Litigation Paralegal I or II

Job Duties/Responsibilities

• Draft and revise letters, pleadings, subpoenas, deposition notices, and court-ordered documents, including initial disclosures, witness lists, exhibit lists, preliminary reports, status reports, scheduling orders, pre-trial orders, etc.
• Draft, review and/or analyze, and revise routine legal documents as requested by attorneys, such as preparation of deposition summaries, preparation of chronologies (medical and otherwise), preparation of witness files, and review of testimony for relevance to specific facts or issues, preparation of subpoenas, etc.
• Manage and work on discovery, including investigation, organizing and preparing interrogatories, requests for production, and discovery responses
• Perform all elements of litigation case management, including file management, case calendaring, discovery and trial activities, preparing and organizing notebooks and binders
• Interact with outside entities (e.g. courts, government agencies, expert witnesses, corporations, vendors and other law firms) and internal clients to gather information or coordinate activities as needed in support of office activities, specifically trials, mediations, arbitrations and appeals
• Schedule witness interviews and depositions; gather documents and assist in preparation for same; arrange court reporters for deposition; summarize depositions
• Administer administrative support, including scheduling meetings, handling attorney calls, handling incoming and outgoing mail, making travel arrangements, handling attorney calls
• Manage attorney calendar for litigation, advise of upcoming deadlines, etc., schedule deadlines from court scheduling orders, update case chart, trial chart and other reports
• Manage and prioritize a variety of calls and meetings
• Review, organize and upkeep physical and electronic records and files
• Prepare and track legal hold letters
• Perform factual and legal research
• Investigate and assemble facts and other data for legal matters
• Perform legal research on Westlaw or in other reference materials and perform other necessary factual research on internet, etc.
• Input, retrieve and manage electronic documents on the department drives as well as in software programs
• Proofread and edit documents
• Summarize, where necessary, voluminous records
• Analyze & compile data in form required by attorneys (e.g., charts, etc.)
• Draft status reports relating to litigation matters; maintain up to date information relating to such matters
• Participate in storm restoration training and efforts

Requirements

• Minimum education required of the position: Paralegal degree/certificate and/or bachelor's degree
• Minimum experience required of the position: Paralegal I: 0-5 years of work experience; Paralegal II: 5 years of work experience
• Preferred: at least of two years' experience at a law firm
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint and possibly Summation
• Experience with court and administrative agency filings, including electronic filings
• Experience using e-discovery databases (Summation, etc.) preferred
• Experience using litigation support software for managing files and transcripts preferred (e.g. Trial Director, Trial Director Notebook, etc.) preferred
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively and in a professional manner, including communications that are clear and concise, use proper grammar and appropriate vocabulary
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to multi-task and work productively as a member of multi-disciplinary team
• Strong sense of accountability and attention to detail
• Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to work concurrently on a variety of projects with changing priorities and to maintain calendar and deadline reminder systems
• Demonstrated research, writing and editing skills as well as oral presentation skills and experience in management of complex data systems
• Proficiency using LexisNexis, Westlaw, and Adobe Acrobat in a legal setting
• Ability to work with others at all levels
• Maintain confidentiality of departmental issues
• Assignments may include overtime and/or weekend hours
• Perform work outside of these duties, as needed, for storm, restoration or other emergency events