Bilingual (English/French) Legal Assistant
Full-time, permanent, on-site
Located in the heart of Ottawa’s Glebe neighborhood, Emond Harnden is a progressive and exciting place to begin or enhance your career. As a boutique labour and employment law firm, we have been representing the interests of management in both official languages since 1987.
Emond Harnden fosters a spirit of respect and collegiality between Partners, Associates, and staff, and we recognize that in order to provide the level of service our clients expect and deserve, lawyers and staff must be passionate about what they do. We are seeking candidates who are aligned with our entrepreneurial spirit, who care and see the value of their work, and who share our drive for delivering high caliber client service.
Job Summary
Reporting to the HR & Operations Manager, the Legal Assistant (LA) will be responsible for providing administrative support to multiple lawyers in terms of scheduling, drafting, corresponding and other general administrative tasks. The successful candidate will be a key player in client service delivery.
Responsibilities
The main responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Schedule Maintenance
- Organize the flow of work through the lawyer’s office and initiate follow-up action in a timely manner to meet multiple deadlines.
- Maintain and monitor calendars, including but not limited to scheduling appointments, hearings, travel, and conferences, as directed.
- Manage the bring-forward systems on a daily-basis to ensure important deadlines are met.
Drafting and Correspondence
- Liaise between the lawyers, contacts, and clients.
- Prepare legal documents, including (but not limited to) affidavits, briefs, motions, subpoenas, appearance sheets, minutes of settlement, release agreements, etc.
- Review and proofread outgoing documents and correspondence, verifying text for accuracy and syntax.
- Maintain and update current client and arbitrator contact lists.
- Respond to routine correspondence by mail, email, and telephone calls.
General Administration
- Perform conflict searches, create, and maintain files, and close files as instructed.
- Open new client files and matters.
- Arrange and prepare courier services and pickups.
- Mail sorting and scanning.
- Support case preparation by assembling materials required during hearings.
- Maintain electronic copies of all documentation in Emond Harnden’s database to supplement available precedents.
- Input and validate lawyers’ time dockets; coordinate lawyers’ monthly/yearly docket totals as requested.
- Track lawyers’ Law Society of Ontario (LSO) Continuing Professional Development hours, and input into the LSO portal.
- Prepare or make changes to lawyers’ conference and/or seminar presentations.
- Conduct legal research by using WestlawNext and LexisNexis.
- Prepare cheque requisitions and trust deposit instructions.
Qualifications and Requirements
- Post-secondary degree or diploma in a related field.
- 3-5 years of working experience in administration, preferably in a legal or professional services environment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Ability to produce a high volume of high-quality work under tight deadlines while managing competing priorities.
- Ability to provide an excellent customer service and ensuring professionalism.
- Proficiency in MS Office & Adobe Pro.
- Bilingual (English/French) is required.
We thank all applicants in advance for their interest; however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
EH is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to the grounds protected by the Human Rights Code of Ontario.
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: $50,000.00-$70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Dental care
- Employee assistance program
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- RRSP match
- Wellness program
Schedule:
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person
