Legal Assistant - Business and Private Client/Estate Planning (Chicago)

We are seeking a legal assistant with 2 years of legal and/or office experience to provide administrative support to our team in the Chicago office. All Taft employees operate under a "Client First" philosophy-in all things, we seek to provide exceptional services to our clients.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provides skilled, proactive administrative support to assigned attorneys and others, as needed.
• Maintains and processes case information, assisting with the preparation of legal documents, and managing the progression of cases to final disposition.
• Exhibits outstanding client service in greeting guests, scheduling meetings, and conducting telephone conferences.
• Works on cases with heavy client interaction.
• Assists attorneys with drafting and reviewing estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives.
• Assists with reviewing daily dockets and coordinating with attorneys and appropriate parties on upcoming dates and deadlines for calendar filings.
• Processes new client intake, maintains files within the firm's electronic records management system.
• Prepares and assists with closing binders.
• Maintains calendar of events and setting reminders for deadlines for assigned attorney(s), scheduling appointments and coordinating travel.
• Prepares and reviews documents, letters and memoranda according to Firm standards using word processing software and document management systems.
• Processes requests for payment and reimbursements.
• Enters attorney billable hours into the firm billing program, prepares and organizes attorney expense claims, coordinates billing reports, and prepares and sends bills
• Creates, maintains and retires files in accordance with Taft's Information Governance Policy.
• Attends virtual and in-person signings to witness and notarize documents.
• Responds to requests with a sense of urgency and effectively prioritizes work; ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Proactively monitors deadlines.
• Processes requests for payment and reimbursements as well as time entries/billing.
• Assists in managing client contacts, emails, and printing documents as well as processing mail.
• Clearly communicates in a concise, professional manner.

Requirements:

• 2 years' experience with legal or office administrative work (experience with Trusts/Estates preferred).
• Some education beyond high school or other coursework related to the legal industry preferred.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Proficient command of the English language and standard grammar rules.
• Proficiency with Kofax/Nuance, InTapp, LMS , iManage, or those software programs' counterparts strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office programs and DocuSign.

Interested candidates should apply here.