Paralegal & Company Secretary Assistant

ABOUT OUR COMPANY

FIRST is a leading global brand experience agency serving clients in various industries, including financial services, technology, new & traditional media, aerospace, healthcare, and professional services. FIRST has received numerous accolades, including being named one of the Top 150 Event Organizers & Agencies in the USA by Eventex, being listed among the "200 Top Marketing Agencies" in 2023, 2022 & 2021 by Chief Marketer, being recognized as one of the "50 Top Event Companies" by Special Events, being included in the Top 100 "Best Places to Work in NYC" by Crain's New York Business, and being listed as one of the "1000 Companies to Inspire Britain" by The London Stock Exchange Group.

Learn more at www.firstagency.com

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Paralegal & Company Secretary Assistant will be working as part of a Global in-house legal team responsible for assisting the General Counsel and Independent Group Advisor in support of corporate governance and subsidiary management by providing timely, commercial and high-quality legal support. The ideal candidate will be organized, methodical, and detail-oriented while having a collaborative approach to every task. Due to the significant growth, this role will suit a pragmatic, agile and flexible commercial thinker, comfortable working in a fast-paced environment. The role will report directly to the General Counsel.

RESPONSIBILITIES

This role will play a significant part in the Legal & Governance Department, to streamline responses to the business and external stakeholders and ensure an efficient, thorough approach.

Responsibilities supporting the legal function will include:

• Mapping the most frequent and common questions to the legal department and creating an implementation plan for those which are deemed appropriate for an element of business self-service.
• Creating legal templates and documenting SOP.
• Implementing and running the legal helpdesk, acting as the first port of call for the business; engaging with, and managing the use of 3rd party platforms to resolve business queries together with appropriate escalations either to outside Council or to the General Counsel.
• Continuously reviewing frequent queries to the legal department to develop and document new processes; monitoring response times and suggesting improvements.
• Document drafting, initial documentation review, and legal research. This will include documentation review of Intercompany contracts and Statement of Work and Service Contracts for FIRST (Phone, Vendors, Consultants, etc.).
• General Legal Support across the areas of the business.
• Meetings and Board Support.
• Collaboration with external stakeholders including outsourced legal counsel.

Responsibilities supporting the governance function will include:

• Drafting, maintaining, and filing corporate documents via the use of the Company entity management software.
• The incumbent will: Contribute to the establishment of internal Company Secretariat procedures, guidelines, and templates and the continued development of self-help tools.
• Provide accurate and relevant information and advice to Subsidiary Board committees to assist them in performance of their role and execution of their duties; Maintain the Subsidiary Board calendars, with the assistance of the Board Administrator to manage meeting invitations, and ensure all decisions of the Board are accurately and appropriately recorded in the minutes of the meetings and managing DocuSign or similar software to procure signatures as appropriate.
• Prepare and draft resolutions-in-writing and aid the business in preparing submissions to the Board.
• Assist in identifying, analysing, and reporting on the regulatory developments and best practice/good corporate governance, and where opportunities arise, partner with the business to assist with strengthening governance practices.

The role will also take on a general support function for the department, focusing on legal-related activities in EMEA and APAC, including:

• Proactively managing deadlines and keeping track of due dates to ensure documents, filings and projects are addressed in a timely manner.
• Reviewing and responding to general compliance requests through shared mailbox and fielding inquiries from internal business teams.
• Various related tasks and special projects as requested by the Legal Department, including administrative support as necessary.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Experience in a legal department or law firm, preferably in Corporate Secretarial or Paralegal roles or performing similar functions.
• ICSA qualified (or part-qualified) is preferable but not required.
• Experience in managing Company Secretarial matters and providing board support (including minute taking).
• Must be comfortable using technology and leveraging digital applications and media platforms such as Zoom & Office 365.
• Experience with board pack software and entity management software is a plus.
• Experience with managing domestic and/or foreign subsidiary activities, corporate governance items, and corporate records preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal skills for the purpose of working collaboratively with internal stakeholders.
• Highly motivated and exhibit a strong work ethic.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Flexible approach and ability to collaborate with teams across different time zones.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Paralegal or legally qualified in the UK would be preferred but bachelor’s degree is required as a minimum.
• Work intelligently and ensure the General Counsel is aware of problems or issues which negatively affect or put the company at risk.
• Work on ad hoc requests as required.
• Assume responsibility for own environment, ensuring adherence to health and safety policies while having clean smart surroundings.
• Interest in Global affairs.
• Proactively contribute to achieving the company’s goals and objectives.