Legal Support Specialist

Job Description

Legal Support Specialist | Sidley Austin LLP

The Tone:
This is a role at Sidley Austin LLP, a global law firm that provides legal services across a wide range of practice areas. This position is vital for assisting legal personnel with administrative details, ensuring efficient workflow, and upholding the firm’s policies and procedures. The specialist plays a crucial role in fostering harmonious relationships with all internal and external stakeholders, contributing directly to the firm’s operational effectiveness and client service excellence.

The TL;DR
• Role: Experienced Professional
• Location: Not specified (salary range if located in California)
• Pay: $95000–$115000 yearly if located in California
• Mission: This role ensures seamless administrative and legal support for lawyers and clients, maintaining efficient workflow and firm standards.
• Tech Stack: Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel), audio and video software, specific Firm software, document management system, electronic repositories

What You’ll Actually Do
• Document Preparation & Filing: Type, format, edit, and finalize various legal documents, including correspondence, memoranda, and standard legal documents for transactional clients, specifically handling tasks related to contracts, mergers and acquisitions. Ensure accuracy and compliance with court rules for electronic submission with relevant state and federal courts.
• Comprehensive Administrative Support: Manage multiple lawyer assignments, organize clerical functions, and ensure efficient workflow to meet administrative and client needs. This includes coordinating travel arrangements (air, hotel, ground transportation), processing travel expenses, and managing complex calendars with considerable discretion regarding priorities and time usage.
• Client & Billing Lifecycle Management: Oversee the entire onboarding process for new clients, from processing conflicts to assigning billing information, working with various Firm departments. Accurately enter, proofread, and post lawyers’ time entries, ensuring compliance with client billing requirements and Firm policy. Additionally, coordinate client billing with billing services, monitor and reconcile discrepancies, and maintain key client billing arrangements.
• Communication & Meeting Coordination: Act as a central point for communications, receiving and screening telephone calls, conference calls, and messages for lawyers, clients, and staff. Initiate correspondence and other written materials. Coordinate conferences, meetings, and appointments both in person and via remote options, scheduling conference rooms and food service using specific Firm software.
• Information & Records Management: Maintain the accuracy of electronic and hardcopy client files daily through the Firm’s document management system and various electronic repositories for client materials, in accordance with standards set by the Records Management Center. Support attorneys in pre-, during, and post-trial stages, ensuring all information is organized and accessible.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Experienced Professional. High school graduate or equivalency with a thorough working knowledge of legal terminology, civil litigation discovery, and docketing processes.
• Experience: Five or more years of related work experience and/or training in a similar role within a law firm or professional services environment, supporting multiple fee earners. This includes previous experience with State and Federal court filings, including ECF.
• Skills: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and legal industry-specific software. Demonstrated strong organizational skills, exceptional attention to detail, and sound judgment. Superior written and verbal communication abilities are required, alongside strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the capacity to work effectively under pressure.
• Bonus: Bachelor’s degree, global law firm experience, and accurate typing at a minimum of 60 wpm.