An Interview with Matthew V. Mirabile, Partner at McCabe and Mack LLP
At McCabe and Mack LLP, we join companies and organizations everywhere in celebrating Administrative Professionals Week (the last full week in April, which we actually refer to as Staff Appreciation Week). It is a wonderful opportunity to honor the good work of those who keep offices running smoothly, and to remind them of the significance of their roles.
Our team felt that one way to publicly acknowledge our staff would be to help people better understand what their careers entail. To that end, we caught up with McCabe and Mack LLP Partner Matthew V. Mirabile, who gave us a glimpse into the scope of responsibilities of legal assistants and paralegals at our firm. Here is what we discovered:
Q. Matthew, tell us about the infrastructure at the firm when it comes to your administrative professionals (staff).
A. McCabe and Mack LLP is a general practice and we have many different departments, such as commercial litigation, personal injury, real estate, trusts and estates, commercial and banking, and more. Lawyers in each department have particular staff assistants who have been assigned to help them. For example, I have one legal assistant who I share with another Partner, and she takes care of both of us when it comes to scheduling, putting together files, typing our dictations, managing our court appearances, and more. She is my right-hand person, and without her I would not be able to do all that I do. This is true for all the legal assistants in our firm; they are an integral part of our success. All of our legal assistants take care of the day-to-day activities that keep us running efficiently and do everything possible to make sure that we do not miss a beat or a deadline, and they take care of details like getting medical records, scheduling expert witnesses, coordinating depositions and trials – there is so much. The way we operate is very much like a movie set; as lawyers, we are basically the directors, and our legal assistants are the producers. There are also a number of others in the firm that support us and the legal assistants.
Q. How many people work as part of each team on a case?
A. It really depends upon the complexity of each case. Estates and trusts, for example, might require a larger team. In the personal injury department (where I work), we have one legal assistant for each attorney but sometimes others will jump in to help out if the workload grows. I have had times when I am working with 3 or 4 legal assistants, which can be especially helpful if there is a request for something to be turned around quickly. If one person on the team is already at capacity for that day, another person can get that rush job done.
We also have a calendar clerk who handles scheduling, which is another critically important role. Now with all of the video conferencing we do, coordinating days and times is far more complicated than it used to be; everybody needs a link and login credentials, so there are many more details to be considered now.
Q. The pandemic certainly impacted the role of an administrative professional (staff); can you comment on that?
A. Over the past couple of years we had to look at each meeting to determine what needed to be done in the office versus what we could do via teleconference. It has not been like the old days when people could just freely walk through our doors; we have needed advance notice. Our team of administrative staff has had to be up-to-date on the latest protocols and CDC guidance to protect the health and well-being of everyone, which has added another layer to their work. And in addition, they have had to be sure that our computers are all working properly, in the office and at home, because we rely on technology more than ever. Oftentimes they have had to resolve last-minute technical glitches or concerns and they seem to just make it all happen so effortlessly, which is really incredible!
Q. How often do administrative staff interact with clients?
A. Our administrative team communicates regularly with our clients, whether to check their availability for depositions or court appearances or to follow up if additional documentation is needed. Sometimes they are checking in for updates and other times they need to give clients a pep talk or help them navigate challenges. For example, they might have to help a client with a disability get certain accommodations, or help a client who doesn’t drive find transportation. They might be assisting someone who does not have access to a computer or helping somebody for whom English is not their first language figure out exactly what needs to happen next. Our administrative professionals (staff) are there every step of the way for our clients, just as they are for us, and they support so many different types of situations that come up.
Q. Anything else you would like to share as you reflect on the meaningful work of your administrative staff at McCabe and Mack LLP?
A. I truly appreciate all that our staff does each and every day, and especially respect the many ways they have all stepped up to help get our firm through this global health crisis. Their jobs are big ones with many variables, and I truly admire this team. We are so lucky to have them.
Matthew V. Mirabile, Partner at McCabe and Mack LLP, works on Litigation/Insurance Defense, Personal Injury – Plaintiff, Subrogation, Arbitration, and Criminal Defense cases. He can be reached at 845.486.6868.