Legal Assistant

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Legal Assistant

Department: Business & Tax

Location: Rochester, NY

Classification: Nonexempt

Job Type: Full-time M-F, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Company Overview

Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP is a leading and reputable full-service law firm dedicated to providing exceptional legal services to our clients. With a team of highly skilled and experienced attorneys, we strive to deliver comprehensive and effective solutions to meet the diverse needs of our clients. Headquarters are located in Rochester, NY, with additional offices in Albany and Buffalo, NY.

We foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment where every team member is valued and respected. We encourage open communication, teamwork, and professional growth. Our firm promotes a healthy work-life balance and supports the well-being of our employees.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Legal Assistant to join our Business & Tax team in Rochester. This role supports attorneys and paralegals on corporate matters, transactions, and closings while keeping files, records, and deadlines running smoothly. The Legal Assistant also serves as a trusted point of contact for attorneys, staff, and clients, so sound judgment, discretion, and polish are essential.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist attorneys and paralegals with corporate forms, transactional documents, and closings (including invoices, wires, and binders).
• Provide administrative support: transcription, calendars, meetings, filings, courier coordination, and reception relief.
• Open new files, run conflicts checks, and maintain organized client and firm records.
• Draft correspondence, legal documents, and indexes; assemble electronic and physical binders.
• Maintain corporate minute books, stock records, and related filings; research and retrieve corporate records online.
• Record attorney time, coordinate billing, accounts receivable, and support overflow projects as needed.

Qualifications

• One to two years of administrative experience, 3 to 5+ years of legal assistant experience preferred.
• Strong administrative skills, including proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and Microsoft Teams.
• Meticulous attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Ability to prioritize competing deadlines and manage multiple tasks independently
• Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
• A professional presence, with the discretion to protect client and firm confidentiality
• A collaborative attitude and the ability to use firm resources efficiently

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Employee is regularly required to stand, walk, use hands/fingers to type, hold, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms.
• Regularly required to talk or hear.
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds.

Other Duties: Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. This is a snapshot of the core functions and responsibilities. All inquiries will be handled with the utmost confidentiality. The compensation range for this position is $20-$32 per hour, representing our good faith and reasonable estimate of the potential compensation at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be determined based on various factors, including the candidate's qualifications, experience, skill set, and office location.

Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value an open mind, dedication to work, and a collaborative spirit. We hire based on these qualities, a job’s requirements, our business needs, and an applicant’s qualifications. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind—in the hiring process or in the workplace. We comply with the ADA and consider reasonable accommodation measures that may be necessary for eligible applicants/employees to perform essential functions. We participate in E-Verify. We will provide the federal government with employees’ Form I-9 information to confirm authorization to work in the U.S. We will only use E-Verify once an employee has accepted a job offer and completed Form I-9.