International Legal Secretary

Who you are:
You are a highly motivated self-starter looking to propel your career to the next level in a thriving and collegial professional environment.

Who we are:
Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP (TKD) is an entrepreneurial, growing, and highly supportive firm located in the heart of New York City. Our position as a mid-size firm promotes a work environment that fosters relationship building inside and outside of the office. 

We care about each other, our clients, the work we do, and the communities in which we live. It’s the kind of environment where every employee can develop into their best professional selves, where everyone’s contributions matter, and where each employee makes a real difference right from the start. TKD is a place to challenge, share ideas, and contribute your ideas and skills as part of an exceptional team. Each day holds an opportunity to make a real impact.

What the role entails:
TKD is seeking a Legal Secretary that will provide both administrative and client support for our growing International Practice. The ideal candidate has a background in the legal industry and can give high-touch, personable support to their attorneys and the firm’s clients. We are looking for someone who can act as a concierge for the practice group while providing the team with effective, high-quality support that appropriately meets their requirements, enabling them to focus on providing legal services and client development. Our support will include, but is not limited to, answering easily solvable requests as well as more complex questions that may require research and third-party communications. 

The incumbent will act as a liaison to both the Chair and Co-Chair of the Italy practice, two (2) counsels, and three (3) associates. This role is a highly visible and requires professionalism, creating a great first impression, and establishing and fostering strong connections within the firm and externally with clients, business partners, prospects, and guests. Strong technical skills in the Microsoft Office suite, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, an eye for detail, and the ability to handle confidential executive and company matters effectively and efficiently with the utmost discretion are required.
 
The ideal candidate will possess strong administrative, technical, and organizational skills while exercising sound judgment in various situations. This position is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to join a full-service firm and blossom in their career as we expand to meet our client’s needs. The incumbent will have the opportunity to assist in managing both internal, external, and client relationships for the practice.
  
Essential responsibilities include:

Administrative Support

• Serve as a gatekeeper and communicate regularly with clients and other external parties over the phone, in person, and through correspondence.
• Enthusiastically greet all contacts: vendors and personnel consistently, offering a warm, smiling, and hospitable demeanor that is positive, authentic, friendly, and helpful.
• Manage each practice member’s calendar by scheduling meetings and conference rooms, book appointments, manage to-do’s, and maintaining frequently changing schedules.
• Create Engagement and Retainer Letters.
• Open and manage new client matters accurately and efficiently.
• Prepare and ensure availability of necessary agendas, presentations, closing binders for corporate transactional matters, and meeting notes.
• Use word processing and our document management software (Microsoft Office 2010, including Word Excel, PowerPoint Outlook, iManage, Redlining, Compare, Adobe, etc.) to draft, transcribe, prepare, proofread, and revise, format and finalize a wide variety of documents, including briefs, correspondence, memoranda, agreements, and other legal materials and presentations.
• Organize travel and itineraries, including both domestic and international travel. Manage the travel process from end to end to include all ground transport and hotel bookings, meeting room requirements, and catering.
• Establish and maintain paper and electronic files in compliance with current firm policies utilizing the firm’s record protocol procedures and document management system.
• Perform other related duties required based upon the unique practice of the attorney, such as but not limited to assisting in business development initiatives and events and committee projects and responsibilities.
• Assist other secretaries whenever necessary to meet the firm and client needs. 
• Build professional, cooperative, and supportive relationships with one’s peers, superiors, and clients. Anticipates and identifies clients’/colleagues’ current and future needs.

Billing Process

• Process monthly bills and manage expenses routinely updating Rippe; complete and close timekeeping where appropriate and prompt attorneys where necessary.
• Work with Accounting in all aspects of the billing cycle, including but not limited to the review of client billing for accuracy; edits to content/grammar; resolution of billing problems; and efficient changes to the process.
• Present final billing statements for each partner to review and ensure that disbursement invoices are authorized and ready to be submitted electronically and added to the file to close out the monthly client billing cycle.
• Process expense reports and credit card reconciliations promptly.

Qualifications and skills:

• A minimum of three (3) years of recent experience as a legal secretary, executive secretarial, or administrative assistant.
• Bachelor’s degree. 
• Must possess a typing speed of at least 60-65 wpm with a high rate of accuracy.
• Maintain a positive, professional, courteous, and flexible demeanor when dealing with clients and colleagues and adhering to firm policies. 
• Possess expertise and advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, a strong familiarity with legal terminology and documents, and effective proofreading and editing skills.
• Ability to handle high-pressure situations with grace.
• Able to work as a team player for the practice area and have the capability to work independently and drive projects to completion.
• Possesses the ability to see the importance of every task holistically and understand how each assignment benefits the growth and success of the practice.  
• Perform complex secretarial activities which may be highly confidential and sensitive and require discretion and diplomacy
• Excellent organizational, time management, attention to detail, and multi-tasking skills in a busy, deadline-driven environment.
• Have a proactive, forward-thinking, innovative, and results-oriented approach with a strong work ethic and well-developed interpersonal skills.
• Has the ability to learn new technologies quickly.
• Demonstrates proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability.
• Self-motivated and driven.
• Fluency in Italian (verbally and written) is a plus.
• All applicants applying for U.S. openings must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

TKD is currently maintaining a hybrid schedule structured as Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in-office with alternating Mondays and the option to be remote Fridays. 

What you'll love about us:
We care about your professional and personal growth. Training and developing our team members are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to cultivating development opportunities for you and helping you achieve your targeted career goals. The firm values your unique characteristics. We foster an inclusive and diverse environment where multiple perspectives are appreciated as we understand that our employees play an intricate role in the expansion and success of our firm. 

Compensation & benefits:
The good faith base annual salary range for this position is a minimum $55,000 to a maximum of $110,000. The actual salary rate offered to candidates within that range will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, years of relevant experience, applicable education/certification(s), office location, and the candidate's overall qualifications for the position as assessed by the Firm. Market and Firm factors are also considered.

Our generous benefits package includes medical, dental, vision insurance; 401K, disability, life insurance, and Paid Time Off (PTO). 

More about the Firm:
TKD is a pre-eminent full-service firm focused on serving middle-market and larger business clients. We provide high-quality personalized service based on our client’s goals.
    
The strength of the firm lies not only in its experienced attorneys and congenial atmosphere but also in our holistic approach to law – serving businesses and individuals through commercial litigation, general corporate, real estate, construction-related matters, trust and estates, employment & labor law, as well as more specialized areas, including securities, not-for-profit and education, taxation, business-related immigration matters, international law, intellectual property, and bankruptcy, among others.
    
Our lawyers have also garnered several prestigious recognitions for their contributions to the profession and their clients. We have been selected by Crain’s NY Business as a Best Places to Work in New York City and listed on the National Law Journal’s Hot List of the top 20 mid-sized firms in the nation. Many of our lawyers are ranked in Chambers USA and included among Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers.
    
TKD values diversity and recognizes that it is an essential component of our culture and benefits our clients. We appreciate that having a diverse workforce contributes to both our success and the world at large. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, veteran status, or disability in relation to our recruiting, hiring, and promoting practices.
    
TKD will not accept unsolicited resumes from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at TKD via mail, email, fax, the Internet, or in any other form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place will be deemed the sole property of TKD. TKD will NOT pay a fee for any placement resulting from the receipt of an unsolicited resume.