Legal Assistant Administrative Support

VALARIE COLLINS

*** ***** ******, ************, ** 19148 Tel. 267-***-**** ******************@*****.*** PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

City of Philadelphia-Law Department (Labor & Employment) February 2025 – Present Senior Legal Assistant

● Provide administrative support to attorneys by drafting and proofreading legal documents, including pleadings and briefs

● Assisted in the preparation of trial exhibits by organizing and labeling evidence

● Work with the attorneys to organize discovery and discovery processes

● Create case chart tracking stages of division cases and anticipated future cases

● Draft and issue litigation holds to various governmental entities

● Draft and issue subpoenas as needed

Federal Defender Office May 2023 – September 2024

Legal Assistant

● Prepared and filed legal forms with courts and government agencies

● Maintained organized filing system for legal documents to ensure easy retrieval

● Managed billing process by tracking time

● Arranged travel accommodation for attorneys

Pietragallo Law Firm January 2023 - May 2023

Legal Secretary

● Maintained confidentiality of sensitive information related to ongoing cases or client matters

● Drafted correspondence to clients, opposing counsel and other legal parties

● Managed attorney calendars, scheduling appointments and meetings

● Scheduled conference calls between attorneys and clients

● Performed administrative tasks such as answering phone calls promptly while maintaining professionalism

The School District of Philadelphia April 2015 – September 2022 Executive Assistant, Office of Talent

● Supporting the administrative needs of the Chief Talent Officer, Deputy Chief of Talent Support Services and Deputy of Employee and Labor Relations

● Responding to inquiries about school district policies from internal and external stakeholders

● Generating staffing reports and verifying the accuracy of weekly payroll for 50 employees

● Preparing memorandums, correspondence and presentation materials for executive review

● Scheduling appointments and meetings and arranging accommodations

● Managing an $8.5 million budget, including preparing accounting statements, records and vouchers

● Developing and executing Human Resources’ limited contract agreements, resolutions and contracts

● Increasing staff efficiency by 35% by overhauling the organization of the storage and filing areas Ballard Spahr LLP December 2001 – April 2015

Legal Administrative Assistant, Litigation/White Collar Defense & Internal Investigations Group

● Supported the Practice Group Leader, partners and associates

● Answered and screened telephone calls, and escalated issues to appropriate parties as needed

● Submitted conflict requests, new business forms and engagement letters

● Prepared budgets for internal investigations and large client groups

● Scheduled meetings, including catering and other logistics

● Developed agenda for monthly group meetings

● Scheduled third-party vendor services such as court reporters and witnesses

● Liaised with billing department to confirm billable hours, expenses and process final statements

● Generated travel arrangements, including transportation and hotel reservations; prepared and submitted expense reports

Dechert LLP, Philadelphia, PA, September 1996 – December 2001 Secretary – Labor Group

● Provided general administrative and clerical support

● Opened, sorted and distributed incoming correspondence

● Prepared and edited legal documents, reports, memorandums and email communication

● Assisted in litigation project management

Michael E. Wallace, Philadelphia, PA, September 1987 – September 1996 Secretary

● Provided general administrative and clerical support

● Opened, sorted and distributed incoming correspondence

● Prepared and edited legal documents, reports, memorandums and email communication Krusen, Evans and Bryne, Philadelphia, PA, September 1985 – September 1987 File Clerk

● Provided general clerical support

EDUCATION

St. Maria Goretti High School, High school diploma SKILLS

Organization: Adept at scheduling meetings, preparing agendas and following up on action items Problem-solving: Possess strong quantitative problem-solving and prioritization skills Technology: MS Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint); typing speed is 65 words per minute

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