Legal Executive Assistant

Ropes & Gray•Washington, DC

34d•$77,000 - $117,450•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a seasoned Legal Executive Assistant ("LEA") to serve as a trusted right hand to our partners. This is a high-impact role for a polished professional who thrives on building deep, lasting relationships with attorneys and their clients, and who brings the judgment and initiative needed to anticipate needs, drive matters forward, and deliver seamless day-to-day support. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of supporting senior-level professionals in a demanding, fast-paced environment and has embraced modern tools—including artificial intelligence—to maximize efficiency across core administrative functions such as email management, scheduling, and document handling.

Requirements

College degree or equivalent.
Minimum of five years of experience providing direct administrative support to partners, senior executives, or other senior-level professionals, preferably in a law firm or professional services environment.
Demonstrated use of artificial intelligence tools (e.g., AI-assisted email management, scheduling assistants, or document automation) to drive efficiency in day-to-day administrative work.
Expert proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).
Proven ability to build and sustain strong relationships with professionals and clients at all levels, with a genuine curiosity about the business and a commitment to understanding client needs.
Strong organizational skills reflecting the ability to seamlessly perform and prioritize multiple tasks with excellent attention to detail.
Expert written and verbal communication skills.
Proactive approach to problem-solving, with strong decision-making capability and the ability to work independently with sound judgment.
Ability to conduct research and synthesize information clearly and concisely.
A track record of anticipating needs, exercising discretion, and moving work forward on behalf of the professionals supported.

Responsibilities

Develops and maintains strong, trusted relationships with assigned attorneys and their clients. Invests the time to understand each attorney's practice, client roster, and business development priorities so as to serve as a knowledgeable and effective representative on their behalf.
Acts as a gatekeeper and liaison, prioritizing conflicting demands and handling sensitive matters confidentially, expeditiously, and independently. Follows through on all tasks until successful completion.
Anticipates attorneys' needs based on an intimate knowledge of their work habits, preferences, and upcoming commitments. Keeps attorneys well-informed and moves work forward with minimal direction, suggesting process improvements to expedite projects and day-to-day workflow.
Maintains professional relationships with a range of internal and external clients, and professional organizations on behalf of assigned attorneys. Keeps client contacts current in InterAction and maintains detailed client and matter lists.
Fosters open and frequent communication with teammates to ensure smooth and continuous first-class service to assigned lawyers, including cross-training to maintain service standards during absences.
Conducts research as directed by assigned attorneys, gathering and synthesizing information from internal and external sources to support client matters, business development, and practice management.
Proactively coaches attorneys to delegate non-billable tasks—including printing, scanning, copying, binding, filing, notary services, document preparation, and package shipment—allowing them to focus on legal work and client engagement.
Leverages artificial intelligence tools to manage high-volume email inboxes efficiently, including triaging, organizing, drafting routine responses, and flagging priority communications per attorney preferences.
Applies AI and other technology solutions to gain efficiencies across core administrative functions such as scheduling, document handling, expense processing, and information management.
Monitors and manages attorneys' Outlook inboxes, organizing folder structures and ensuring client- and matter-related documents and emails are properly stored in iManage Workspaces.
Demonstrates exceptional proficiency with Microsoft Outlook and the full Microsoft Office suite, utilizing creative problem-solving skills to manage complex scheduling across multiple lawyers, clients, offices, and time zones.
Efficiently reconciles and processes expenses. Reviews inbox, diary entries, calendars, and other items to classify business and personal expenses. Reviews Chrome River and American Express accounts to allocate expense items, collaborating with internal and external resources to address outstanding items within the payment window.
Actively manages timekeepers' diaries, creating draft entries based on knowledge of attorney activity and reviewing entries for conformity to best practices. Proactively manages attorneys to ensure entries meet submission deadlines.
Communicates and collaborates with assigned billing coordinators, coordinating the review of proformas, tracking edits and updates, and facilitating final approval of bills to ensure timely delivery to clients.
Composes, edits, and proofreads correspondence, presentations, and other documents with exceptional attention to detail and strong document production skills.
Proactively coordinates internal and external meetings with limited direction, arranging all logistics including visitor offices, conference rooms, videoconference links, and dial-in numbers as appropriate.
Applies best practices when arranging travel, utilizing agent-assist and online tools. Monitors travel to ensure smooth arrivals and departures, maintains up-to-date travel preferences, and manages airline check-in and boarding passes as needed.
Actively contributes in team huddles, focus groups, lunch-and-learns, and other knowledge-sharing activities, including the mentor program as appropriate.
Maintains subject-matter-level expertise in the firm's core applications and adheres to established best practices. Stays current on emerging technologies, including AI-driven productivity tools, and shares insights with colleagues.
Performs other work-related duties as assigned.