FordHarrison provides first-class service to our clients, which means we are always seeking staff professionals who are high performers, entrepreneurial, and ready to thrive in our rewarding work environment. It takes communication and trust to function efficiently as a national firm, and a collaborative staff to make it all run seamlessly. We value cultural differences and we are committed to maintaining a diverse workforce and developing an inclusive environment. Our employees enjoy generous benefits, competitive pay, and a comfortable working environment.
FordHarrison LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Accounts Payable Specialist, Atlanta, GA
Position Reports to: Controller
The Accounts Payable Specialist will work closely with the Controller and Sr. Accountant to ensure that all tasks related to the processing of vendor invoices, employee reimbursements, and inquiries from internal and external sources are performed efficiently and on time. Collaborate with management regarding accounts payable software to continue to develop best practices. Secondary focus will be to serve as back-up for our Accounts Receivable Specialist in posting cash receipts.
Overall Responsibilities:
Primary Focus
- Review and verify accuracy of employee expense reports ensuring that requests are in keeping with the firm’s reimbursement policies as well as correct general ledger coding.
- Review and verify accuracy of vendor invoices as well as correct general ledger coding.
- Post invoice and expense report sessions in the firm’s financial system that have exported from our automated workflow software, Chrome River.
- Process semi-monthly check runs and special weekly check runs as required.
- Prepare semi-monthly employee reimbursement report for ACH processing.
- Record ACH and Wire payments processed.
- Verify and reconcile credit card transactions on firm Visa to prepare for payment while ensuring accurate coding.
- Correspond with both internal and external clients to answer inquiries and resolve issues in a professional manner.
- Ensure all transactions have been completed and posted prior to our month-end close process.
- Verify that all images have uploaded into our AP document management system.
- Training of new attorneys/employees in our automated workflow software, Chrome River.
- Other projects/assignments as directed.
Secondary Focus (Backup for Accounts Receivable Specialist)
- Pull necessary reports from banking applications, merchant services portal to prepare for the current day posting.
- Send out notifications to Management regarding cash receipt totals.
- Post all cash receipts into firm’s financial system.
- Communicate with Client Accounts personnel and Sr. Accountant regarding questions with cash receipts that are not adequately identifiable.
- Processing of client refunds/settlements.
Job Qualifications:
- Minimum 4 years of working with high volume, full-cycle accounts payable.
- Excellent organizational skills.
- Ability to effectively meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Experience in working with professional services preferred by not required.
- Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills, as well as tact and diplomacy sufficient to gain the respect of attorneys and employees.
Supervisory Responsibilities: No direct reports
FLSA Status: Non-exempt
Hours – Full Time
- 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, Overtime flexibility as needed.
Interested applicants should submit cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to staffcareers@fordharrison.com. No phone calls or search agencies.
Client Business Intake and Conflicts Analyst
Position Reports to Client Information Manager
The Client Business Intake and Conflicts Analyst works closely with the Client Information Manager and is responsible for performing duties relative to compliance client/matter business intake and setup functions. The Client Business Intake and Conflicts Analyst is also responsible for performing conflict-of-interest searches using the Firm’s electronic application to determine any and all potential conflicts issues and focusing on data integrity of information provided for the conflicts check to ensure data quality and accuracy.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Performs searches of external and internal databases for pertinent information on prospective clients, and related parties.
- Analyzes and interprets search results and generates conflict reports.
- Performs self-evaluative quality control checks of conflict reports prior to delivery to the requesting attorney.
- Maintain the workflow of the firm’s new business intake process to include administrative maintenance of the system.
- Maintain and support compliance with the Firm’s policies governing matter maintenance and closure.
- Monitor and regularly analyze Business Intake & Conflicts department workflow and new business approval workflow to identify opportunities for improved efficiency and training needs, and address any backlogs or processing delays.
- Ensuring that new business requests are processed accurately and in a timely manner, and that new client and matter numbers are assigned promptly.
- Educates and provides guidance to internal customers regarding conflicts and intake policies and procedures.
- Maintains client and matter data in in the Aderant billing system.
- Collaborate with the Firm’s Information Technology team in support and assist in the enforcement of the Firm’s future “Records Retention Policies”.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Position Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Knowledge of conflicts of interest concepts and rules, business intake principles and practices, and familiarity with key firm business processes that interface with conflicts and business intake.
- Strong process orientation and ability to define and develop workflows.
- Strong research, problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Ability to effectively communicate and interact with colleagues, including lawyers, paralegals and legal support staff.
- Developed time management and personal organizational skills.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain strict confidentiality of internal and personnel affairs.
- Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple priorities, and work within tight deadlines.
- Familiarity with automated systems, including customer databases or new business systems. Solid skill with Microsoft office applications.
- Strong technical knowledge of and experience using IntApp Open Conflicts and New Business Intake System.
- Experience working with Aderant financial system.
- Must be flexible for overtime when necessary.
Education & Experience Required:
- Bachelor’s Degree preferred, but not required.
- A minimum of two years of work in a law firm conflicts and new business or equivalent position.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees so classified. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.
Supervisory Responsibilities: None.
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Interested applicants should submit cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to staffcareers@fordharrison.com. No phone calls or search agencies.
