Legal Administrative Assistant

Department: Business and Transactions

About Us: 

Ballard Spahr is a renowned national law firm with more than 750 lawyers across 18 offices in the United States. A career at Ballard Spahr offers a diverse group of mentors, colleagues, and friends, and strong leadership that provides support and encouragement for career growth.

We are seeking a Legal Administrative Assistant (LAA) to join our Business and Transactions department in the Philadelphia office, specifically within the Emerging Companies and Venture Capital (ECVC) Practice Group. You’ll be part of a team working alongside attorneys, paralegals, and clients. Prior experience supporting transactional lawyers is helpful but not required. Successful candidates will demonstrate a mastery of technical and administrative skills, assume responsibility with minimal supervision, exercise initiative and judgment to make decisions within the scope of your assigned authority, and both champion and practice collaboration with all employees.

The VC/Emerging Companies Group LAA collaborates with the Practice Group Leader and assigned attorneys to assist with and manage various aspects of the practice. The selected individual will work within a team of LAAs, sharing overflow responsibility and support to all timekeepers assigned to the team.

Why Join Us?

• Innovative Work Environment: Become part of a forward-thinking firm that enjoys substantial support and visibility from the firm’s executive leadership

• Professional Development: Take advantage of continuous learning opportunities and avenues for career growth

• Inclusion: Join a Business Resource Group and share cultural, experiential, or job-related interests, experiences, and/or backgrounds

• Impactful Contributions: Play a pivotal role in developing industry-leading solutions that make a significant difference in legal practice and client service

Your Role:

As a VC/Emerging Companies Group LAA within our Business and Transactions department your responsibilities include but are not limited to:

General Fee Earner Support

• Communicate directly with clients and prospective clients with respect to matters, projects, and other issues and questions as needed

• Open all new matters, including but not limited to sending of engagement letters, and performance and review of conflict checks

• Approve file request forms

• Communicate directly with clients and prospective clients with respect to matters, projects, and other issues and questions as needed

• Providing comprehensive legal administrative support, including extensive document production and coordinating closing materials

• Ensuring fee earners’ daily time entries are drafted in accordance with firm and client guidelines; and enter information into firm systems in a timely fashion. Prepare new business intake forms and open new client matters

• Preparing and submit expense reimbursement diaries and process invoices

• Maintaining schedules and calendars, make travel arrangements, update contacts, and do other work as needed

• Other administrative duties as assigned by fee earners

Practice Group Support

• Maintain active matter list on behalf of the practice group

• Leads and assists on special projects as requested

• Plan, coordinate and host weekly practice group meeting

Financial

• Handle voluminous invoices and billing on behalf of fee earners

• Actively guide and coordinate fourth quarter collection efforts on behalf of the practice group Assists the Financial Planning & Analysis team with the annual occupancy budget

• Manage billing, expenses, and reimbursement requests on behalf of fee earners

• and utilize team and other resources, as appropriate. Effectively plan and organize work to complete assignments and meet deadlines

What We’re Looking For:

• Growth Mindset: Self-motivated with a passion for continuous learning and problem-solving

• Communication: Strong verbal and written communication abilities

• Detail-Oriented: Keen attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines independently

Required Experience:

• Significant work experience as identified above; Bachelor's degree preferred

• Strong facility with technology and process management

• Strong organizational skills, strong verbal and writing skills, strong interpersonal ski