Trust & Estates Legal Administrative Assistant

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Job Title: Trust & Estates Legal Administrative Assistant

Location: Chicago, IL, 60606

Salary/Payrate: Dependent on experience

Work Environment: Onsite

Term: Contract- 3+ months

Bachelor's degree required: No

Referral Fee: AMS will pay $500 should the person you refer gets hired

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly organized Legal Administrative Assistant to support our Trust & Estates practice. This role is responsible for organizing and managing our will vault, including the identification, retrieval, and proper handling of original wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents. The ideal candidate will bring a foundational understanding of trust and estates documentation along with strong organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct a comprehensive review and reorganization of the firm's will vault, which is currently disorganized and requires significant cleanup.
• Locate, identify, and properly catalog original wills, trusts, codicils, amendments, and related estate planning documents.
• Retrieve original documents stored both onsite and at offsite storage locations.
• Distinguish between document types (original wills, trust agreements, copies, drafts, and supporting estate planning materials) using working knowledge of trust and estates documentation.
• Establish and maintain an organized filing and tracking system to ensure documents can be readily located in the future.
• Properly label, file, and store original documents in accordance with firm protocols.
• Coordinate with attorneys and paralegals to verify document classification and confirm proper handling of sensitive originals.
• Maintain strict confidentiality and chain of custody for all original client documents.
• Provide general administrative support to the Trust & Estates team as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Prior experience as a legal administrative assistant, file clerk, or paralegal assistant in a law firm setting.
• Working knowledge of trust and estates documentation, including the ability to differentiate between wills, trusts, amendments, and related instruments.
• Demonstrated organizational skills with proven ability to bring structure to disorganized records.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy when handling original legal documents.
• Ability to work independently and manage time effectively across onsite and offsite work.
• Reliable transportation for travel between onsite office and offsite storage locations.
• Professional discretion and ability to maintain strict client confidentiality.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working specifically within a Trust & Estates practice group.
• Experience with document management systems and records cataloging.
• Background in file room organization, records management, or vault administration.

Work Environment

This is a fully onsite position. The role will require periodic travel to offsite document storage locations as part of the vault organization project.