markets, sectors, and areas of law. Baker McKenzie's client
solutions provide seamless advice, underpinned by deep practice and
sector expertise, as well as first-rate local market knowledge. Across
more than 70 offices globally, Baker McKenzie works alongside our
clients to deliver solutions for a connected world.
We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion for all.
Our unique international culture is reflected in the drawing together
of a worldwide family of individuals from diverse cultures and
backgrounds in all of our offices. We encourage the best people --
regardless of race, religion, or belief if any, gender, gender
identity, disability, sexual orientation, or age -- to fulfill their
professional aspirations with us.
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