Legal Practice Assistant

Mayer Brown; New York (NY); On-site; USD 83,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) savings plan

Generous paid time off (PTO)

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Mayer Brown, an international law firm in New York, seeks a Legal Practice Assistant. This position involves providing critical secretarial and administrative support to attorneys. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in a legal or financial environment, strong communication skills, and excellent proficiency in Microsoft Office.

The role offers opportunities for professional growth within a collegial team environment, where initiative and client service excellence are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years' experience as an executive assistant in a legal or financial environment.
• Strong technical and administrative skills to manage duties efficiently.
• Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of the Firm.

Responsibilities

• Provides secretarial support to attorneys, manages their emails and calendars.
• Schedules meetings and coordinates travel arrangements.
• Completes time entries and manages legal documents.

Skills

Proficiency in Microsoft Office products

Strong typing skills (minimum 70 wpm)

Knowledge of Microsoft Visio

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Bachelor's degree preferred

Job description

Mayer Brown is an international law firm positioned to represent the world’s major corporations, funds, and financial institutions in their most important and complex transactions and disputes. We are recognized by our clients as strategic partners with deep commercial instincts and a commitment to creatively anticipating their needs and delivering excellence in everything we do.

We are a collegial, collaborative firm where highly motivated individuals with an unwavering commitment to excellence receive the opportunity, support, and development they need to grow, thrive, and realize their greatest potential all while supporting the Firm’s client service principles of excellence, strategic partnership, commercial instinct, integrated strengths, innovation, and collaboration across our international firm.

If you enjoy working with team members whose defining characteristics are exceptional client service, initiative, professionalism, responsiveness, and adaptability, you may be the person we are seeking to join our Secretarial department in our New York office, as a Legal Practice Assistant.

The Legal Practice Assistant provides secretarial support to attorneys and other professional personnel. Works as a team member with other secretaries to balance workload.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions

• Provides Secretarial Support to Attorneys in a particular practice or department, with responsibilities including, but not limited, to:
  • Screens and routes telephone calls, reviews and transcribes voicemails, responds to routine inquiries
  • Opens, sorts and processes attorney mail
  • Manages attorney emails in Outlook which includes reviewing, drafting, sending and printing emails
  • Manages Outlook calendar on behalf of attorneys
  • Creates and maintains client contacts in Outlook and InterAction
  • Prepares and distributes correspondence and other documents using excellent proofreading and formatting skills with the ability to offer support and suggestions relative to grammar, spelling and punctuation
  • Manages projects and coordinates distribution with the ability to use firm resources to delegate tasks in the successful completion of such projects; interacts with other departments and facets of the office, when appropriate, to coordinate larger scale projects (such as word processing and duplicating)
  • Schedules and coordinates meetings and/or conferences, interacts with facilities and catering and manages all other details of the meeting
  • Coordinates conflict check and new matter memo process
  • Coordinates travel arrangements and prepares expense reports
  • Completes time entry on behalf of attorneys
  • Organizes and maintains legal correspondence and document files and utilizes Legal Key
  • Manages review and distribution of draft and final client bills which includes communication with attorneys and accounting representative relative to completion of bill
  • Completes various other assigned administrative tasks such as photocopying, printing, scan documents to PDF and save to FileSite, faxes, creating labels, etc.
  • Performs accurately and in a timely fashion all word processing functions in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and exhibits the ability to learn new programs and processes quickly and efficiently
  • Work with Supervisor to coordinate overflow work, arrange desk coverage and elevate items/issues that need immediate attention and/or resolution
  • Participation in projects and/or pilot programs as requested

Education/Training/Certifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent required; Bachelor’s degree preferred. An equivalent combination of education and/or experience may be considered in lieu of the degree when the experience has been directly related to the functions of the job

Professional Experience

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience
• The ideal candidate for this position will be someone with experience as an executive assistant in a legal or financial environment
• The candidate will have the confidence and strong technical and administrative skills to proactively manage duties and responsibilities for the team in an organized, efficient manner

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products
• Strong typing skills with a minimum of 70 wpm
• Knowledge of Microsoft Visio

Performance Traits

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, able to communicate effectively and in a professional manner with all levels of the Firm and outside vendors
• Ability to work in a diverse team environment and effectively support the demanding needs of the Firm
• Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines with shifting priorities
• Must be a self-starter with a high level of initiative
• Strong customer service skills, able to anticipate needs and exercise independent judgment
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills and the ability to handle multiple projects
• Maintains confidentiality and exercises discretion
• Exercises solid strategic thinking and problem-solving skills

Physical Requirements

• May require occasional lifting of up to 25 lbs.

This description is not exhaustive, and the Firm may modify it at any time at its sole discretion; nothing herein creates an employment contract or alters the at-will nature of employment.

Benefits

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including medical/dental/vision/life/and AD&D insurance, 401(k) savings plan, back-up childcare and eldercare, generous paid time off (PTO), as well as opportunities for professional development and growth.

We are committed to providing equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities and disabled veterans. To request an accommodation related to the application process or interview, please email [e-mail]. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.

Mayer Brown works with select external search firms that have been vetted against our standards. Firms without a contract or agreement with Mayer Brown are not authorized to represent that they are working with the Firm, nor are they entitled to placement fees. Mayer Brown does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruiters. Submission of an unsolicited CV to Mayer Brown or any of its Partners or employees will not establish any right of priority for the submitting agency.

Posted Pay Range

The typical pay scale for this position is between USD $83,000.00/Yr. and USD $110,000.00/Yr., although the actual wage or salary could be lower or higher if the candidate's education, experience, skills and internal pay alignment are different from those specified.