Legal Assistant

New Jersey Department of Children and Families; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading law firm in Washington, DC seeks a Legal Assistant/Office Manager to handle various administrative and substantive responsibilities, contributing to public-interest litigation. Ideal candidates are detail-oriented, organized, and possess strong communication skills, with at least some relevant experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Bright and energetic college graduate preferred.
• Previous paralegal experience in a litigation setting is preferred but not required.
• Strong writing and editing skills, with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Drafting, editing, and filing legal documents.
• Scheduling meetings, managing logistics, and office upkeep.
• Conducting research and writing projects related to cases.

Skills

Organizational Skills

Interpersonal Skills

Communication Skills

Attention to Detail

Problem Solving

Education

College Graduate

Job description

Gupta Wessler LLP is a small, one-of-a-kind law firm specializing in Supreme Court, appellate, and complex litigation on behalf of plaintiffs and public interest clients. Our cases span a wide range of issues, including consumers’ and workers’ rights, class actions, access to the courts, civil rights, and constitutional and administrative law. We are go-to appellate advocates for trial lawyers nationwide, serving as a counterweight to the corporate dominance of the Supreme Court and appellate bar. In addition, the firm’s lawyers run the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Harvard Law School. Through all of our efforts, we aim to help shape the law in ways that enhance justice and improve people’s lives.

Legal assistant/office managers at Gupta Wessler handle a very broad range of administrative and substantive responsibilities for our small but busy law firm and are usually the first point of contact for new clients and cases. One of our former legal assistants has described this job as “an apprenticeship in high-stakes public-interest appellate advocacy.” Although many of the firm’s prior legal assistants have gone on to law school, we’re also interested in considering experienced or beginning-of-career legal administrative professionals.

Responsibilities include drafting, editing, formatting, and filing legal documents; special research and writing projects relating to cases; tracking court deadlines and ensuring that projects are on track; scheduling and arranging meetings, speaking appearances, moot courts, and travel; organizing firm publicity coordination; tracking telephone calls and emails for the firm’s lawyers; updating our website; planning office events; office upkeep; and other administrative tasks. Depending on interest and experience, legal assistants/office managers may take on other projects such as managing hiring cycles; assisting with logistics related to the Harvard Law School clinic; and planning social events and retreats.

Although you will need to possess the ability to complete projects independently, legal assistant/office managers will benefit from the mentorship of more senior legal assistants and supervision from our Director of Operations, associates, and firm partners. This position will be based in either our main office in Washington, DC, or our satellite office in San Francisco. Staff are expected to work from the office every day. A commitment of at least two years is expected. Compensation is based on experience; the salary range for this position is $70,000 to $80,000 annually.

Please attach a cover letter, resume, undergraduate transcript, writing sample(s), and a list of three potential references to your application. The writing sample can be anything that reveals your general writing and analytic ability; a college research paper, essay, or article on any topic is fine. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis. No telephone inquiries, please.

We’re looking for a bright and energetic college graduate—preferably with at least some post-college experience, an interest in the work we do, and strong organizational, interpersonal, and communications skills. Previous paralegal experience in a litigation setting is preferred but not required. You should care about good writing and enjoy editing. You will need to have extraordinary attention to detail, be a quick learner able to regularly familiarize yourself with new cases and rules of different court systems, be creative and flexible in triaging and prioritizing among multiple assignments, and be able to effectively solve problems while remaining calm in deadline-driven situations.