Receptionist

Ropes & Gray is a global law firm that operates across 17 time zones and has more than 1,400 lawyers based in the United States, Europe and Asia who collaborate seamlessly to provide clients with high-quality representation in innovative industries that shape the global economy. Our clients include private equity firms, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, financial institutions, mutual funds, hospital systems, and more. Client by client, we’ve built a reputation for first-class work, a pragmatic approach, and impeccable standards of service and ethics. We count many of the world’s most respected companies and institutions as longtime clients, and serve organizations at all stages of development. Clients trust us with their most important matters because they know we understand their businesses and deliver the results they need. 

Our deeply rooted culture of teamwork means that our lawyers work closely with colleagues around the world to provide support to clients. This collaborative approach encourages our lawyers to work alongside partners and clients on sophisticated matters. We work as a team to support a range of leading legal practices, including private equity, M&A, capital markets, finance, asset management, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, data, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring. 

Ropes & Gray London is one of the largest offices in the Ropes & Gray network, and the hub of the firm’s EMEA network and set up in London in 2010. While we are now an established presence in the UK, we’ve retained all the buzz of our start-up years. It makes us a little bit different: it means we have the stature and resources of a major international law firm combined with the pace, inclusivity and career progression of a specialist firm. Our clients like to work with us. We are, of course, always professional, but we are personal, and personable with it. As a group, we’re international, diverse and our team is always professional, but uniquely personable. With around 32 partners, 137 fee earners and a trainee intake of 13, everybody in the office knows everyone else. That means that every hire we make is an important investment for the firm, because each team member has a distinct role to play in delivering excellent service to our clients. 

Reception 

Reception

· Greet all clients and visitors to the office and notify meeting host and any relevant parties of their arrival.  Ensure clients receive VIP treatment

·Ensure clients’ needs are anticipated and prioritised at all times and pro-actively seek out ways in which to improve client satisfaction

· Liaise with and respond to email and verbal requests/queries from all clients (internal and external) in a prompt and professional manner

· Liaise with other receptionists, AV team, catering team, facilities team in the smooth running of the client floor

· Provide basic admin support for clients when required, i.e. printing, scanning, photocopying etc

· Maintain orderly appearance of the reception area and client meeting rooms, and notify the Facilities team of any missing or damaged equipment so that it can be replaced/repaired

·Prepare holiday cover and end of day handover notes to ensure a smooth transition

· Allocate temporary passes, maintaining log of all passes, requesting return and deactivation where necessary

· Liaise with ground floor reception regarding arrangements for out of office hours visitor arrivals, special events and last minute guests

· Corporate office attire

Conference Rooms/Visitor Offices

· Use online room booking system to reserve, move, amend or cancel bookings, including catering and any Facilities and AV requirements

· Respond to all room booking requests and manage the allocation of the London meeting rooms/visitor offices/video conference services.  When necessary, re-allocate meeting rooms in accordance with the meeting organiser’s original requirements and notify anyone involved (organiser, AV, catering etc) of any changes to their booking

·Check meeting room set ups in advance, making sure all equipment, catering and any other requests have been provided according to the booking instruction

· Regularly check rooms for any maintenance issues and alert Facilities where necessary   

· Maintain stocks of stationery for the client meeting rooms, placing orders where necessary

· Ensure all documents are removed from rooms swiftly and client confidentiality rules are adhered to at all times 

· Check visiting Ropes & Gray lawyers’ requirements, producing weekly memo for the London office, advising of all visitors due the following week and their allocated office and secretarial support. Send email to visitors in advance of their arrival, welcoming them to the London office and confirming all details

·Liaise with ground floor reception regarding arrangements for out of office hours visitor arrivals, special events and last minute guests

Switchboard Duties

· Answer the London switchboard calls promptly and professionally, in a warm but professional and confident manner

· Announce all callers, offering the caller the opportunity to leave a voicemail message should it not be possible to connect them in person

General

Assist the Conference Services London Supervisor with various tasks as and when required

· Educated to minimum GCSE level or equivalent

· Front of house, or customer facing experience required, preferably within a law firm or professional services environment

· Proficiency with the MS Office (mainly Outlook and Word, but knowledge of Excel and PowerPoint would be helpful ) applications, FileSite and other software related to the core functions of the Firm

· Knowledge of EMS room booking systems is highly desirable

· Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to communicate appropriately at all levels of the firm via email, phone and face to face

· Ability to prioritise workload and use initiative, with a "can do", helpful and proactive attitude

· Positive, professional attitude, able to remain calm under pressure

· Punctual, reliable, dependable and team-orientated

· Well organised, with the ability to multi-task

·  A critical eye for detail and consistency

· Professional demeanour.  Presentation and style appropriate for an international law firm

· Courteous, conscientious, considerate team player with a warm and hospitable nature

· Willingness to be as flexible as possible when work is required outside of business hours