• Purpose:          To assist his/her Senior Associate with the discharge of transactions and tasks within their specific practice areas.
• Responsibilities:        To assist his/her direct reports with the following:

• Company Secretarial: 

• Provide support to direct reports, by  coordinating with the clients to schedule   and represent the firm at Board and annual General Meetings, and  conferences calls;

• Generate required reports in preparation for client meetings, and arrange for execution of such documentation by the directors and shareholders as may be required;

• Conducting a regular legal compliance audit on the company and rendering returns with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission amongst other as may be required from time to time.
  • Drafting and Review of Legal Documents: 

Assist the senior associate in handling with appreciable skill, thedrafting and review of contracts and other legal documentation including letters, memoranda, reports, internal notes etc.;  Assist with the review and negotiation of commercial contracts.

• Client Meetings:

• Provide support to direct reports, to conduct meetings, negotiations and discussions on legal transactions, disputes, regulatory and compliance issues; understanding the issues involved and preparing detailed reports;  

• Taking an active part in the meetings of the clients, understanding the issues and proffering a possible way of action to deal with the instructions of the client;

• Preparing client meeting notes and sharing with the appropriate parties.
  • Administrative function:

Assist the senior associate in handling with appreciable skill, all administrative responsibilities;

• Updating and keeping a track of the important legal documents covering a wide range of clients, so that it is made available to the senior associate whenever there is a requirement. 
  • Performing other sundry tasks like scanning the legal documents, preparation of bills that need to be issued to the clients, retrieving the necessary supporting legal documents, maintaining the corporate database, computing the penalties;

• Starting work-flows and digitally archiving documents pertaining to the department, according to internal procedures and instructions.
  • Research and Legal Advice:

• Assist the senior associate in conducting with appreciable skill, required legal research, and gathering all the data and information that is relevant to the instructions;

• Offering advice on the law, legal procedures and on simple to complex legal issues. Studying and identifying the laws that are applicable to the instructions;

• Preparation and drafting of various legal opinions, drafts, and other relevant legal material and reports;

• Assisting the other groups/departments of the firm, with reviewing any legal issues arising in their day-by-day activities, and drafting, where required, corporate documentation.
  • Reporting: Timely reporting to the client, any significant variation in the applicable legal framework, which may affect the

Company’s operations.

• Preparing periodical reports required by the client on any subject falling within the competence of the corporate practice group, including without limitation compliance reports, newsletters etc.

Job Specification:

	Candidate must have a passable knowledge of commercial law, including, but not limited to:   Company Law; Corporate governance and compliance practice; Legal review and drafting; General contract law; Company Secretarial; Corporate Restructuring generally Property Acquisition  Commercial Real Estate Development Employment law and practice; Mergers and Acquisitions practice;  ü Business sale and arrangement. Strategic Alliance and Joint Venture Real Estate law and practice; ü Taxation law; and ü Due Diligence.
	Excellent communication and strong presentation skills; Strong problem solving, listening and learning skills and analytical thinking; Requires the ability to understand technical issues; Absolute command of Microsoft office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access); Familiarity with Internet explorer and search engines on the World Wide Web; Administrative ability; Organisational skills with an attention to detail; Interpersonal skills; and A demonstrated ability to multi-task, prioritise and meet concurrent deadlines.
	A strong work ethic with a positive, ‘get-it-done’ attitude.  Honesty, integrity and commitment to the common goals and values of the organisation.

ANNEX A – REQUIRED COMPETENCIES FOR ASSOCIATES

1. Understanding of the main features of relevant laws

1.1.     Ability to accurately identify and apply law, whether or not clients ask specific legal questions;

        1.2.    Keeping abreast of developments in relevant law;

        1.3.   Knowledge of when and where to find expertise. 

2. Reliable legal judgment and appreciation legal risk

        2.1.   Comprehension of the facts and ability to properly analyse the facts;

        2.2.    Understanding of the issues raised by clients, and their business needs and

priorities;

2.3.     Ability to note gaps and ambiguities in the information provided, to follow through to resolve them;

2.4.     Ability to extract and explain key issues, giving appropriate weight to those issues;

        2.5.   Ability to test business assumptions and identify alternative options;

2.6.     Understanding of political and media sensitivities in the areas the Associate is advising in;

2.7.     Ability to give a risk-based analysis – explaining possible consequences, the likelihood of those consequences, and ways to mitigate or eliminate the risk;

2.8.     Ability not to over-inflate risks, and to test conclusions, and to seek second opinions where appropriate;

2.9.     Ability to consider whether when and how Partners need to be involved and advise accordingly;

2.10. Ability to air, own and resolve mistakes, and to extract and apply key learning points from them focusing on his/her continuing development;

2.11. Correct application of the law, and ability to present solutions to the client’s problems.

3. Production and communication of sound legal analysis, using secure legal research

3.1. Ability to conduct proper and extensive research on any and all matters;

3.2. Ability to consider whether he/she is being asked the right legal questions; 

3.3. Ability to research efficiently and proportionately, using relevant and up-todate sources;

3.4. Ability to seek out enough facts to understand the problem accurately and, where necessary, seek clarification and confirmation from clients;

3.5. Ability to know when to discuss his/her legal analysis with colleagues; 

3.6. Ability to understand the relevant business needs and priorities, and tailor his/her communications to those needs (e.g. considering whether advice should be by email, phone or meeting, or a combination);

3.7. Ability to communicate clearly and decisively, selecting relevant information and disregarding irrelevant or overly academic considerations;

3.8. Ability to work with clients to explore the options available to them.