Legal Administrative Assistant

About the role

The Legal Administrative Assistant/Receptionist supports attorneys and paralegals in the Bankruptcy Practice Group at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston. This position requires strong organizational skills, attention to detail, professionalism, and the ability to manage confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Answer incoming phone calls and facilitate the handling of requests for information.
• Evaluate telephone calls in terms of importance and use judgment to take action such as interrupting attorneys or notifying others.
• Prepare documents using a personal computer. Apply basic and advanced features of software packages used in an accurate manner.
• Work from dictation, rough drafts or notes provided by others, and handle preliminary research of information needed for completing correspondence.
• Prepare grammatically correct correspondence for signature of the timekeeper.
• Aid in maintaining accurate and up-to-date calendars for assigned timekeeper(s).
• Coordinate changes in meeting schedules using independent judgment and knowledge of overall priorities and in concert with helping timekeeper be as productive as possible.
• Handle the scheduling of all individuals involved in case-related events, i.e., depositions, hearings, etc.
• Greet visiting clients and guests. Notify appropriate individuals on arrival of guests and provide general assistance to guests.
• Open, sort and distribute incoming mail for timekeeper(s). Prepare outgoing mail, including overnight express.
• Handle travel arrangements for timekeeper(s), working from general instructions on destination, purpose of travel, and knowledge of travel preferences. Coordinate travel advances and prepare travel expense reports working from travel itineraries, receipts and notes of timekeeper.
• Perform administrative responsibilities such as: prepare information to open and close client files, maintain filing systems, maintain databases, etc. Conduct a preliminary investigation of possible conflicts regarding newly assigned cases. Handle the billing procedures for timekeeper(s).
• Support the Bankruptcy Practice Group by assisting with bankruptcy case administration, including opening and maintaining electronic and hard copy case files, tracking critical deadlines, hearing dates, creditor notices, and court filings, and updating attorney and paralegal calendars as needed.
• Coordinate communications with clients, courts, trustees, creditors, opposing counsel, and other parties in bankruptcy matters while maintaining accuracy, discretion, and confidentiality.
• Manage docketing for bankruptcy matters, including entering, monitoring, and updating court deadlines, hearings, filing dates, response dates, and related reminders in the firm’s docketing and calendar systems.
• Prepare and use mail merges to generate notices, labels, envelopes, correspondence, and related communications for persons of interest, creditors, and other parties in bankruptcy cases.
• Work independently or under general direction to complete special project assignments.
• Manage legal documentation and correspondence in strict confidence.
• Ability to correspond with counsel, court and clients.
• Create and manage both digital and hard copy filing systems for assigned attorney(s).
• Implement and improve upon administrative processes for more efficient workflow.
• Perform various other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred, but high school diploma accepted with some college or equivalent work experience
• 2+ years of experience as an Administrative Assistant
• Experience working with Excel spreadsheets, word processing documents, and mail merges for bankruptcy case notices, creditor communications, and persons-of-interest mailings
• Experience managing docketing and calendar systems for bankruptcy matters, including tracking court deadlines, hearings, filing dates, response dates, and related follow-up items
• Ability to create organized filing system
• Exceptional customer service skills and professional phone manner
• Proficient in Microsoft Office
• Current Virginia notary commission required, or ability to obtain and maintain Virginia notary commission as a condition of employment.