Legal Office Assistant

This position provides a full range of administrative support for the Office of the General Counsel. Performs the full range of administrative, financial, and secretarial duties, including typing, editing and preparing correspondence and legal memoranda with high attention to detail; managing calendar, travel, reimbursement, and other clerical work for seven attorneys; and utilizing expertise in the full range of Microsoft Office Suite applications, in particular regarding invoicing and budgeting.

DUTIES:

• Makes necessary travel arrangements for Associate General Counsels, using the AFSCME travel reservation system.  Prepares and submits travel forms and expense reports as required, in accordance with AFSCME’s travel policy. 
• Collects and reviews invoices and staff reimbursements for payment.  Compares against source documents or records to ensure payments are appropriate and services were rendered.  Logs into database and prepares and forwards invoices and reimbursement requests for approval and processing, including active follow-up to ensure that requests are received and processed in a timely manner.
• Prepares attorney correspondence and legal memoranda, with high attention to detail.
• Responsible for answering the office telephone’s general line, professionally greeting callers, appropriately screening calls for attorneys, establishing the reasons for calls and communicating those reasons to attorneys promptly and accurately, and helping to resolve issues by contacting the appropriate person who can assist the caller.  Organizes, logs and resolves incoming calls and issues with minimal supervision. 
• Assist with departmental budget throughout the year, tracking proposed budget against actual expenses to ensure the department remains within budget and can justify any overages. Provides support to the development and management of annual departmental budget using Excel or other spreadsheet software and assists with reporting and tracking activities.
• Maintains Associate General Counsels’ calendar and schedules. Ensures calendars are up-to-date and timely. Schedules departmental, inter-departmental and external meetings. 
• Reviews and tracks outside counsel legal bills and litigation expenses to ensure accurate and timely processing and payment, including by coordinating with insurance carriers to ensure insurance policy requirements are met and refunds received and accounted for. 
• Maintains and updates electronic filing database. Prepares annual correspondence on behalf of the department for regulatory compliance.
• Maintains and manages files for storage and archives.
• Retrieves, routes, scans and files incoming and outgoing mail.
• May design forms, presentations and other documents in support of clerical activities using available software.
• Performs other duties as requested. 

Requirements:

Education and Experience

High school graduation with a combination of business school, secretarial or university coursework or certificate, or experience as a secretary or legal secretary and a minimum of three (3) years of general office experience using a variety of software programs or any equivalent combination of education and experience that provides the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

Skills Requirements:

• Broad knowledge of office and organizational procedures.
• Ability to review and proofread legal, financial, and budget documents.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel, Word, and other database software. Willing and able to learn new software, including project management program (Asana). 
• Effective analytical and communication skills in an oral and written manner.
• Ability to compose correspondence and prepare reports using correct English, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Effective interpersonal skills to interact with staff at various levels of the organization.
• Excellent organizational and people skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks while working with minimal supervision.
• Ability to manage time effectively to meet deadlines.
• Experience with accounting software preferred.

Travel & Work hours 

• Travel and extended work hours may be required.