Legal Secretary

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell was established in 1998, and currently numbers more than 100 lawyers. The firm represents sophisticated clients in high-stakes civil trials, appeals and related litigation ranging from complex commercial to class actions to multidistrict litigations. Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell lawyers have taken more than 1,300 trials, arbitrations and appeals to verdict, award, or opinion in 45 states and Washington D.C., with exceptional results for our clients.

Summary/Objective

This position supports the Firm’s timekeepers by completing the position’s essential duties and responsibilities and projects as assigned.

Responsibilities:

• Provide support to billable staff including lawyers and paralegals.
• Responsible for document handling including drafting, proofreading, photocopying or scanning, and distribution as needed. May also finalize and file court documents as needed. Maintain document management system for assigned matters.
• Coordinate correspondence including email correspondence for team distribution, and proper filing in document management system.
• Prepare, edit, proofread, and finalize timekeeping entries for team members, and review and proofread billing correspondence, ensuring compliance with billing guidelines and budgets as applicable.
• Prepare and submit conflict checks, new business memoranda, and engagement agreements as requested. Monitor and maintain billable staff calendars, and assist with scheduling as needed.
• Prepare and submit expense requests. May be asked to assist with travel or other related items.
• Ability to locate and download court documents from State and Federal jurisdictions as requested.
• Other special duties or projects may be requested depending on billable staff needs.

Qualifications

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Excellent communication skills
• Knowledge of legal terms and process of cases, demonstrated ability to navigate electronic court filing process
• Proficient data entry skills
• College degree preferred but not required

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Competencies

The following are competencies required to be successful in this position:

• Critical Thinker - The ability to gather relevant information, interpret and evaluate the data, and make informed decisions. Develop sound, practical solutions and make timely decisions; provide creative solutions to difficult issues.
• Effective Communicator (Written and Oral) - The ability to communicate clearly and coherently, interpreting information and adapting communication to suit particular situations and audience needs.
• Strong Interpersonal Skills - The ability to develop and maintain relationships with others, and to work with others toward a common goal by working cooperatively, developing positive relationships, and providing information and assistance willingly.
• Detail-Oriented - The ability to develop and apply comprehensive planning and organizing strategies to ensure projects are appropriately prioritized and resources are used effectively and efficiently.
• Proactive - The ability to see opportunities to make improvements and independently choose strategies to achieve them; envisions new and innovative possibilities and acts on them independently to achieve benefits. Ability to anticipate work needs and follow-up on own initiative. Ability to accomplish responsibilities with minimum supervision and in a timely manner while communicating consistently and appropriately with the supervisor regarding projects being handled, problems incurred and recommended solutions.
• Manages Change - The ability to change directions quickly as workflow needs change, and to respond with flexibility to a changing work environment.
• Technical Skills/Learning - The ability to quickly learn and integrate new technical skills and knowledge; seeks out avenues to enhance technical skills.

Language Skills

• Must have good communications skills (i.e., communicate clearly and effectively in both written and spoken English)

Reasoning Skills

• Ability to interpret and to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form
• Uses the utmost discretion regarding sensitive company and employee information.
• Must be able to coordinate resources and responsibilities and be able to get along well with others
• Must be able to develop a strong rapport with various department staff earning trust and respect

Work Environment

The team atmosphere is fostered not only by the lawyers, but by all members of the support staff. Our firm’s employees are proud of collaborating to service firm clients. Our commitment to teamwork allows us to tap multiple fields of experience from our range of practice areas, ensuring our ability to meet each client’s individual needs. Our team approach enables us to analyze a situation from several points of view until we uncover the advantage that makes the difference for our client.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

This is a full-time, 37.5 hour per week position. It is not expected that evenings or weekends will be required. This is a non-exempt position, and is entitled to overtime pay.

Regular hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., including lunch hour. This is a full time position working from our Denver office. Overtime is paid at 1.5 times the hourly pay rate when the employee works more than 40 hours in a Sunday through Saturday work week.

Travel

Travel is limited and primarily local during the business day, although some out-of-area and overnight travel may be needed to attend conferences or other professional functions.

Salary Range: $64,000 - $80,000 annually. The final salary will be commensurate with education and experience. Additionally, the firm provides standard benefits including health insurance, 401(k) contribution, and paid time off, with annual bonus potential based on firm performance.

An Equal Opportunity Employer
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the firm to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, age, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our firm. It is our intention that all qualified applicants are given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors.