Job Summary

We’re looking for a proactive, detail-oriented legal administrative assistant to support our Business Practice Group in Portland, Maine. In this role, you'll be an essential part of our legal team—keeping things organized, ensuring deadlines are met, and helping our attorneys and clients stay on track. You’ll work closely with great people and handle a variety of tasks that keep our deals and daily work moving smoothly.

Responsibilities

• Proof and polish documents to make sure they’re error-free and ready to go
• Help manage timelines and keep track of important transactional documents
• Finalize and send documents to clients, attorneys, and internal teams
• Prepare closing binders and help wrap up deals
• Answer and route calls, and assist when attorneys are unavailable
• Handle mail—scanning, sorting, distributing, and filing throughout the day
• Edit and draft correspondence and legal documents
• Set up meetings and coordinate schedules for attorneys and clients
• Assist with planning travel, seminars, and events
• Keep track of attorneys’ continuing education requirements
• Maintain calendars and remind attorneys about upcoming commitments
• Review and finalize client billing
• Help with conflict checks for new clients
• Organize and manage both paper and electronic files
• Handle other admin tasks, such as expense reports and matter reports

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• 3–5 years of administrative experience (law firm experience a plus)
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• A positive, can-do attitude and team-oriented mindset
• Excellent communication and people skills—you enjoy working with others
• Solid problem-solving abilities and the foresight to anticipate needs
• Strong technical skills—Microsoft Word (intermediate to advanced), Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and general database experience
• Discretion and professionalism—you know how to handle confidential info

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to Maria Gaetani at mgaetani@pierceatwood.com.

This role supports members of the Trusts and Estates Practice Group in our Portsmouth, NH office.  

Job Responsibilities

• Proofread and edit documents for grammatical, typographical, and spelling errors.  Finalize and distribute to clients, attorneys, and staff.  Ensure deadlines are anticipated and met.
• Receive, screen, and route incoming telephone calls, conference calls, and messages to attorneys, clients, and staff promptly.  Assist callers as appropriate in attorney’s absence.  Refer callers to other attorneys and respond to inquiries when appropriate.
• Sort, date stamp, and distribute incoming and outgoing mail promptly upon receipt several times a day.  Open and review materials as directed.
• Transcribe and edit correspondence, documents, memoranda, and project work in the production of legal documents. Compose routine correspondence for attorney signature.
• Coordinate conferences, meetings, and appointments for attorneys and clients including conference room scheduling, meals, beverages, materials preparation, and greeting clients. Coordinate seminar registration and travel arrangements securing air, hotel, and car reservations for attorneys and clients.
• Maintain calendar of meetings and business trips, apprising attorney of responsibilities in advance of commitment.
• Prepare bills monthly.  Edit and finalize bills to ensure accuracy.
• Coordinate preliminary conflict checks through the automated system to ensure attorney and firm ability to represent potential client.
• Set up, organize, and maintain firm files.  Read and review material to be filed, file documents in proper files, and retrieve documents and files when requested. 
• Perform a variety of administrative functions including processing new matter reports, preparing expense reports, tracking CLE credits, etc.
• Work collaboratively with others across the firm to meet the needs of attorneys firmwide.
• Follow up on requests made by attorneys, paralegals, and clients.
• Perform other functions as requested or needed.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required

• Ability to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism and interpersonal skills including maintaining positive contact with clients, attorneys, and co-workers.
• 2+ years prior experience in estate planning and administration.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to be a team player.  A can-do attitude.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Strong technical aptitude. Intermediate Microsoft Word skills required.  Advanced Microsoft Word skills preferred. Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and databases.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to pay close attention to detail to ensure the highest quality work product for the client.
• Strong multitasking skills. Ability to organize and prioritize numerous tasks and complete them under time constraints.

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to Maria Gaetani at mgaetani@pierceatwood.com

Position Summary
This role supports the members of the Litigation Practice Group and coordinates all aspects of litigation matters from initial intake through final disposition. This position is based in the Portland, Maine office.     

Responsibilities

• Assist with presentations at trials, depositions, hearings, and other court proceedings.
• Attend client meetings and phone calls and prepare summaries
• Draft, proofread, and edit documents for grammatical, typographical, and spelling errors. Ability to create a Table of Contents and/or Table of Authorities as needed.
• Manage schedules, including maintaining calendar of meetings and business trips, gathering and preparing necessary materials in advance of commitments, and otherwise coordinating schedule obligations. 
• Receive, screen, and route incoming telephone calls, conference calls, and messages to attorneys, clients, and staff promptly.
• Sort, scan, and distribute incoming and outgoing mail promptly upon receipt. Open, review, and calendar pleadings and materials as directed.
• Coordinate conferences, meetings, appointments, and depositions for attorneys and clients including conference room scheduling, meals, beverages, preparing materials, and greeting clients.
• Prepare bills monthly and distribute to other attorneys for review as needed. Edit and finalize bills to ensure accuracy.
• Set up, organize, and maintain firm files in electronic and/or paper form.
• Perform a variety of administrative functions, including submitting conflict checks, processing new matter reports, drafting engagement letters, calendaring deadlines on firm’s electronic database, preparing attorney expense reimbursements, tracking attorney CLE credits and bar registrations, etc.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional work experience.
• 2+ years of administrative assistant work experience preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism and interpersonal skills, including, maintaining positive contact with clients, attorneys, and coworkers.
• Strong technical aptitude. Intermediate Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe, Teams, and PowerPoint skills required, with advanced skills preferred.
• Strong multitasking skills. Ability to organize and prioritize numerous tasks and complete them under time constraints.
• Ability to perform online research (for the background of a case, parties involved, individuals’ addresses, etc.).

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to Maria Gaetani at mgaetani@pierceatwood.com.