Bennett Jones is a leading full-service international law firm with offices in Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal and New York. We are proud that Bennett Jones was named one of Canada’s Best Employers in 2022 in Kincentric’s “Best Employers in Canada” survey. The firm was also recognized in 2022 as one of Alberta’s Top 75 Employers and as one of the Top Employers for Young People in a Mediacorp study. For 23 years, Bennett Jones has been recognized as one of Canada's top employers.

Bilingual legal assistant, Corporate Law

Job summary

* Hybrid schedule: three (3) days in the office

We are looking for an experienced bilingual legal assistant to join the Corporate group in our Montreal office. Reporting to the Managing Director, the candidate will assist our team of lawyers in managing their practice and carrying out mandates in corporate law, namely in mergers and acquisitions and private equity, at both the legal and administrative levels.

Roles and responsibilities

• Draft, revise and finalize correspondence, agreements and any other documents in accordance with handwritten, dictated, working notes, precedents and / or lawyers’ instructions, including memos, letters, emails, reports, presentations, proposal documents, budgets for future work, forms and transaction documents, using various software including Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Aderant, Interaction, Workshare Comparison and Adobe;
• Assist with the closing of transactions, including the preparation of agreements based on precedents and ensure the timely delivery of closing documents;
• Search the Registre des entreprises du Québec, Corporations Canada, RDPRM, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, SOQUIJ, the Québec Land Registry, and other sources;
• Apply writing and rereading skills to all products of his work, ensure their accuracy and completeness, while ensuring that the formatting, spelling and grammar are impeccable in both English and French;
• Act as liaison between lawyers and various internal and external persons regarding the progress of transactions and other matters of working group practice;
• Participate in the administrative management of the firm, in particular by opening and closing files, organizing meetings (including booking rooms and arranging for food services or audiovisual equipment), setting calendars, organizing trips and / or other types of accommodation;
• Ensure the management, organization of physical and computer files and administrative follow-ups from the opening to the archive;
• Develop and maintain an impeccable document filing system on iManage;
• Master the billing process: provide administrative support for the preparation and completion of time entries, coordination of billing, expense processing and invoice payment in accordance with the Firm’s accounting policies and standards;
• Prepare requests for cheques and deposits / withdrawals from trust accounts, as well as expense reports and expense accounts;
• Track deadlines and timelines;
• Receive, filter, respond, transmit emails, calls and faxes, and file paper and electronic documents;
• Manage the agenda of the assigned lawyer or lawyers;
• Perform other office tasks and special projects.

Qualifications

• The candidate in this position will have to interact with clients and third parties who understand and communicate only in English. This position also requires that the candidate be able to interact seamlessly with colleagues in our offices across Canada, where English is the predominant language. Since we estimate that more than 50% of the work required for this position must be done in English, the language requirements for this position are a high level of writing, understanding and oral communication in that language. The candidate must also have a high level of writing, understanding and oral communication in French;
• Minimum of five to seven years of experience as a legal assistant with several lawyers specializing in corporate law, preferably at a large national law firm;
• Diploma of legal assistant (A.E.C.) or diploma of collegial studies (D.E.C.) in office administration, or the equivalent;
• Proficiency in MS Office, Adobe Pro, digital dictation and other technologies specific to the legal field;
• Experience with Aderant (or other billing technology specific to the legal industry) and an excellent understanding of the billing cycle, expense processing and bill payment;
• High attention to details and ability to perform multiple tasks quickly and accurately;
• Excellent organizational skills, personal motivation and ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time and under pressure;
• Demonstrate professionalism, confidentiality and discretion, as well as being customer service-oriented, adaptable and responsible;
• Ability to work as a team and in a changing environment;
• Demonstrate discernment, ingenuity and autonomy in solving administrative problems;
• Willingness to work overtime on occasion.

Apply to

Jacinthe Landry, Managing Director, Montreal Office
E-mail: landryj@bennettjones.com
Bennett Jones LLP.
900 Boulevard de Maisonneuve W, Suite 1800
Montreal, QC H3A 0A8
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