Executive Legal Assistant

Sun Life Financial; Montreal (administrative region); On-site; CAD 49,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Flexible Benefits

Job summary

Sun Life in Montreal is seeking an Executive Legal Assistant to support the Litigation and Montreal Legal teams. You will manage calendars, travel, expenses, onboarding/offboarding, and document management, while handling confidential information in a fast-paced environment.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of experience, strong MS Office and Adobe skills, bilingual French/English, and the ability to work independently or in a team.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years’ experience as an Executive Legal Assistant supporting lawyers
• Knowledge of standard legal documents is an asset
• Proficiency in Word, OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Adobe
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion
• Bilingual French and English (oral and written) is required
• Reliability and security clearance are required
• Ability to learn and adapt to department functions quickly

Responsibilities

• Proactively anticipate team needs in a fast-paced environment
• Assist with scheduling meetings, travel, expenses and onboarding/offboarding
• Open, track and close legal matters in document systems; liaise with external counsel
• Support the Montreal Legal Team and the VP of Litigation
• Prepare and format documents using Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote and iManage
• Prepare expense reports, submit expenses and track budgets
• Organize and file documents; support budget/expense management
• Create presentation materials for internal and external audiences
• Cover vacations and staff absences as needed

Skills

Bilingual French English

MS Office & Adobe

Confidential information handling

Time management

Job description

You are as unique as your background, experience and point of view. Here, you’ll be encouraged, empowered and challenged to be your best self. You'll work with dynamic colleagues - experts in their fields - who are eager to share their knowledge with you. Your leaders will inspire and help you reach your potential and soar to new heights. Every day, you'll have new and exciting opportunities to make life brighter for our Clients - who are at the heart of everything we do. At Sun Life, we're driven by our Purpose: helping our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. Our values shape how we work: caring, authentic, bold, inspiring, and impactful. When you join Sun Life, you'll work with passionate colleagues and empowering leaders who support your growth and celebrate your contributions, so you can make a meaningful difference in our Clients' lives. Discover how you can make a difference in the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world.

Job Description

As an Executive Legal Assistant for the Sun Life Litigation Legal team and the Montreal Legal team, you will be responsible for proactively managing administrative tasks within our collaborative and dynamic legal team. The ideal candidate is expected to be a self-confident and proactive team player who possesses superior organization, time management and communication skills, as well as the ability to handle a variety of responsibilities. Reporting to the AVP & Managing Counsel, Litigation, the successful candidate will handle a variety of responsibilities in a fast-paced environment with a high regard for confidentiality. This is a hybrid role based in Montreal.

What will you do?

• Proactively anticipate the needs of the team in a dynamic and fast paced environment
• Assist with scheduling meetings, travel arrangements, expense reimbursement, and matters relating to on-boarding and off-boarding employees
• Open, track and close legal matters on document management systems (Legal Tracker and iManage), correspond with external counsel and their administrative support teams, co-ordinate approval and payment of legal invoices and purchase supplies
• Support the Montreal Legal Team and the Vice President Litigation
• Prepare and format documents using a variety of applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote and iManage
• Prepare expense reports, submit expenses, and track team budget
• Organize and file documents
• Support budget / expense management for the team
• Support creation of presentation materials and documents for internal and external audiences
• Cover vacation and staff absences as needed

What do you need to succeed?

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience working as an Executive Legal Assistant supporting lawyers
• Knowledge of standard legal documents considered an asset
• Proficiency in Microsoft Suite (i.e. Word, OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Adobe
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential company information
• Proactive, adaptable, a good work ethic, responsive, and reliable
• Strong interpersonal skills, and ability to work in a team environment as well as independently
• Strong time management and organizational skills with the ability to manage changing priorities
• Ability to work with multiple internal systems, and internal and external databases
• Work in a high-volume, paperless environment
• Able to apply judgment and make decisions on complex administrative matters
• Able to quickly learn and be proficient in understanding the overall departmental functions, goals and visions
• Ability to handle and maintain confidential company information
• Ability to use AI tools is an asset
• Bilingualism (French, English, both oral and written) is required for the frequent interactions with English and French-speaking colleagues or internal partners across Canada and worldwide
• This role requires Reliability Security Clearance. In addition to a law enforcement inquiry and a credit check, as part of your application, the Government of Canada will ask if you lived or travelled outside of Canada for 6 consecutive months during the last 5 years, and you must account for all activities during this time

What's in it for you?

• The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential
• Flexible Benefits from the day you join to meet the needs of you and your family

We’re committed to creating an inclusive and respectful environment. Our goal is to make sure all our employees have the chance to live up to their full potential.

We’re honoured to be recognized as a 2025 Best Workplaces in Ontario by Great Place to Work Canada. We are thrilled to be recognized by Excellence Canada with their top-level certification, the Canada Order of Excellence for Mental Health at Work for prioritizing employee well-being, fostering a positive work culture, and achieving excellence in mental health.

LI-MS The Base Pay range is for the primary location for which the job is posted. It may vary depending on the work location of the successful candidate or other factors. In addition to Base Pay, eligible Sun Life employees participate in various incentive plans, payment under which is discretionary and subject to individual and company performance. Certain sales focused roles have sales incentive plans based on individual or group sales results.

Diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of our values at Sun Life. A diverse workforce with wide perspectives and creative ideas benefits our Clients, the communities where we operate and all of us as colleagues. We welcome applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds. Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process, or those needing job postings in an alternative format, may e-mail a request to [e-mail].

We are proud to be a hybrid organization that offers our employees the choice and flexibility to work from both the office and virtually based on the needs of the business, our Clients and you. We may use artificial intelligence to support candidate sourcing, screening, interview scheduling.

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Salary Range: 49,000/49 000 - 77,000/77 000

Job Category: Legal

Posting End Date: 27/09/2026

Shine together. At Sun Life, you can be your most brilliant self. Our supportive, flexible, and inclusive work environment is one where you – and your career – can thrive. Whatever your aspirations, collaborative leaders and colleagues are ready to help you learn, grow, and succeed. Make life brighter.

We’re a global company with a passion for people. Our purpose is to help Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives.

As a team of 30,000 across 26 countries, our impact is far-reaching, and locally relevant. There’s power in numbers. As part of Sun Life’s growing team, you have an impact on people in your community and around the world.

Shape the future. With an optimistic eye on a brighter future, we drive to innovate. Be part of leading change, push boundaries and try new ways of working. Use data to drive bold actions. Be agile and pivot as we test and learn. At Sun Life, we’re driving transformation, sustainability and innovation for our Clients, employees, partners, and communities.

Join us. Together, we can make the future brighter. Join a top employer for a brighter future. Visit Sun Life Careers.