Legal Practice Assistant (Litigation) - DC

Job Description Summary:

Fenwick is seeking a Litigation Legal Practice Assistant in our Washington, DC office. The role of a Legal Practice Assistant is to perform a variety of secretarial and administrative tasks to support assigned attorneys and paralegals by providing exceptional customer service and support while consistently producing a high volume and quality work product to meet the needs of the Firm and its clients.

This position offers a hybrid schedule and requires three days on-site with the possibility of additional required in-office days depending on business and client needs. The work schedule for this position will be 37.5 hours per week (non-exempt), Monday - Friday, from 9:00 am - 5:30 pm.

Job Description:

• Maintain and foster positive and collaborative working relationship with assigned Practice Group Partners/Associates/Paralegals, Firm clients, Administrative Departments, and external vendors.
• Responsible for producing high quality and error free work product in a timely manner. 
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of efficiencies and teamwork with the local and firmwide secretarial teams.
• Responsible for effectively collaborating within the secretarial team to ensure the assigned attorneys and paralegals are being supported with an eye towards superior client services.
• Shared responsibility for coverage of attorneys and paralegals.
• Possess a solid understanding of the litigation process:
  • Initiating document setup for cases, including Civil Coversheet, Summons and Complaint, along with Corporate Disclosure Statement;
  • Prepare, file and serve Answer to Complaint;
  • Arrange for service via a Process Server.
• Demonstrate proficiency in handling State, Federal, and Appellate ECF sealed and public filings along with a robust understanding of court rules, local rules, and calendaring needs utilized by courts relevant to attorney’s litigation practice.
• Working knowledge of the court’s PacerPro and its workflow procedures/protocols.
• Complete familiarity with trial prep documents such as motions in limine, jury instructions, etc.; thorough understanding of trial logistics; ability to travel as needed for trial/trial preparation.
• Use legal resources effectively, including court websites, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, California Code of Civil Procedure, California Rules of Courts, Lexis-Nexis, and Westlaw for research, case law retrieval, and forms access.
• Generate and troubleshoot Table of Contents and Table of Authorities using Best Authority while maintaining proficiency with Blue Book and state citation styles.
• Responsible for compiling and coordinating court filings to maintain client's internal file system updated in iManage/Propel.
• Ability to convert documents from PDF to Word/vice versa, insert/remove pages, bookmark, redact documents and enable OCR formatting for searching capabilities. 
• Perform a variety of administrative functions including preparing check requests, invoices and reimbursements.
• Responsible for managing and keeping assigned attorney’s calendar updated with relevant information, i.e., client meetings, court deadlines, etc.
• Schedule messengers, process servers and other vendors for pick-up, delivery or service of documents.
• Knowledge of timekeeping protocols; assist with entering attorney time, as necessary.
• Acquire knowledge and understanding of the Firm’s resources, departmental schedules, and protocols to effectively delegate and ensure completion of assigned tasks.
• Ability to be flexible and available to work overtime as necessary.
• Perform other tasks as assigned.

Additional responsibilities may include:

• Review monthly bills for consistency, accuracy, spelling and substance, learn billing practices over time (usual write-offs, client format preferences, etc.); check bills for consistency against special engagement terms (deferrals, rates, caps, etc.).
• Respond to client requests for month-end estimates.
• Monitor, identify and resolve A/R and collections issues, as necessary.
• Ensure accurate execution of billing and collection instructions and follow-up with billing coordinator.

Desired Skills and Qualifications:

An ideal candidate should demonstrate the following competencies: 

• Possesses interpersonal skills necessary to support positive working relationships and to effectively communicate, interact, and follow instructions in a demanding environment with/from a diverse group of attorneys, staff, clients and vendors with demonstrated poise, tact and di