Client Information Manager [Conflicts & New Business]
Position Reports to Chief Financial Officer & General Counsel (Conflicts)
The Client Information Manager provides leadership and staff management in the areas of conflict searching/identification/resolution and business intake requirements to ensure the Firm is in compliance with internal policies governing intake and relevant conflicts of interest ethics rules, and is capturing information on new business needed by various constituencies within the Firm, which includes working closely with attorneys and legal assistants during the entire conflict research, identification, resolution, and clearance process. The Client Information Manager works closely with the Firm's management to ensure the Firm's compliance with ethical rules governing lawyers, as well as ensuring that all new business requests conform to Firm policy. The Client Information Manager also develops and executes processes to support compliance with the Firm’s policies governing matter maintenance and closure. Requests must accurately reflect written terms of engagement with clients and be processed promptly and correctly. The Client Information Manager works with third-party and Firm-developed technologies that are used in conflicts research and new business processes and ensures that staff understand and use these systems correctly. The Client Information Manager is the primary business user of the Firm's software for exclusionary, conflicts-driven ethical wall set-up and maintenance. The Client Information Manager has significant contact with attorneys, assistants and Firm administrators regarding any conflicts, new business intake or ethical wall questions or requests.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Oversees team of two Client Business Intake and Conflicts Analysts, working daily to answer conflicts, engagement letter and new business questions. Escalates issues as necessary to Firm management.
- Establish best practices for conflict searching, report generation, and intake processing for new clients, matters and hires, and define departmental service level expectations. Develop, document and communicate policies and workflow processes necessary to achieve desired best practices and service levels.
- Monitor and regularly analyze Business Intake & Conflicts department workflow and new business approval workflow to identify opportunities for improved efficiency and training needs, and address any backlogs or processing delays.
- Ensuring that new business requests are processed accurately and in a timely manner, and that new client and matter numbers are assigned promptly.
- Working with Firm management, develops business requirements for conflicts and new business-related software and collaborates with Firm information technology personnel to implement these requirements. Oversees business-side testing for regular software upgrades. Educates conflicts and new business staff on the impact of any such upgrades or changes.
- Responsible for the training of Firm assistants on the use of new business intake software, which may include teaching classes, recording videos, developing written documentation, and ongoing notification of software upgrades or changes.
- Ensures that staff resources are deployed daily as needed and shifted to different areas based on changing volume and areas of need.
- Primary business user of the Firm's ethical wall software for exclusionary/conflicts driven walls, establishing new ethical walls as needed and working with Firm attorneys to answer questions about walls or make exceptions where allowable.
- Collaborate with the Firm’s Information Technology team in support and assist in the enforcement of the Firm’s future “Records Retention Policies”.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Position Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
- Understanding of law firm conflicts and new business processes and best practices.
- Strong process orientation and ability to define and develop workflows.
- Strong leadership skills, and ability to manage teams. Professional development skills.
- Decision-making and discernment abilities. Sound judgment.
- Ability to think both tactically and strategically. Ability to plan.
- Strong and demonstrable written and oral communication skills. Ability to communicate to various audiences.
- Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills. Negotiation skills. Tact.
- Developed time management and personal organizational skills.
- Strong analytical skills. Ability to analyze and document detailed information.
- Ability to implement defined work processes.
- Familiarity with automated systems, including customer databases or new business systems. Solid skill with Microsoft office applications.
- Project management fundamentals.
Education & Experience Required:
- Bachelor’s Degree
- A minimum of five years of work in a law firm conflicts and new business or equivalent position.
Disclaimer: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this position. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees so classified. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.
Supervisory Responsibilities: Two direct reports based in Atlanta office.
FLSA Status: Exempt
Interested applicants should submit cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to staffcareers@fordharrison.com. No phone calls or search agencies.
Legal Assistant, Orlando, FL
FordHarrison LLP, a national labor and employment law firm, is seeking an experienced litigation legal assistant (secretary) for its Orlando office. The legal assistant provides direct support to a team of attorneys involved in employment-related litigation (DEFENSE) before administrative agencies and state and federal courts. The assistant assists attorneys in the delivery of quality legal services to clients who perform complex and specialized legal tasks and work collaboratively and cooperatively with others in a team-oriented environment. This is an onsite position.
Responsibilities:
- Handles office correspondence and administrative tasks such as answering phone calls; communicating with clients, court clerks, and outside vendors; responding to emails, and routinely reviewing and following up on client deadlines and calendar appointments
- Assists attorneys in all phases of the litigation discovery process; helping attorneys prepare for hearings, arbitrations, and trials. Performs bates numbering and redacting, and e-files documents with various state and federal courts
- Processes monthly expense reports, and upon request, accurately enters, reviews, and revises timekeeper time entries
- Accurately formats and proofreads legal documents for grammatical, typographical, or spelling errors, and completeness prior to distribution or filing
- Maintains and organizes physical and electronic files
- Exhibits good judgment and organizational skills to receive, record, and disseminate all information on behalf of clients and assigned attorneys
- Coordinates meeting arrangements (i.e., arbitrations, depositions, mediations, etc.)
- Oversees the conflict check and client intake process for new matters
- Completes assigned tasks as expected. Able to juggle multiple assignments and/or deadlines while maintaining a professional demeanor and timely seeks assistance when needed.
Qualifications:
- Applicants must be able to type at least 65 WPM
- A high school diploma or equivalent is required; an associate or bachelor’s degree is a plus
- Minimum four years of solid DEFENSE litigation experience including Florida and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
- Intermediate to advance skills in the use of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), time entry and e-Filing, and knowledge of an electronic document management system is preferred
- Excellent interpersonal/communication skills, and strong writing/grammar skills
- Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines with quick turnaround times
- Maintains a positive, “can-do” attitude when dealing with clients, co-workers, and attorneys
- Proven organizational skills, high dependability, initiative, flexibility, resiliency, and a pleasant disposition are essential attributes for this position.
Interested applicants should submit cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to staffcareers@fordharrison.com. No phone calls or search agencies.