LEGAL ASSISTANT - Litigation, Transactional, and Office Support

Kaplan Kirsch LLP; New York (NY); On-site; USD 87,000 - 113,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

HSA/FSA

401(k)

Parental leave

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Kaplan Kirsch LLP in New York, NY seeks an experienced Legal Assistant to support transactional, litigation, and general office operations. You will collaborate with attorneys, paralegals, and clients, handling drafting, filing, calendar management, and notarial duties with strict confidentiality.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years of private-firm experience, strong organizational and communication skills, and proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of prior legal assistant experience in a private law firm
• Tech Savvy: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe, and Power Point) required
• High level of accuracy in document drafting, formatting, and proofreading
• Critical thinking skills, superior communication and organization skills, decisive judgment, high attention to detail
• Familiarity with citation verification and source pulling

Responsibilities

• Drafting & Editing: Prepare, proofread, cite check and format legal documents per court rules and firm style.
• Filing & Docketing: Manage electronic and physical filing; docket deadlines and hearings.
• Trial & Hearing Prep: Assemble exhibits and supporting documents for depositions, hearings, trials, or client presentations.
• Calendar & Schedule Management: Coordinate complex calendars across multiple time zones.
• System Proficiency & E-Filing: Ensure timely electronic submissions across jurisdictions (CM/ECF, STB, FDMS).
• Contract Review & Redlining: Review contracts for key provisions and apply firm playbooks.
• Exhibit Compilation: Gather and organize exhibits for transactions.
• Closing Binder Production: Assemble and index closing binders and ensure archiving.
• Distribution & Archiving: Distribute finalized materials per policy.
• Conflict-of-Interest Screening & Onboarding: Run checks and manage matter openings and billing profiles.
• Entering Attorney Time: Input daily billable hours with clear narratives.
• Pre-bill Review & Auditing: Review monthly pre-bills for accuracy.
• CLE Tracking & Compliance: Maintain CLE tracking for state bars.
• Budget Tracking: Monitor budgets and alert when thresholds are reached.
• Expense & Reimbursement Processing: Reconcile statements and code receipts to matters.
• Administrative Document Support: Help with formatting and indexing documents.
• Notarial Services: Serve as Notary Public for state requirements.

Skills

Attention to detail

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Discretion

Critical thinking

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Adobe Acrobat

PowerPoint

Outlook

Job description

Description

We are seeking an experienced and versatile Legal Assistant who is interested in transactional, litigation, and overall office support to join our dynamic team. You will work collaboratively with attorneys, legal assistants, and clients. You will play a critical role in providing legal support for both private and public clients. The ideal candidate will have strong organizational skills, and has the desire to work in a fast-paced environment. You will thrive in a collaborative, supportive culture that values teamwork, initiative and professional growth.

Litigation Support

• Drafting & Editing: Prepares, proofreads, cite checks and formats legal documents such as motion and discovery shells, exhibits, trial binders, correspondence, pleadings, and agreements, ensuring strict adherence to court rules and firm style guides.
• Filing & Docketing: Manages electronic and physical filing systems; accurately dockets court deadlines, case milestones, and hearing dates to mitigate scheduling risks.
• Trial & Hearing Preparation: Coordinates the assembly of exhibits, binders, and required documentation for depositions, hearings, trials, or client presentations. Downloads and distributes court documents.
• Calendar & Schedule Management: Coordinates complex calendars, scheduling client consultations, depositions, and internal team meetings across multiple time zones.
• System Proficiency & E-Filing Navigation: Manages the accurate and timely electronic submission of pleadings, motions, briefs, and regulatory comments across various jurisdictions, including:
• Federal/U.S. District Courts: CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files)
• Surface Transportation Board (STB): The STB E-Filing portal
• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) & Federal Transit Administration (FTA): Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) via Regulations.gov or specific agency portals.

Transactional Support

• Contract Review & Redlining: Performs preliminary contract reviews to identify key provisions, terms, and standard clauses (such as indemnification, termination, and confidentiality), redlining documents based on firm playbooks or client guidelines.
• Exhibit Compilation & Verification: Gathers, reviews, and organizes complex sets of exhibits, schedules, and ancillary documents for transactions, ensuring internal references within the primary agreement align perfectly with the attached materials.
• Closing Binder Production: Assembles, indexes, and indexes comprehensive electronic or physical closing binders following the execution of a transaction, ensuring all signature pages and final agreements are archived.
• Distribution & Archiving: Handles the prompt distribution of finalized closing materials to clients, partners, and internal archives in accordance with security and document retention policies.

