Senior Legal Assistant

Senior Legal Assistant

A mid-size Chicago law firm is seeking a Senior Legal Assistant to join our team. This highly responsible, full-time position combines experienced legal support with an emphasis on development and mentorship of staff. We offer a competitive salary and benefits. Along with your resume and cover letter, please submit your salary requirements.

Job Description

This position provides experienced, proactive administrative and case support to attorneys nationwide, taking ownership of day-to-day case coordination and helping ensure matters move forward efficiently and accurately. The role requires the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple attorneys and caseloads, anticipate needs, and work independently within established firm procedures and deadlines.

Responsibilities include preparing, proofreading, and filing court documents; drafting correspondence; coordinating hearings and other case-related deadlines; and ensuring filings and work product meet applicable court requirements and firm quality standards. The ideal candidate has strong legal administrative experience, sound judgment, excellent communication and organizational skills, and a thorough understanding of case-management workflows and court-filing procedures. This individual should be a dependable resource to attorneys and colleagues and demonstrate the initiative and leadership potential to help support an efficient, high-quality legal practice.

Primary Responsibilities

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Provide proactive, high-level administrative and case support to multiple attorneys, independently managing competing priorities, deadlines, and workflow needs across assigned caseloads.
• Draft and prepare notices, proposed orders, correspondence, and other routine legal documents for attorney review, exercising sound judgment regarding applicable firm procedures and jurisdiction-specific requirements.
• Prepare, proofread, format, and finalize motions, pleadings, and other legal documents, identifying and resolving formatting, procedural, and administrative issues before filing.
• Independently coordinate and complete electronic filings in state and federal courts, ensuring compliance with applicable court rules, filing procedures, deadlines, and attorney instructions.
• Monitor the status of filings, court-entered orders, hearing dates, and other case activity, proactively following up with attorneys and other appropriate parties to keep matters moving and address outstanding items.
• Coordinate with court clerks, opposing counsel, and other external parties regarding hearings, motions, courtesy copies, scheduling, and other case-related administrative matters on behalf of attorneys.
• Anticipate attorney and case needs, identify approaching deadlines or potential workflow issues, and proactively communicate and follow up to support timely completion of filings, hearings, and other projects.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of firm systems, procedures, case-management workflows, and jurisdiction-specific filing requirements and serve as a trusted resource to attorneys and members of the legal support team.
• Exercise independent judgment in prioritizing assignments, resolving routine administrative and procedural issues, and escalating time-sensitive, unusual, or higher-risk matters when appropriate.
• Model a high standard of accuracy, responsiveness, organization, and professionalism and provide clear, constructive guidance to less-experienced members of the legal support team when appropriate.
• Assist with onboarding, training, and knowledge sharing for members of the legal support team, particularly regarding firm procedures, systems, document standards, and court-filing practices.
• Provide coverage and support across the legal administrative team as business needs require, including reception coverage when necessary.

The duties and responsibilities listed above are not intended to be comprehensive. The employee may be required to perform other duties in support of the firm’s operations as requested by their supervisor or manager.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent law firm experience.
• Minimum of eight years of substantive legal experience as a legal assistant, legal secretary, or paralegal in a law firm or comparable legal environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with electronic court filing and records systems, including PACER and applicable state court systems.
• Experience working with legal research platforms and litigation-service providers, including Westlaw, LexisNexis, and Pohlman.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, with a demonstrated ability to manage multiple competing tasks and demands.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer-service skills.
• Knowledge of state and federal court rules and procedures.
• Ability to maintain confidential records.
• Demonstrated understanding of how to effectively support a group of attorneys, including managing competing priorities and adapting to different working styles.
• Self-motivated and dependable, with the discipline and accountability to remain responsive and productive in a hybrid work environment.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Previous insurance-defense and/or asbestos experience.
• Demonstrated leadership potential, including the ability to communicate procedures clearly, provide constructive guidance, and serve as a dependable resource to other legal support professionals.

Compensation and Benefits Overview: $75,000 - $85,000 (DOE)

The compensation offered for this role will vary based on factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Eligible employees may also receive bonuses and other forms of compensation, contributing to a comprehensive total rewards package. Benefits offerings may vary by location.

In addition to monetary compensation, employees are provided with a robust selection of benefits, including:

• Comprehensive medical insurance plans (two PPO options, a PPO with HSA, and an HMO, all provided by BCBSIL)
• Dental insurance plans (PPO and HMO options provided by Guardian)
• Vision insurance (PPO plan provided by EyeMed)
• Retirement savings plan with employer match (100% of the first 3% of salary deferral, plus 50% of the next 2%)
• Fitness center reimbursement
• Paid time off (PTO)
• Parental leave
• Commuter benefits
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage
• Additional leave programs

Eligibility Requirements:

Participation in certain compensation programs and benefits is subject to specific eligibility criteria, which will be communicated during the hiring process.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Our firm is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, military status, or veteran status.