Practice Assistant

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP; Providence (RI); On-site; USD 25,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP is seeking a Practice Assistant to support attorneys within an assigned Practice Group in downtown Providence, RI. You will assist with document preparation, proofreading, file management, and research, while handling various administrative tasks.

The role requires 1–2 years of administrative experience, strong communication, and proficiency with MS Office and document management systems. Regular in-office work and occasional travel to other PSH locations are expected.

Qualifications

• Associate’s degree required or equivalent years of experience.
• 1–2 years administrative assistant experience or equivalent.
• Proficiency in Windows and Microsoft Office; document management systems (NetDocuments or similar) preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication; attention to detail.
• Ability to proofread and edit material for grammar, punctuation or spelling.
• Interpersonal skills to communicate with diverse clients, attorneys and staff.
• Ability to organize and prioritize many tasks under time constraints.
• Operate and stock office equipment including photocopiers.
• Occasional high mental effort with high clerical volume.
• Lifting up to 50 lbs and reaching up to 8 ft.
• Work may require irregular hours and >40 hours per week.

Responsibilities

• Performs essential support functions for legal practitioners across practice areas.
• Assists in preparing client documents, including formatting and proofreading.
• May assist in opening new client files and managing retention; maintains warehouse system for Litigation Practice Group.
• May conduct legal research for attorneys as needed.
• Updates databases such as mailing lists and client information for the Litigation Practice Group.
• Performs general administrative and clerical duties (photocopies, scanning, faxing, etc.).
• Provides back-up coverage for other team members, including Offices Services Coordinator.
• Observes confidentiality in all client and firm matters.

Skills

MS Office

Proofreading

Written & verbal communication

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Document management

Administrative support

Attention to detail

Education

Associate’s degree or equivalent

Tools

NetDocuments

Job description

Description

Under general supervision, and according to established policies and procedures, the Practice Assistant is responsible for the support of staff and attorneys within an assigned Practice Group or Office. They provide auxiliary support to the Firm’s other Practice Groups as needed. The Practice Assistant contributes to the success of the Firm by performing tasks accurately and in an efficient manner.

This position requires daily presence in the downtown Providence, RI office. Occasional travel to other PSH locations as needed.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

“Essential functions” are primarily job duties that incumbents must be able to perform unassisted or with some reasonable accommodation made by the employer

• Performs critical support functions for legal practitioners working in a wide variety of practice specialties.
• Assists in the preparation of client documents, including formatting and proofreading documents.
• May assist in opening new client files, manages the retention of client files and maintains the warehouse system for the Litigation Practice Group.
• May Conduct legal research for attorneys as needed.
• Updates and maintains databases such as mailing lists, contact lists and client information for the Litigation Practice Group.
• Performs a wide variety of general administrative and clerical office duties for the Litigation Practice Group, including but not limited to making photocopies, scanning documents, faxing documents, etc.
• Assists in providing back-up coverage for other team members, including Offices Services Coordinator.
• Observes confidentiality in all client and firm matters.

Requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Associate’s degree required or equivalent years of experience.
• Minimum of one to two years of administrative assistant experience or other relevant work experience required.
• Proficiency in current versions of Windows and the Microsoft Office Suite of products required; experience with document management systems (NetDocuments or other) highly preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication and attention to detail.
• Ability to proofread and perform minor editing of typed material for grammatical, typographical, punctuation or spelling errors.
• Interpersonal skills are necessary to communicate and follow the instruction effectively from a diverse group of clients, attorneys and staff.
• Ability to organize and prioritize numerous tasks and complete them under time constraints.
• Ability to operate, maintain and stock supplies for office equipment including photocopy machines.
• Occasionally requires a high level of mental effort and strain when performing a high volume of clerical tasks and performing other essential duties.
• Ability to retrieve and distribute files, mail, written documents and office supplies weighing up to 50 pounds; and the ability to retrieve and replace objects from shelves of up to 8 feet high.
• Work may require irregular hours, and occasionally require more than 40 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position. Must be reliable and flexible.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will be seated for the majority of the day, however, may require standing frequently throughout the day. There is the need to frequently walk including climbing stairs. There will be a moderate amount of standing, stooping, kneeling, bending and lifting and reaching for some of his/her job duties.
• Visual requirements include reading off a computer screen as well as printed materials. A high degree of dexterity is required due to frequent use of a telephone console.
• Verbal and auditory requirements include the ability to communicate clearly over the telephone as well as in person.
• There is a moderate level of grasping, lifting, pushing and/or pulling of objects of less than 50 lbs.

This Job Description is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this position. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them for the position if the work is similar, related or a reasonable requirement of the position. Additional duties may be assigned, and requirements may vary from time to time.

This Job Description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the employee and is subject to change by the employer.