Administrative Support

• Conflict-of-Interest Screening and New Matter Onboarding: Run conflict checks through the firm database during the intake process, meticulously flagging potential adverse relationships for attorney review. Manages the end-to-end matter opening process, drafts engagement letters, coordinates electronic file directories, and ensures billing profiles are accurately configured according to client guidelines.
• Entering Attorney Time: Captures and inputs daily billable hours for designated attorneys into the firm’s practice management system, ensuring narrative descriptions are clear, accurate, and aligned with client-specific billing guideline.
• Pre-bill Review & Auditing: Reviews monthly pre-bills for administrative accuracy, corrects formatting errors, adjusts time entries, and flags variances against client billing rules prior to final partner sign-off.
• Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Tracking & Compliance: Maintains a centralized tracking system to monitor the mandatory CLE compliance cycles, credit requirements, and deadlines for designated attorneys across multiple state bars (includes tracking Ethics, Diversity, or Elimination of Bias credits).
• Tracking Client Budgets: Monitors active client and project budgets, tracks monthly spend against approved caps and proactively alerts attorneys when billing reaches designated thresholds.
• Expense & Reimbursement Processing: Reconciles corporate credit card statements and prepares detailed out-of-pocket expense reimbursement requests, ensuring all receipts are attached and properly coded to client matters or internal accounts.
• Administrative Document Support: Assists the legal team with basic document formatting, high-speed scanning, photocopying, and indexing both physical and electronic files into the firm’s centralized document management system.
• Notarial Services: Serves as a commissioned Notary Public for the state, verifying the identity of signers and witness-signing critical affidavits, deeds, powers of attorney, and other legal instruments in strict compliance with state legal standards.

Office Support

• Visitor Reception and Phones: Welcomes visitors and forwards calls as needed.
• Environment Upkeep: Ensures the reception lobby, primary conference rooms, and client-facing areas remain pristine, organized, and fully stocked, reflecting the firm's professional standards.
• Conference & Event Logistics: Coordinates the shared calendar for conference rooms, resolves scheduling conflicts and setup/cleanup logistics for client meetings, depositions, firm-wide lunches, and internal events.
• Travel & Reservation Support: Assists attorneys with booking corporate travel, lodging, ground transportation, and client dinner reservations.
• Mail & Courier Handling: Sorts and routes incoming mail, priority packages, and time-sensitive legal correspondence. Manages outgoing courier shipments (FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL) and coordinates local hand-deliveries, including the secure receipt of documents from process servers.
• Inventory: Proactively monitors, inventories, and stocks all office supplies (stationery, printer toner, paper) and kitchen provisions (coffee, snacks, beverage stations), optimizing inventory levels to avoid shortages.
• Building Liaison: Acts as the primary point of contact for building maintenance, facility engineering, and custodial staff; promptly submits and tracks work orders for repairs, climate control, and security access cards.
• Office Upkeep: Monitors and maintains general office equipment (copiers, scanners, postage meters), coordinating routine maintenance or troubleshooting technical issues with IT service vendors.
• Other Duties: Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Requirements

Qualifications

• 5+ years of prior legal assistant experience in a private law firm
• Tech Savvy: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe, and Power Point) required
• High level of accuracy in document drafting, formatting, and proofreading.
• Critical thinking skills, superior communication and organization skills, decisive judgment, high attention to detail, and the ability to work under minimal supervision.
• Familiarity with citation verification and source pulling
• High attention to detail and ability to manage multiple matters and deadlines simultaneously
• Ability to work independently with a high degree of professionalism and discretion.
• Proactive, team-first attitude and a genuine interest in the work we perform and client service
• A deep understanding of attorney-client privilege and the necessity of keeping all firm matters strictly confidential.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

Regular business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including lunch hour. This is a full-time non-exempt position working from our New York office.

Salary Range

$87,000 to $113,000 annually. The final salary will be commensurate with education and experience. We offer medical, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, STD, LTD, group term life insurance, 401(k), flexible PTO, and parental leave. The firm will also cover some public transportation costs.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

The Firm is actively committed to fostering the principles of diversity, inclusion, and equal employment opportunity. We do not discriminate against applicants or employees on the basis of age, race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sex, sexual orientation, sexual identity, disability, marital status, military status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.