Legal Assistant - Remote *Anywhere USA*

Compassion and Choices; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Compassion & Choices is seeking a Legal Assistant to support up to six attorneys in day-to-day litigation work and maintain Compassion's Legal Digital Office. This role reports to the Director of Litigation and sits within the Legal Advocacy & Policy department.

Key duties include managing competing deadlines and complex calendars, preparing discovery shells and initial responses, screening prospective plaintiffs, cite checking, and organizing pleadings and digital files to improve workflow

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in law, medicine, or social change.
• Minimum five years in a litigation-focused legal office or advocacy setting.
• Experience supporting multiple attorneys with competing deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Support up to six attorneys with administrative tasks across active matters.
• Maintain paperless office and optimize digital workflows.
• Manage calendars and deadlines, prioritizing competing assignments.
• Draft discovery shells and initial responses; prepare exhibits for depositions.
• Screen prospective plaintiffs and handle intake of legal requests.
• Cite checking and proofreading as needed.

Skills

Written communication

Legal analysis

Problem solving

Prioritization

Judgment

Discretion

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Westlaw

Clio

DocketBird

Adobe Acrobat Pro

PACER/CM/ECF

Job description

Compassion & Choices is seeking an Legal Assistant to support three to six attorneys in their day-to-day litigation work and maintain Compassion's Legal Digital Office. This role reports to the Director of Litigation and sits within the Legal Advocacy & Policy department.

This position will primarily be responsible for:

• Supporting up to six attorneys managing multiple active litigation matters, including all administrative tasks.
• Maintaining and optimizing the paperless office.
• Prioritizing competing assignments, tracking deadlines, managing complex calendars, and adjusting priorities in response to changing litigation demands.
• Anticipating attorneys’ needs, identifying potential scheduling conflicts and workflow challenges, and taking initiative to address issues before they become urgent.
• Managing up effectively by communicating priorities, identifying competing demands, providing timely status updates, and ensuring attorneys have the information and materials they need to meet their obligations.
• Providing substantive support for written and oral discovery, including drafting discovery shells and initial responses and preparing exhibits for oral depositions.
• Conducting intake and evaluation of legal requests from prospective clients, screening appropriate plaintiffs.
• Cite checking and proofreading as needed.

Additional Responsibilities

• Maintaining electronic case files, managing litigation documents, and identifying opportunities to improve digital workflows and operational efficiency.
• Creating and maintaining research and memo archives for historical, contextual, and future use by Compassion Legal attorneys and partners.
• Creating and maintaining pleading shells, templates, and sample briefs and pleadings in an organized and accessible manner.
• Supporting organization-wide Compassion & Choices efforts as requested, including fundraising activities.

Preferred Qualifications (You Will Be a Good Fit):

Education and Experience

• A four-year degree (B.A. or B.S.) in a field related to law, medicine, or social change, and a minimum of five years of experience in a litigation-focused legal office, law firm, or legal advocacy organization, including providing simultaneous administrative and litigation support to multiple attorneys. An equivalent combination of related experience and/or education may be considered.
• Experience supporting four or more attorneys with competing deadlines and active litigation caseloads is strongly preferred.

Skills

• Exceptional written communication skills, including drafting, editing, and proofreading legal correspondence and litigation documents with accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret complex legal documents, including pleadings, motions, court orders, discovery requests, statutes, regulations, and judicial opinions.
• Proactive problem-solving: identifying potential problems before they affect litigation deadlines or attorney workflows.
• Independent prioritization of competing requests from multiple attorneys.
• Sound judgment in distinguishing between matters you can resolve independently and substantive legal questions that require attorney direction.
• Professionalism and discretion, including strict confidentiality of privileged and sensitive information.
• Adaptability and reliability in a fast-paced litigation environment, including when responding to urgent or unexpected developments.
• Clear, tactful communication with attorneys, clients, court personnel, colleagues, and diverse audiences.

Professional Knowledge

The successful candidate should have advanced knowledge of or experience working with:

• Civil litigation procedures, court rules, filing requirements, discovery processes, legal document preparation, and litigation calendaring.
• Federal and state electronic court filing systems, including PACER/CM/ECF.
• Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint), Adobe Acrobat Pro, Westlaw, Clio, DocketBird, and comparable legal research, document management, and case management platforms.
• Discovery support, including document collection, review, organization, Bates numbering, and production.

Travel

Must be able and willing to travel and have their own means of transportation where applicable (overnight and possible weekends). Some overnight travel may be required but likely less than 10% of total time.

Values

Must be energized by the idea of working at an organization guided by the following values:

• Patient-directed care is our North Star.
• Cross-functional collaboration is key to success across programs, policy, legal, clinical, volunteer, communications, development, and operations.
• We must build an organization that scales through volunteers, partnerships, education, navigation, technology, and influence.
• We are committed to collaborative relationships while maintaining clarity about our organizational mission, boundaries, leadership, strategic positioning, and long-term sustainability.
• We value equity, accessibility, and cultural responsiveness.
• We prioritize organizational learning and continuous improvement.
• Messaging and communication of our work is a responsibility we all share.

About Compassion & Choices

Across the nation, Compassion & Choices works to create a society that affirms life and accepts the inevitability of death, embraces expanded options for compassionate dying, and empowers everyone to choose end-of-life care that reflects their values, priorities, and beliefs. To make this vision a reality, we improve care, expand options, and empower everyone to chart their end-of-life journey.

Compassion & Choices is committed to building a staff that reflects the diverse communities that make up our country. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and recruit, hire, train, promote, and administer personnel actions without regard to any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.