Head of Johannesburg Legal Services Centre at Allen & Overy

Role purpose
The purpose of the role is to provide leadership and accountability  for  the new LSC centre in Johannesburg which will open in the first half of 2020. The role holder will build strong relationships internally with the Global Head of the LSC and her leadership team, taking responsibility for running transactions which will come to the Johannesburg LSC through the Belfast LSC.   The role holder will take responsibility for the management of these transactions and ensure effective allocation of work to a team of associates and legal professionals.  The Head of the LSC in Johannesburg will be responsible for developing, training and motivating  the new Johannesburg  team.

Key relationships

•  Global Head of the LSC
•  The LSC Exco, comprising the Global Head of the LSC, the Head of the LSC in Belfast and Heads of Practice
•  Partners and Associates in the firm
•  Managing Associates, Associates and Legal Professionals (LPs) in Belfast and Johannesuburg
•  Legal Tech and Project Management teams
•  COO, Johannesburg
•  Support Managers, Johannesburg

Role and responsibilities

•  Liaising with the mangagement team in the Belfast LSC on new transactions and ensuring that legal work is appropriately allocated,, supervised and is of a high standard;
•  Responsible for recruitment of new LPs alongside HR/Graduate Recruitment;
•  Attending monthly LSC Exco meetings (via VC or in person)
•  Attending weekly operational/management meetings (via VC);
•  Responsible for managing the Johannesburg LSC team, including regular career and performance conversations and taking part in talent moderation discussions;
•  Working closely with HR in Johannesburg and the Global Head of the LSC on any people matters and the annual compensation review for the LPs
•  Ensuring both appropriate induction and on-going training of the Johannesburg LP team and sharing knowledge;
•  Financial management of the Johannesburg LSC including oversight of busyness levels and reporting back to the Global Head of LSC and LSC Exco as to capacity/pipeline of work;
•  Ensuring legal tech is used on all deals where available;
•  Monitoring, inspiring and developing the Johannesburg LSC team; and
•  Supporting a culture that reflects the values of A&O. 

Key requirements

•  Equivalent senior associate level with significant experience of managing transactions and supervising teams of associates.  Proven management experience ideal
•  Excellent academics, analytical and with high attention to detail
•  Proven ability to lead, motivate and develop a team
•  Collaborative working style and ability to build relationships across countries and cultures
•  Client focused and with excellent communication and presentation skills
•  Ability to build trusted client relationships both internally and externally
•  Commercially minded and ability to quickly develop a good understanding of the LSC business including financial management, negotiation and pricing
•  A high degree of intitiative and effective decision-making
•  A good understanding of legal technologies