LEGAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT / PARALEGAL
WHO WE ARE
Hamilton Duncan is the Fraser Valley’s preeminent law firm, boasting a team of more than 30 talented lawyers and 60 excellent support staff. Located in Surrey – one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, and one that is much more affordable than Vancouver – we provide high-end legal services to a wide variety of clients in an assortment of interesting and challenging matters across diverse areas of practice. We pride ourselves in our commitment to our community and our collegial workplace and want people who value a culture and management style that fosters respect while rewarding individual responsibility, initiative and creativity and providing opportunities for further development.
WHO WE NEED
We are looking for a full-time senior legal administrative assistant with five or more years of experience, or a paralegal with three or more years of experience, to support our family litigation lawyers. Your goal will be to provide high-quality assistance so our clients can achieve the best possible outcomes. Your work will help fuel our team and our clients’ success while developing your skills in a high-demand practice area within the legal profession.
WHY YOU’LL WANT TO WORK WITH US
We ask a lot of our people, so we try to give a lot in return. In addition to a competitive salary, we think you’ll love these other benefits of working at Hamilton Duncan:
- Health and wellness: Take care of yourself and your family with our comprehensive benefits plan that includes extended medical, dental, vision, critical illness and life insurance coverages, as well as an employee assistance program for those trying times. Sick leave days ensure that you do not choose between your health and your income.
- Plan for your future: Once you have been with us for a year, you will be eligible to participate in our group RRSP program, and we will match a portion of your contributions.
- Develop your skills: Successful applicants to our continuing education program get some or all their tuition reimbursed for further law-related skills training.
- Location: Get to quickly work thanks to our highly accessible office location (directly adjacent to the Gateway SkyTrain station) with an on-site fitness facility.
- Additional comforts: Enjoy coming to work in jeans every Friday, leaving an hour early before long weekends and all summer weekends, and socializing with your colleagues at our regular social functions.
WHO YOU ARE
To be considered for this role, your application should demonstrate the following:
- Experience: At least five years’ experience as a legal administrative assistant, or three years as a paralegal, specializing in family law.
- Education: A legal administrative assistant certification from an accredited post-secondary institution is required. A paralegal certification is considered an asset.
- Skills: You must have a strong working knowledge of court rules and procedures; proficiency with typical law office computing systems (Microsoft® Office applications, document management software and web-based filing services), working knowledge of
Divorcemate, excellent time management skills, superior organizational and interpersonal skills, the ability to handle a high volume of work with tight deadlines and keen attention to detail. - Characteristics: This is a position of significant responsibility, so you should be self-motivated and thrive on solving problems both independently and with the team. The role is also demanding, meaning that you need to be calm under pressure and eager to take on challenges. You should embrace the opportunity to communicate with others. We take pride in the quality of our work, so we hope you do too.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
You will be an integral part of our family law team, critical to the success of both the lawyers you work with, and our clients. Along your journey of providing invaluable assistance to our clients with their challenges, you will be responsible for:
- Drafting correspondence, pleadings, affidavits, and other court documents, while ensuring their timely filing and delivery.
- Scheduling applications, trials, examinations for discovery, various other hearings, meetings and phone or video conferences.
- Drafting all orders and execution documents (notices of family claim, counterclaims, financial disclosure statements, etc.) and filing and serving post-judgement documents.
- Managing the calendars of busy litigators, file-related task lists and bring forward systems to help ensure that our clients’ matters progress as they should and that nothing gets missed.
- Communicating with clients and opposing counsel to gather information, provide updates on the file status, coordinate dates, and convey next steps.
- Organizing document production in matters where clients have many documents (i.e., lists of documents).
- Administering clients’ files, including file opening (conflict searches, client identifications and other tasks), scanning documents, filing (primarily electronically), binder assembly, billing, and file closing.
HOW TO APPLY
If you are ready to advance your career and join our team at Hamilton Duncan, act now by emailing your cover letter and resume to our Human Resources Manager, Renu Bains, at rbains@hamiltonduncan.com.
We thank all applicants for their interest in our firm and keep all applications on file in the event of future opportunities. Only those shortlisted for interviews for this position will be contacted as a part of this recruiting effort.