Legal Administrative Assistant

Ropes & Gray LLP; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 76,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Ropes & Gray LLP in New York seeks a Legal Administrative Assistant to provide comprehensive administrative and program coordination support for the department's initiatives. You will act as the primary operational liaison among leadership, external coaches, practice groups, and firm departments, handling vendor invoicing, budgeting, scheduling across geographies, and program tracking.

You will maintain reference libraries, manage project tools like SmartSheet, coordinate onboarding for partners

Qualifications

• College degree or equivalent.
• Expert proficiency with MS Office.
• Proficiency with SmartSheet or comparable project management software.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Experience with budget tracking, invoicing, and vendor management.
• Experience in a law firm or professional services environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage vendor invoices and budget tracking for departmental programs.
• Coordinate high-volume scheduling across multiple geographies and vendors.
• Maintain programTracking systems and project management tools (e.g., SmartSheet).
• Serve as liaison between leadership, practice groups, and internal departments.
• Coordinate onboarding and coaching sessions for partners and external vendors.
• Assist with meeting notes, transcription, and distribution of materials.

Skills

Strong organizational skills

Excellent communication

Interpersonal skills

Vendor management

Budget tracking

High-volume scheduling

Problem-solving

Education

College degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Office

SmartSheet

Job description

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm. The firm has been ranked in the top three on The American Lawyer's prestigious A-List for eight consecutive years and #1 on Law.com's UK A-List twice in the past three years - rankings that honor the "best of the best" law firms.
The firm has approximately 2,500 lawyers and professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology, and government in Boston, Chicago, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.
The firm has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including asset management, private equity, M&A, finance, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.
Ropes & Gray is an equal opportunity employer.

Overview

Under the guidance of the Project Lead, the Legal Administrative Assistant provides comprehensive administrative and program coordination support for various initiatives within the department. This role serves as the primary operational liaison between the Organizational Effectiveness leadership team, external coaching vendors, practice group leaders, and firm administrative departments. Key responsibilities include managing vendor invoicing and budget tracking, coordinating high-volume scheduling across multiple geographies, maintaining program tracking systems, and serving as the go-to resource for all firm contacts and initiative roll-out logistics.

Responsibilities

Vendor & Budget Management

• Submits all vendor invoices and ensures timely processing turnaround
• Maintains budget tracking systems for departmental programs
• Initiates the vendor onboarding process for all external vendors
• Processes all external contracts and invoices related to departmental initiatives

Scheduling & Meeting Coordination

• Coordinates same-day meetings regarding time-sensitive issues
• Schedules orientations, briefings, and onboarding sessions for external vendors and coaches
• Schedules collaboration meetings with partners across all geographies and leadership to discuss initiatives
• Facilitates meeting scheduling between leadership, associates, staff members, and external participants
• Coordinates logistics for recurring program series
• Proofreading email communications
• Scheduling virtual meetings and coordinating transcription
• Providing instructions to guest speakers and scheduling preparatory calls
• Overseeing recording and distribution of session materials

Program Tracking & Data Management

• Maintains tracking systems for all departmental programs and initiatives
• Manages project management tools (e.g., SmartSheet), including training and data retrieval
• Collects and maintains reference libraries and contact databases for external vendors and coaches
• Updates program rosters and lists with relevant and current information
• Analyzes practice group data, including associate hours analysis, in preparation for meetings
• Transcribes meeting notes to contribute to broader messaging and reporting

Lateral Partner & New Partner Integration

• Consults with internal contacts regarding lateral partner sponsors and integration planning
• Maintains firm tracking systems with sponsor and onboarding information
• Schedules coaching onboarding sessions and introductory meetings for new and lateral partners
• Coordinates with relevant departments to ensure coaching involvement in integration planning

Cross-Departmental Liaison

• Serves as the primary point of contact for all leadership inquiries regarding firm contacts and initiative roll-out
• Interfaces with Knowledge Management, Client/Business Development, Executive Assistants, Billing, and other firm departments as needed
• Coordinates scheduling and communications for external coaches, partners, counsel, associates, and internal team members

Qualifications

• College degree or equivalent
• Expert proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) applications
• Proficiency with SmartSheet or comparable project management software
• Strong organizational skills that reflect the ability to seamlessly perform and prioritize multiple tasks with excellent attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with internal and external lawyers, coaches, staff, and clients
• Expert communication skills, both written and verbal
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume scheduling and vendor coordination
• Proactive approach to problem-solving and strong decision-making capability
• Experience with budget tracking, invoice processing, and vendor management
• Experience working in a law firm, professional services organization, or customer service capacity

Compensation and Total Rewards Package

Ropes & Gray is proud to offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package to our business support team members. The firm also offers comprehensive health and well-being benefits, personal and professional development, career growth opportunities and a collegial and supportive culture. The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below and represents our good faith and reasonable estimate of the starting salary range at the time of posting. In addition, this role is eligible for a discretionary bonus based on performance. The actual offered rate for this position will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including qualifications and experience, geographic location, education, external market data and consideration of internal equity.

• New York: $75,800 - $109,950

Working Conditions

This position requires hybrid on-site presence as an essential function of the role. Consistent and predictable on-site presence is required for ongoing business continuity, professional development and effective collaboration with colleagues and management.