**MEMBERS ONLY**SIGN UP NOW*** is seeking a disciplined and entrepreneurial Associate Attorney who desires to work in an encouraging, team-focused atmosphere. The successful candidate will also be personable and conscientious with an eagerness to learn and accept new challenges. The Associate Attorney will work closely alongside, and be mentored by, an AV Rated and Florida Bar Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estates Attorney and benefit from his 29 years of experience. At our busy, boutique firm, the Associate Attorney can expect to begin meeting with clients shortly after hire and be entrusted with high-level planning assignments.
Reference checks, background screening, and credit checks are conditions for Offer of Employment.
## Responsibilities
- Manage private and sensitive information in strict confidence. - Organize and proactively manage case files with particular attention to deadlines. - Identify and assess issues, evaluate risk, conduct factual and legal research, and provide legally sound recommendations to clients and staff. - Analyze and interpret laws, rulings, and regulations. - Effectively communicate complex materials in an easily understood manner. - Draft and review legal pleadings, documents, and letters. Work with Support Staff, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and consistency with jurisdiction’s requirements. - File documents with the corresponding Clerk of Court and maintain current knowledge of their respective filing requirements. - Correspond with clients, counsel, court, and related parties. - Review IOTA account bank statements. - Ensure all clients’ billing and reimbursable expenses are recorded within 24 hours of the billable activity. Annual rate of 1,750 billable hours expected. - Track billing progress in relation to client engagement and determine appropriate deposit requests. - Adhere to internal protocols for safe handling of documents, client file management, database maintenance, and communication procedures. - Participate in networking and marketing initiatives to create and maintain client relationships. - Assist with administrative / non-billable needs including, but not limited to, staff training and business development.
## Qualifications
- Florida Bar License. - Minimum 3 years’ experience in Estate Planning, Business Law, and/or Probate. - Excellent attention to detail and confidential integrity. - Proficient interpersonal and communication skills, with a focus on team success. - Comfortable interacting with a variety of clients; relational personality to create and maintain positive client rapport. - Effective time management, organization, and task flexibility. Ability to manage several on-going projects simultaneously. - Effectively resolve problems through independent and collaborative means. - Comfortable with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint) and a general aptitude for learning new software. Additional experience in Clio, Westlaw, Wealth Counsel / Elder Counsel, and/or Asana preferred.
## Preferred Qualifications
- M. or CPA preferred. - Bilingual preferred (English and Spanish).
## Employment Details
- Location: Lakeland, FL - Work Hours: Flexible with an anticipated average of 45-50 hours per week. - Compensation: $80,000 – $95,000 annual salary based on experience and qualifications. - Employment Type / Classification: Full-time / Exempt - Benefits: 80 hours paid time off plus 13 paid holidays (including employee’s birthday), monthly bonus structure, 401(k) matching up to 4%, group health insurance with 76% employer-supplemented premium, short-term and long-term disability insurance with employer-paid premium, professional liability insurance with employer-paid premium, employer-paid dues for Florida Bar and City of Lakeland Professional Business Tax Receipt, annual stipend toward CLE course participation, discount on firm’s legal services, on-site parking, private office, employer-provided laptop, and opportunity for hybrid schedule.
## Company Culture
While we understand perfection to be unattainable, we do strive for excellence in every area of our lives. As such, a personal commitment to maintaining a high level of integrity, ethics, and professionalism is expected as well as accepting responsibility for inevitable mistakes. We are dedicated to treating all individuals with care, respect, and dignity. We also expect to receive the same treatment in our work relationships. We will not tolerate disrespect from or toward the members of our team. While we each have goals to reach and tasks to accomplish, we strive to remember the humanness of those with whom we interact.
Recognizing that documents do not solve problems, the firm encourages creativity and a comprehensive approach to serving the client’s best interest. The successful candidate will demonstrate characteristics consistent with the firm’s mission of developing better legacies by caring well for our clients and their families through active listening, genuine compassion, and thoughtful representation.
## Practice Areas
**MEMBERS ONLY**SIGN UP NOW*** serves clients in estate planning, probate, guardianship, trust administration, elder law, asset protection, tax planning, and business planning.
## Location and Community
Positioned in Lakeland, Florida’s beautiful downtown, **MEMBERS ONLY**SIGN UP NOW*** is committed to serving our clients and communities with the highest degree of excellence. As part of this mission, residence within Polk County (and preferably the City of Lakeland) is paramount. Many opportunities to network
