Bates Wells

Manager

• **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

Practice Manager – Practice Advisor

Human Resources

• We’re seeking an interim HR Manager on a short‑term temporary basis, reporting to the Senior HRBP. This role provides cover while we recruit an HR Advisor, and the role holder will be involved in a broad range of generalist HR activity.
• This is a busy and varied role that combines day‑to‑day HR support with project work and business partnering across both Practice and Business Teams. The role holder will respond to general queries, support payroll processes, and work closely with the HRBPs on annual cycle activities. There will also be a small ER caseload and some discrete project work, including contributing to the implementation of a new benefits system.

Interim HRBP – HR Manager

Controller

• Meet partners and fee-earners to review unbilled WIP, disbursements, and outstanding bills; agree actions.
• Monitor WIP build-up, follow up proactively, escalate to Finance Director when needed.
• Ensure timely billing and follow-up on unpaid bills, recording in the practice management system.
• Collaborate with clients and external contacts to confirm invoice payments, resolve queries, and enforce commitments.
• Provide fee-earners with client file details for legal proceedings; challenge unplanned write-offs constructively.
• Maintain accurate records of WIP interactions with partners and clients.
• Review significant client exposures with Working Capital Manager to minimize risk and reduce lock-up.
• Identify trends to improve recovery and lock-up; report and suggest actions to Heads of Departments and Practice Management.
• Support Finance team on month-end activities, including time write-offs.
• Work with Risk & Compliance and Commercial Finance to align engagement terms with working capital goals.
• Assist with financial administration of matter files (time revaluation, WIP transfers, write-offs, reconciliations, statements).
• Contribute to Working Capital projects (unsent bill reporting, monthly analysis).
• Assist annual audit on bad debt provision and WIP valuation.
• Collaborate with Commercial Finance on pricing, discounts, and client exposure management.
• Stay updated on regulatory standards (UK VAT, Solicitors Accounts Rules).

Revenue Controller

Compliance

• Providing strategic advice on complex issues, including regulatory matters that involve more than one regulatory regime and inter-disciplinary cases.
• Broadens and deepens internal and external networks, personal brand, and personal business development approach aligned to department business plan, leading to significant and sustained work origination.
• Proactively lead client development activities that result in increased client engagement, positive client feedback or new client relationships. Supports partners in CRM activity, including acting as deputy CRM for some clients.
• Provides excellent commercial legal advice to clients in matters relating to public and regulatory practice, with a high-level technical skills, requiring limited technical supervision whilst maintaining good general knowledge of other areas of law.
• Regularly leads and supervises matters within areas of expertise and discrete components of other matters with minimal levels of supervision and to a high standard.
• Guides others to produce high quality work that uses plain language, is client focused and commercial.
• Supports and coaches their team and manages the delivery of the work efficiently and within timescales. Guides junior colleagues, including engaging with profitability reports, facilitating discussions regarding the profitability of particular matters, clients or types of work.
• Collaborates with leaders to promote a high-performance culture by giving regular feedback and by identifying and supporting others with development needs.

Practice Manager – Practice Advisor

Interim HRBP – HR Manager

Revenue Controller

Public & Regulatory Lawyer – 6 month FTC