Legal Administrative Assistant

Summary: Provides comprehensive administrative and secretarial support to assigned attorneys in accordance with established firm policies and procedures. Maintains positive and professional interactions with clients, attorneys, and staff while handling confidential client matters with discretion. This role offers opportunities for billable work, expanded responsibilities, and continued growth over time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Draft, edit, redline, format, and proofread correspondence and legal documents as requested, including engagement letters, memoranda, and related material.

• Manage incoming calls, screen and route telephone calls to attorneys, and take messages, as needed, with professionalism and attention to client service.

• Maintain assigned attorneys’ calendars, including scheduling appointments, travel, conference calls, and meetings with clients and other parties.

• Process incoming and outgoing mail. Ensure that outgoing mail is delivered timely through appropriate mail or courier services.

• Schedule meetings and reserve conference rooms using the firm’s conference reservation system.

• Assist with new client matter intake, including opening, maintaining, and closing client/matter files in accordance with firm procedures.

• Handle clearing various conflicts with other attorneys’ matters, draft conflict wavier letters as necessary.

• Greet clients and visitors; maintain good public relations with clients; observe confidentiality of attorney-client relationship.

• Maintain attorney contacts in Outlook for assigned attorneys, pursuant to each of their preferences.

• Assist accounting billing assistant with month end billing and other billing matters as requested by assigned attorneys.

• Prepare and submit expense reports, reimbursements, and attorney business-related expenses.

• Assist with billing, time entry, and other administrative functions as requested.

• Provide document preparation, formatting, proofreading, filing, scanning, and copying support.

• Prepare and update closing binders as necessary.

• Coordinate UCC searches, filings, and related vendor payments as needed.

• Assists with opening, maintaining, and closing client and matter files in accordance with Firm procedures.

• This position is client-facing, including overseeing client intake and scheduling appointments with clients.

• Support Dallas business development efforts and CRM-related duties.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

The employee must be able to perform all essential job duties and responsibilities of this position satisfactorily, with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation requests may be accommodated absent undue Firm hardship.

Qualifications:

• College degree or three-five years of legal administrative assistant experience.

• Experience supporting multiple attorneys and/or practice areas preferred.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and document management systems.

• Ability to quickly learn and effectively use Firm systems, technology, and other legal administrative tools.

• Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple assignments and competing deadlines.

• Ability to adapt quickly to different attorneys, practice groups, workflows, and assignments.

• Strong written communication, proofreading, grammar, spelling, and document formatting skills.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate professionally and courteously with attorneys, clients, and colleagues.

• Ability to work independently while also collaborating effectively with other Legal Administrative Assistants and office teams.

• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and responsiveness.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive information.

• Flexibility to work additional or irregular hours when business needs require.

This job description is intended to describe the general requirements of the position and is not designed to contain a comprehensive listing of all duties or responsibilities. Subject to Firm needs, duties and responsibilities may change at any time on a temporary or permanent basis, with or without notice.

Working Conditions:

Normal law office environment with little exposure to excessive noise, dust, temperature, or similar conditions

Equal Employment and Opportunity Statement:

Barnes & Thornburg is committed to equal employment opportunity in both principle and as a matter of policy. We will recruit, hire, train, promote, compensate and provide benefits to all applicants and employees without regard to ancestry, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, religion, religious creed, mental and/or physical disability, medical condition, military and/or veteran’s status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws. This policy applies to all recruiting, hiring, promotions, upgrades, layoffs, compensation, benefits, terminations and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment. The firm complies fully with all federal, state and local equal employment opportunity laws.