Legal Assistant

at  Constangy Brooks Smith Prophete LLP

POSITION SUMMARY:

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP seeks a Legal Assistant with 4 – 10 years of experience to work in its San Francisco, CA office. This position supports the delivery of quality legal services to clients by providing administrative assistance to attorneys and performing specialized secretarial and clerical tasks pertaining to complex litigation matters. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with others in a team-oriented environment. This position supports a set of attorneys as a primary assignment and also provides back-up secretarial assistance to others as needed.
This position is for the San Francisco office, which deals with civil employment litigation in class, PAGA, and single-plaintiff cases. It’s a fast-paced office, with a plenty of motion work. While we’re a national firm, we intentionally keep our office small to foster a team atmosphere, an open-door policy, and ability to interact with each other freely. Legal staff work with our head office in Atlanta to assist in matter openings for their attorneys, marketing and training support, and other projects as asked. This allows everyone to be more involved in different aspects of the office’s processes.
Currently, this position will be a hybrid position, with 2-3 days in the office. Our office currently does not expect to return to the office on a full-time basis with the exception of preparing for and attending trials and arbitration hearings, which will require daily in-office work and overtime as well. We try to create a good work-life balance for everyone in the office, and avoid asking staff to work overtime unless absolutely necessary.

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• Must possess a minimum of 4 years of experience as a legal assistant or paralegal in a heavy litigation firm, civil litigation preferred, employment litigation a bonus
• The successful candidate will be organized, have excellent written and verbal communication skills, pay careful attention to detail, be at work on time every day, and work well with others, including lawyers, legal assistants and accounting personnel
• Proficiency in Document Management Systems, Microsoft Word and Excel, TOC/TOA, calendaring software like CompuLaw, Adobe Acrobat, Outlook is required
• Experience with Nuance PDF, Best Authorities, ChromeRiver, PowerPoint, and other document review systems is a bonus
• The ability to learn to use new software readily with a strong aptitude for technology; technology training will be provided

• Draft standard pleadings, correspondence, memoranda and other documents - assist in creating standard office templates for pleadings and discovery
• Routinely review, follow-up on, and occasionally calendar deadlines, filings, and other pleadings via CompuLaw
• Finalize pleadings and file or e-file same in both federal and state courts – including preparing TOC/TOAs for motion pleadings
• Review discovery requests and responses, prepare response shells as needed, review client documents for production; serve final discovery documents
• Maintain and organize electronic files in the document management system
• Proofread all documents for grammatical, typographical or spelling errors, and completeness prior to distribution or filing
• Coordinate and make necessary arrangements for travelling attorneys as well as coordinate meetings (i.e., depositions, mediations, interviews, etc.)
• Assist assigned attorneys with completing and tracking CLE compliance, presentations and training programs, other business development activities, and help to organize all other non-billable activities
• Assist managing the conflict check and client intake process for new matters
• Submit expense reimbursements on behalf of assigned attorneys
• Possess high level of awareness and protection of confidential information
• Exhibit good judgment and organizational skills to receive, record and disseminate all information on behalf of the clients and assigned attorneys (e.g., mail, interoffice mail, email, etc.)
• Regularly anticipate the needs of assigned attorneys in order to promote timekeeper efficiencies (i.e., draft correspondence, prepare materials for meetings in advance, calendar client meetings, etc.)
• Consistently and professionally communicate with clients, opposing counsel, vendors, and firm and court personnel, and provide friendly and helpful telephone support
• Develop, implement, and maintain systems to promote organization and efficiency