Practice Assistant/Legal Secretary

Kirkland & Ellis; New York (NY); On-site; USD 68,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Paid time off

Retirement benefits

Job summary

Kirkland & Ellis in New York City is seeking a proactive Practice Assistant to support a dynamic group of attorneys. This entry-level friendly role focuses on organization, client service, and smooth day-to-day operations in a high-performing environment.

You will manage attorney workflows, prepare documents, coordinate communications, and assist with scheduling, travel, and time entries, contributing to exceptional client service and efficient firm operations.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of legal administrative support experience.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, Outlook, and Excel; familiarity with Adobe Acrobat and PowerPoint is a plus.
• Experience supporting litigation is a plus.
• Excellent attention to detail, organization, and time management.
• Excellent written and verbal client service communication.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, format, revise, and finalize legal documents and presentations using Office tools.
• Handle administrative tasks: conflict checks, expenses, time entries, scheduling, travel, and calendars.
• Conduct research, coordinate conference calls, and support document filing.
• Foster cross-team relationships with Accounting, General Services, and Reprographics.
• Maintain paper and electronic files per firm policies.
• Anticipate attorney and team needs and provide proactive support.

Skills

Legal administrative support

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Excel

Adobe Acrobat

PowerPoint

Litigation experience

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Excel

Adobe Acrobat

PowerPoint

Job description

Category: Practice Services/Legal Secretary

At Kirkland & Ellis, we don’t just meet the standard for legal excellence — we set it. Our culture is built on teamwork, ingenuity and an unwavering commitment to continuous growth. We tackle the most sophisticated legal challenges with bold ideas and innovative solutions, powered by the exceptional experience and ambition of our 7,000+ people, including 4,000+ attorneys, across 24 offices worldwide. Our dedicated professionals share our lawyers’ commitment to excellence and show up each day to do meaningful work that helps drive global business, investment and innovation forward.

What You’ll Do

Are you a detail-oriented professional who thrives on organization, collaboration, and delivering exceptional service?

If that sounds like you, we’d love to have you join us at Kirkland & Ellis. We’re looking for a proactive Practice Assistant in our New York office to support a dynamic group of attorneys. This is an exciting opportunity for someone early in their legal support career who is eager to contribute, grow, and be part of a high-performing, client-focused environment.

As a Practice Assistant, you will play a key role in ensuring the smooth day-to-day management of attorney workflows. You’ll serve as a trusted administrative resource, assisting with document preparation, client communications, and coordination of legal support tasks that keep our legal teams operating at the highest level.

In this role, you will:

• Prepare, format, revise, and finalize a variety of legal documents, correspondence, spreadsheets, and presentations using Microsoft Office and document management tools.
• Handle administrative tasks such as processing conflict checks, submitting expense reports, managing attorney time entries, scheduling meetings, and travel, and maintaining calendars.
• Conduct research, coordinate conference calls, and support document filing through the Firm’s systems.
• Foster strong working relationships across teams, collaborating with departments like Accounting, General Services, and Reprographics to ensure seamless support.
• Maintain paper and electronic files in compliance with firm policies, ensuring information is accurate and accessible.
• Anticipate attorney and team needs, proactively offering support to help achieve client service excellence.

What You’ll Bring

We’re looking for a motivated, service-minded professional who thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and brings:

• A minimum of 3-5 years of legal administrative support experience.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, Outlook, and basic Excel; familiarity with Adobe Acrobat and PowerPoint is a plus.
• Experience supporting litigation is a plus
• Excellent attention to detail, organization, and time management skills.
• A client service mindset with strong communication skills—both written and verbal.
• A professional, flexible, and positive approach to working with colleagues and clients.

Compensation

The base salary range below represents the low and high end of the salary range for this position in New York City. This range may differ based on your geographic location and cost of living considerations. At Kirkland & Ellis, we consider compensation more than just a base salary. We offer an exceptional range of flexible benefits including comprehensive healthcare, paid time off, and retirement. We also offer personal support and tailored learning and development opportunities all designed to help you realize your full potential both in life and at work.

Compensation Range:

New York City: $68,000 - $95,000

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law. #LI-Hybrid #LI-KK1