Account Specialist, Customer Account Operations

McCarthy Tétrault is a leading Canadian law firm offering a full suite of legal and business solutions to clients in Canada and around the world. Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for eleven consecutive years and one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for fourteen consecutive years, our culture is guided by The McCarthy Way—our shared approach to working with clients and with each other. Inclusion, through eliminating barriers to belonging and success; The candidate in this position will be part of a national team, working with lawyers and professionals in all of our offices across Canada, where English is the predominant language. This involves working in English or French for clients, lawyers, or professionals who only understand and communicate in English or French. Bilingualism (French and English) is therefore a required skill for this position. We are recruiting for a Client Account Specialist to join our team in the Calgary office. The successful candidate must have a minimum of 3 years of hands‑on experience in managing relationships with lawyers, dealing with multiple deadlines and must be familiar with the entire billing cycle. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a solid foundation in preparing invoices, monitoring and reviewing outstanding WIP (Work In Progress), collecting aged accounts receivable and developing weekly collection strategies. As a Client Account Specialist, you will be: Building and maintaining effective working relationships with billing lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants and external clients, and responding to any queries regarding the billing and collections process. Preparing, printing and reviewing of prebills in a timely manner, monthly, quarterly or on request, including any necessary follow up with others in the Firm and revising according to client billing guidelines and Firm standards and policies. If necessary, ensuring supporting documents are forwarded to client in a timely manner. Creating PDF, delimited or XML file invoices for e-billing clients, based on such client’s requirements. Liaising with E-billing Team with respect to any rejected invoices during e-billing submissions. Completing online status reports and budgets in e-billing systems for various clients in coordination with lawyers and legal assistants. Monitoring and reviewing of outstanding WIP (Work In Progress) and following up with lawyers and paralegals to ensure timely billing. Tracking contingency files, closings and other milestone billing arrangements and reporting on status of such files to Manager/Director, Finance Operations, including requirement for WIP provisions. Collecting outstanding/aged accounts receivable within the prescribed protocol/ procedure in a timely and professional manner by phone, letter and email; using the Expert Collection module in the Aderant system. Developing a weekly collection strategy/plan to expedite payment or resolution for overdue accounts in concert with the Billing Lawyers, Legal Assistants, and/or Client for accounts that present high exposure. Escalating accounts through Senior Management, as deemed necessary for follow-up. Facilitating and preparing supporting documentation for the remedy requested/recommended for accounts which present credit risk/loss through insolvency procedures, service suspension, third party collection or taxation. Monitoring credit performance and ensuring the client operates and maintains the account within the terms and conditions of agreement, as applicable.. Coordinating, investigating and resolving payment/account discrepancies to include: short payment, over payments, unapplied cash, and misapplication, posting errors, payment analysis/support documentation in the event of request or dispute. Preparing and reporting WIP/AR Exposure reports to the assigned Billing Lawyers in each respective portfolio. Preparing various reports and spreadsheets related to time, billing, receivables, etc. Serving as the central contact/liaison for the financial needs of a client’s account. Performing complex account reconciliations with a view to resolution of a full range of possible issues/challenges. Post-secondary education in a related field. ~3 to 5 years of related experience, including client service, billing, collections and\or accounts receivable, preferably in a professional services firm. ~ Familiarity with Aderant Expert or a similar accounting system would be an asset. ~ Certification from the Credit Institute of Canada would be an asset. ~ Offering superior client attentiveness by making every effort to respond and assist clients in a timely, efficient and professional manner. ~ Building and strengthening working relationships with billing lawyers, Billing Analysts, Legal Assistants, Finance team members and supporting team initiatives. ~ Flexibility to work overtime during peak billing periods. ~ Competitive compensation, paid overtime and generous time off, including a day