Job Description: Elder Law Paralegal

Summary: The Elder Law paralegal’s primary responsibility is to draft documents including Health Care Directives, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Amendments, etc. Supports attorneys with various tasks including monitoring calendar daily, meeting with clients and preparing for upcoming meetings. This position works collaboratively with the attorney in completing legal work in a timely manner.

Reporting Relationship: Reports to the managing Attorney for legal/drafting responsibilities. Reports to the Office Manager for Administrative functions.

Full Time: 37.5 hours / week

Duties and Responsibilities: Performs a wide variety of Paralegal/Legal Assistant functions to support all legal areas of the firm with a focus on Estate Planning.

• Client Contact – Communicates with clients via mail, email and telephone to set up appointments, discusses draft documents and changes to documents, and answer general client inquiries. Also communicates with financial advisors, insurance companies when necessary.
• Problem Solving – Proactively anticipates and resolves issues quickly.
• Process Improvement – Makes recommendations to improve processes that will increase the service quality and efficiency and responsiveness to clients.
• Draft Documents – Draft documents and revise draft documents, run final documents for execution. Drafts should be completed within 72 hours of receiving assignment.
• Real Estate/Land Records – Verify property ownership, request property descriptions from Town Clerks, record deeds on the land records, and verify insurance coverage when appropriate.
• Client Execution Meetings – Meet with the client initially to review the final documents and field any questions they may have, know when to bring questions to the Attorney’s attention, and have the client write their initials on the documents where indicated.
• Tickler System – Use and regularly update the firm’s tickler system to track file activity and to document work completed and work to be completed.
• Billable Time – Keep track of and post all billable and non-billable work. The firm has a billable time goal of 80% for all legal staff.
• Other Duties – Performs other duties as assigned including scanning documents and conforming documents.

Qualifications & Skills:

• Associates Degree or Certificate in paralegal studies from an ABA approved program.
• Two or more years of experience working in an administrative assistant or secretary position.
• Excellent client service and communications skills – both oral and written.
• Excellent proof reading skills and attention to detail.
• Solid organizational skills and ability to prioritize tasks.
• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office Applications including Word, Outlook and Excel
• Ability to anticipate client needs and to avoid surprises and unpreparedness.