Litigation Secretary - Teams

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is a national law firm with over 500 attorneys across the United States. Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Chicago, we provide sophisticated legal counsel to clients in highly regulated industries, including insurance, financial services, healthcare, and professional services. We also offer strategic business and transactional advice to a wide range of for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including government agencies and educational institutions.

About the role

We are seeking a litigation secretary to work with a support team in providing comprehensive legal and administrative support to a group of attorneys. The position may be located in our Miami, Tampa, or Ft. Lauderdale office. The ideal candidate will have experience in civil defense litigation, including trials, arbitrations, and mediations. Experience in insurance defense and personal injury litigation, as well as multi-state knowledge of court procedures and practices, would be ideal.

Responsibilities

• Prepares, edits, files, and may compose legal documents, including but not limited to, letters, memoranda, pleadings, motions, discovery, agreements, subpoenas, and other legal documents as required by the practice area.
• Files documents with the courts, including e-filing.
• Communicates with clients, counsel, court personnel, and other external parties.
• Coordinates with local and other office administrative resources to ensure tasks are completed accordingly.
• Reviews and processes all incoming mail. Opens new files, checks conflicts of interest, maintains client and general files. Conducts periodic review of files for possible closure/off-site storage.
• Interacts with clients, counsel, court personnel, and others. Maintains professional appearance and demeanor, good public relations, and customer service with clients. Maintains confidentiality of attorney-client relationship.
• Establishes and maintains calendar and deadline reminder/follow-up systems. Schedules depositions, meetings, medical examinations, inspections. Calendars court dates, deposition dates, etc. Works with attorneys, secretaries, and docketing personnel to ensure accuracy of calendar.
• Communicates with administrative support by apprising of deadlines, attorney travel plans, etc.
• Works collaboratively in a team: Proactively demonstrates effective teamwork and communication with attorneys, team members, and all Firm personnel. Actively participates in regular team meetings to discuss current projects and workflow. Takes ownership of assignments and regularly exchanges information and training tips with team members for maximum job effectiveness.
• Effectively uses team software to log, manage, and handle workflow.
• Other related duties and special projects as assigned.

Requirements

• High School diploma or equivalent required; Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of five years of civil defense litigation legal secretarial experience.
• Strong organizational skills, efficiency, and detail-orientation; ability to prioritize high-volume workload and manage numerous tasks under time constraints.
• Knowledge and application of State and Federal court rules (including e-filing) and local rules, where applicable, pertaining to litigation procedures, requirements, and practices (including trial, mediation, and arbitration).
• Knowledge of or ability to learn office procedures, rules, and regulations.
• Demonstrated competency and proficiency in computer programs and relevant software applications including Outlook, Word, Excel, iManage, InTapp, Chrome River, and Adobe. Knowledge of BigHand Now or similar workflow platform preferred.
• Ability to effectively and accurately communicate orally and in writing; correctly apply departmental rules, complex regulations, and procedures; maintain a high degree of confidentiality and attention to detail; work well under pressure and time-sensitive situations; proofread and perform editing of routine and complex law office documents; transcribe legal documents, correspondence, and reports from written drafts or dictation at a level of 70 wpm; identify and resolve issues; work well within a team environment; incur overtime in order to perform the essential duties of the position—may require irregular hours.
• Interpersonal and customer service skills necessary to professionally communicate with and effectively follow instructions from a diverse group of clients, external entities, attorneys, management, and staff.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Flexible benefits program
• Generous 401(k) plan
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities
• Supportive environment that encourages work-life balance and career development