Legal Assistant - Estate Planning

We are seeking an experienced Estate Planning/Taxation Administrative Assistant for our Ann Arbor office.  The core duties and responsibilities of this position revolve around supporting others and delivering exceptional customer service.  Under the supervision of the Office Administrator, the Administrative Assistant is responsible for providing administrative support to meet the daily needs of the office location.  The role involves supporting the Estate Planning and Taxation team by assisting with general estate and trust administration, managing calendars, drafting and editing estate planning documents, preparing confidential correspondence and assisting with complex corporate reports.  The assistant will also assist with estate planning signing binders, mailings/tax filings, attorney time entry and billing, opening matters/new business intake (NBI) and making travel arrangements when needed.  The ideal candidate should be highly organized, detail-oriented, and proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and PDF manipulation software.  Strong written and verbal communication skills, experience with document management systems, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects are essential.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Provides day-to-day support to attorneys and other legal professionals in the Estate Planning and Taxation practice group including assisting with preparing, organizing, executing and filing documents.

• Creates, types, modifies and saves correspondence, memoranda, notes, outlines, legal documents, abstracts, charts, forms, etc., whether from drafts, originals or dictation.
• Copies and scans documents; and creates/updates binders.
• Assist with numerous client tax returns throughout the entire calendar year and the annual tax deadline. Includes copying, scanning, binding, etc. for mailings.
• Assist with specialized filings and mailings which include copying, scanning etc. for mailing to the IRS.
• Enters new clients and matters by preparing and submitting conflict check forms, screening forms and new matter request forms through NBI system.
• Attends client signing meetings, including organizing and printing documents for said meetings, and notarization services.
• Enters attorneys’ time and expenses from logs, diary notes, correspondence, etc., which include month end reporting, scanning/sending all PGL monthly prebills to billing coordinator(s) for processing and invoicing to clients. Maintain reports and organize prebills by month for easy retrieval and review.
• Assist legal support team with service and processing of court documents, maintaining and updating pleading clips that contain probate filings; may assist with research to locate specialized/historic client documents.
• Scans, logs and uploads documents, emails and files into firm’s electronic document management system (NetDocs); provides back-up administrative support for Administrative Assistants.
• Assists attorneys with scheduling; makes travel arrangements.
• Assists document clerks with overflow filing needs, including organizing client, attorney or section files.
• May assist with training of interns or other support personnel on Estate Planning basic functions.
• Performs other administrative duties as assigned by Office Administrator.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED

•  High School diploma plus two years of post-high school education and related work experience required; Associate’s Degree or higher preferred.
• Prior experience working in Estate Planning, Taxation, Probate or related legal practice area is required.
• Detail-oriented, highly organized with a high level of professionalism.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills required, including ability to effectively draft and proofread business and legal documents.
• Exceptional customer service skills required; ensures total customer satisfaction through understanding of customer expectations, proactive problem identification/resolution, and maximizing opportunities to build relationships.
• Ability to be flexible, work flexible hours when required, and respond quickly and calmly to urgent situations.
• Ability to work independently with some level of autonomy, taking initiative to ensure performance aligns with the successful operations of the office.
• Ability to utilize basic features of Microsoft Office Suite applications with moderate guidance and support; typing requirement of 55 wpm.
• Experience operating administrative office equipment (e.g., high-speed copier, scanner, fax machine).
• Ability to execute tasks in a client-centric manner and to work effectively and efficiently in a team setting and with a diverse group of people at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to take direction, receive and apply feedback, and communicate support needs.
• Ability to effectively follow procedures and manage competing priorities; demonstrate attention to detail, accuracy and excellent organizational skills.
• Occasionally working overtime, evening or weekend hours may be required.