Are you an experienced legal assistant looking to leverage your organizational and project management skills in a dynamic litigation environment? Do you excel at coordinating complex legal projects and thrive in a role where precision and efficiency drive successful legal outcomes? Do you want to advance your career in a law firm that is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our clients in the pursuit of justice? Fair Legal is a growing boutique litigation firm in Calgary’s beltline district. We represent clients seeking justice in complex and sometimes messy civil, family and criminal litigation.
As a Legal Assistant at Fair Legal, you will play a vital role in ensuring the smooth and efficient delivery of legal services to clients facing life-changing legal challenges. Your work will be crucial in maintaining the firm’s commitment to delivering compassionate legal services in the pursuit of justice for our clients.
- NOTE: We are only accepting applications by email (see below).
Job duties:
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Scheduling and Calendar Management: Keeping track of court dates and deadlines, arranging meetings, block scheduling preparation time, and ensuring that the team and all parties are informed of important dates and events.
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Correspondence: Handling communications related to cases, including drafting and sending letters, emails, and other correspondence to clients, witnesses, and opposing counsel.
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Meeting Preparation: Prepare for and organize meetings, Questionings, court appearances, and trials. This includes assembling necessary documents, and working with our administrative staff to set up meeting space and ensure all necessary technology and materials are available.
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Client Interaction: Communicate with clients to collect information, update them on case progress, and coordinate meetings and communications.
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Court Filings: Assisting with the preparation, filing, and service of court documents, including tracking completion and reporting to team members and to clients.
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Drafting court documents: Prepare drafts of routine and/or low-complexity court documents under the direction and supervision of the responsible lawyer. Such documents may include statements of claim and defence in routine matters, affidavits of records, notices, disclosure statements, consent orders, and other documents.
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Billing and Timekeeping: Tracking billable hours and client disbursements and expenses, reviewing draft invoices, and managing expense reports relating to cases.
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Legal Research: Conduct preliminary legal research, public record searches and gather background information from other sources as needed or directed.
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Trial Support: Organizing documents including exhibits, and preparing trial binders, and assisting with logistics during the trial.
Required skills:
To be really thrive and be successful in this position, you will need:
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A strong work ethic: Dedication to performing meticulous work, even under pressure and tight deadlines, is essential. A strong work ethic also includes attention to detail, reliability and consistency in meeting the demands of the role.
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Organizational Skills: Manage multiple cases and significant volumes of documents to keep everything orderly and accessible.
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Critical thinking: The ability to think critically and solve problems creatively is invaluable, especially in complex cases or unexpected issues during litigation.
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Attention to client needs: Understanding and anticipating the needs of clients, and maintaining a professional demeanor in all interactions, to positively impact client satisfaction and the firm’s success.
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A commitment to learning and professional development: Staying informed about new laws, regulations, procedures and technological advancements in the constantly evolving field of law.
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A team player attitude: Working with lawyers, paralegals, and administrative staff.
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Resilience and stress management: You will be expected to maintain composure and professionalism when in what can be from time to time a high-pressure and demanding environment.
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Ethical judgment: Upholding high ethical standards and integrity, especially in handling confidential information and dealing with sensitive issues.
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Technical skills:: Proficiency in using Microsoft Office as well as other law firm software and an openness to adopting new tools to increase efficiency and accuracy in tasks.
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Self-Management: The ability to manage your own time, priorities, and responsibilities to effectively ensure that all tasks are completed on schedule and to a high standard.
If these statements appeal to you, then you may be our next hire:
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You see an opportunity for organization where other people see a mess
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You understand that sometimes it’s OK to leave a message, but you also know when you gotta keep trying until you speak to a person
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You smile when you answer the phone
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You are an amazing scheduler with a sickening degree of attention to detail
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You are very good with calendars, e-mail, spreadsheets, word processing, and the internet
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Your middle name is “No Drama”
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You are an awesome juggler of tasks and can change gears quickly
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You do not think scanning and copying are “beneath you”
You must have experience. While we love to help people learn and grow, we don’t have time for that right now. We need legal assistants with experience in family law and civil litigation. The ideal candidate will be able to take initiative on work that needs to be done and complete tasks with minimal hand-holding.
This is a full-time job where you are expected to manage a caseload, so you absolutely must be able to work *in the office* for 40 hours per week. There is an opportunity for bonus compensation for those who can demonstrate their contribution to the firm's success.
