Legal Assistant – Litigation | Adjoint·e à la pratique juridique – Litige

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG); Ottawa; On-site; CAD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

BLG in Ottawa is seeking a Legal Practice Assistant to coordinate workflow for lawyers and support teams, manage calendars, travel, and document production. The role requires 3–5 years of legal experience and proficiency with MS Office, with bilingual FR/EN as an asset.

The candidate will handle client correspondence, filing, research on conflicts of interest, and assist with pitches and presentations. This is a full-time position within a collaborative firm culture.

Qualifications

• Mandatory litigation experience, ideally in Labour and Employment
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of legal experience
• Perfectly bilingual in French and English, written and spoken
• Proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel) and document production
• Excellent organization and time management

Responsibilities

• Manage calendars and scheduling for lawyers
• Arrange travel, meetings and conference rooms
• Coordinate document production and filing
• Assist with billing entries and client invoices
• Support marketing activities and pitches

Skills

Bilingual FR/EN

Education

Law Clerk Diploma

Tools

MS Office

Job description

We are BLG: Canada’s Law Firm. Our culture is one of vigilance and curiosity, Firm-wide collaboration, unfailing mutual respect and dedication. We pride ourselves on having standout talent and delivering an exceptional client experience.

We are a future-minded Firm delivering high-value advice and known for our unwavering commitment to innovation, diversity and inclusion, community involvement and talent development. Learn more about us at www.blg.com.

Purpose of the Role

The Legal Practice Assistant will take an active interest in, and obtain a thorough understanding of, all aspects of client requirements to provide exceptional service levels to the lawyers and our clients. The Legal Practice Assistant will act as workflow coordinator for other support services including delegating and reviewing the completion of document production, file management, copying/scanning work and other administrative work.

This position is for an existing vacancy.

Key Responsibilities

The key responsibilities of this role are:

Administrative

• Manage calendars, ensuring they are up to date and reminding lawyers of meetings etc. on a daily basis
• Arrange meetings, book conference rooms, refreshments, check rooms prior to meetings etc. and liaise with other attendees, both internal and external
• Arrange for travel bookings and related details to be made through the support teams
• Arrange photocopying, printing, organizing couriers, sending out of letters, faxes etc.
• Arrange for files to be opened and closed, supervise general filing requirements and record keeping
• Coordinate/conduct research on conflict of interests
• Use effective systems to ensure that both short and long term tasks are completed within required timescales
• Support lawyers in marketing activities including involvement in preparation of pitches and presentations

Communication

• Take internal and external telephone queries, responding as appropriate and/or ensuring that all messages are passed on in a timely manner
• Monitor post and/or e-mails and dealing with as appropriate and ensure that all client related correspondence is passed on to an appropriate lawyer if the relevant person is out of the office
• Liaise with administrative support departments on behalf of lawyers as required
• Liaise with the department’s Team Leader over any planned absences, arranging cover as necessary and communicating this to the relevant lawyers.

Client Relationship Management

• Become an active part in the care of clients and be wholly familiar with contacts/clients
• Enter, maintain and update client details and relevant information in the Firm’s CRM contacts system
• Deal with basic client queries and general administration

Document Production

• Check correspondence, attachments, documents, reports, presentations, faxes etc. produced by the Document Production team before they are passed to the relevant lawyer and undertake basic/minor amendments where appropriate
• Type urgent/short/confidential correspondence and emails
• Produce and maintain Excel spreadsheets as required

Financial - Billing

• Assist lawyers in the daily entry and recording of their hours in the system
• Assist lawyers and Practice Group Billing Coordinator in the billing and credit control process by liaising with the lawyer and accounts and to produce standard prebill financial/time reports through the system
• Request cheques, bank transfers and paying in money received, as appropriate
• Send invoices to clients with the appropriate supporting documents

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• In addition to providing support to the lawyer(s) to whom they report, a Practice Assistant will also provide assistance to their immediate colleagues in the department and, where practical, other departments.
• Team duties will therefore include:
• Assisting other members of the firm, both proactively and at the request of the Team Leader
• Any other duties as requested by the Lawyers or Team Leader
• Legal Assistant or Law Clerk Diploma or equivalent experience;
• Perfectly bilingual in French and English, written and spoken is an asset
• Minimum 3 to 5 years of legal experience
• Mandatory experience in litigation, ideally in Labour and Employment
• Proficiency in MS Office (excellent knowledge of advanced functions in Word);
• Ability to communicate in a professional manner with clients and lawyers;
• Ability to interact professionally with clients and all members of the firm;
• Strong organizational skills and time management skills;
• Self-starter who can work with minimal instruction/supervision;
• Detail-oriented individual with good proofreading skills;
• Ability to follow instructions with minimal supervision and take initiative;
• Able to set priorities while maintaining flexibility;
• A team player with excellent interpersonal skills.

Administration

Communication

The expected salary range for this position is $55,000 - $70,000, depending on level of experience, region/location, and other factors.

BLG is committed to building a diverse workplace reflective of the communities we serve and to fostering an inclusive culture where Firm members feel valued, respected and inspired to thrive as their authentic selves. We value diversity of thought and the unique skills, perspectives and experience each individual brings to BLG. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and encourage applicants from members of groups that have been historically underrepresented, including but not limited to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples, racialized individuals, persons with disabilities, people who identify as women and/or LGBTQ2S+.

We also strive to provide an accessible candidate experience. Please let us know if you need any accommodations during the recruitment process.