Wills and Estates Legal Assistant

**Wills and Estates Legal Assistant (Estate Planning)**

A firm is only as good as its people and at WeirFoulds we are committed to hiring top talent. We encourage you to join our team if you are a self-starter who shares our passion for delivering exceptional client service and building a terrific firm. Our friendly and collaborative culture means WeirFoulds is not only a great place to work, but a great place to develop and thrive. We support and nurture our team enabling you to fulfil your potential and help shape the future of our firm.

Role Summary

We are currently recruiting a Legal Assistant to join our Wills, Trusts and Estates practice. This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who enjoys variety at a fast-paced busy desk that offers a broad range of responsibilities and challenges.

The role offers a range of legal and administrative job responsibilities in estate and trust planning administration. Prior experience in this area of law including solid administrative practice management skills and technical skills would be considered advantageous for this role. You will be required to demonstrate initiative, strong communication (both verbal and written) and organizational skills and should have a desire to work in a team environment to promote a client-first focused culture. In this role you will be supporting three legal professionals.

**Responsibilities**:

- Finalize and complete estate planning documents including wills, powers of attorney, trusts and reporting documentation.
- Attend as a second witness for client signatures.
- Implementing a follow-up system for will drafts.
- Managing and tracking deadlines or appointments, including managing the lawyers’ Outlook calendars, contacts, scheduling appointments, travel arrangements as needed.
- Typing general correspondence from handwritten notes, phone, or verbal instructions.
- Managing internal and external communications which includes incoming calls/client inquiries, physical mail and faxes; responding when needed and as appropriate.
- Opening and closing files electronically and physically which also includes maintaining detailed matter/client list and maintaining the electronic filing system (DMS - iManage).
- Scan, file and electronically file a large volume of documentation. Overseeing and ensuring all scanning and electronic filing in Mattersphere is accurate and up to date.
- Preparing the monthly accounts/proformas; reviewing entries for accuracy and completeness. (Experience with 3E (Elite) would be advantageous).
- Assisting the law clerk in the practice group with administrative matters as and when required.
- Entering and updating client contact lists in the CRM (InterAction).
- General administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, meetings conference calls, booking meeting rooms, making travel arrangements, etc.; working with other internal Departments to provide documents/ other materials on time to meet client needs.
- Demonstrating a team approach; supporting coverage for colleague absences.
- Other administrative duties as assigned.

Required Skills & Qualifications
- At least one to three years of experience of relevant work experience in Wills and Estates planning and administration is preferred.
- Post-secondary education with a Legal Assistant Diploma and/or Law Clerk certificate.
- Strong working experience, understanding and knowledge of legal terminology and procedures is an asset.
- Ability to exercise a high degree of discretion and good judgement when dealing with confidential and sensitive matters.
- Proficient with legal software (iManage, 3E/Elite, InterAction) and MS Office 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams).
- Proficient with PDF software (Kofax Power PDF/ Adobe).
- Excellent time management, organizational and prioritization skills.
- Ability to work independently and within tight timelines.
- Eagerness to learn new technology/processes and further develop skills
- Excellent problem-solving skills, the ability to work with little instruction/supervision.
- Excellent attention to detail and diligent proofreading skills.
- Strong interpersonal skills and an excellent team player.
- Passionate about providing quality service and work product to lawyers, clients and the court.
- At WeirFoulds, we recognize that we need to advance and to demonstrate equality, diversity, and inclusion in everything we do, internally and externally. We have been working diligently on several key areas, and we recognize that we must do better. Our goal is to put words into concrete action through a number of specific steps. These are described in our _official statement on our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion_, which we are pleased to share._