Paralegal

This full-time position is located within the Office of Law and generally supports the litigation practice area. Work is performed in a normal office environment.

About the role

An employee in this class has considerable contact with County and court representatives and attorneys for the purpose of explaining legal matters or coordinating issues. Work involves preparing legal documents, conducting legal research, drafting opinions, interviewing witnesses, and performing related activities to conserve time and facilitate the work of professional legal staff. Work is performed according to established procedures and special instructions for complex assignments. Supervision is received from a higher-level member of the legal staff, and performance is evaluated based on quality, thoroughness, and timeliness.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the preparation, electronic or manual filing, and tracking of legal documents, and maintain a comprehensive case and document management database, including case statuses, deadlines, and court filings.
• Explain and collect taxes or other debts owed to the County; research and document property ownership transfers; and confirm and collect debts owed to the County, including setting up payment plans.
• Use multiple data sources to obtain and reconcile substantive information, ensuring accuracy in work products such as property ownership, debt types and amounts, or court decrees.
• Analyze existing information in County, Maryland, and nationwide databases.
• Assist in preparing, proofing, finalizing, indexing, and organizing appellate briefs, memoranda, and other court documents, including discovery requests and responses.
• Perform legal research and analysis to evaluate and summarize relevant information, including legislative history, case precedents, legal decisions, and opinions, using computerized and bibliographic tools.
• Perform searches, collections, and reviews of electronic data (e-discovery) in response to public information act requests, litigation hold requests, or other litigation cases.

Skills

• Excellent case management skills, including organization, prioritization, and coordination of multiple assignments under tight deadlines.
• Strong document management skills, including attention to detail, written and verbal communication, and information governance and security protocols.
• Proficiency in case and document management software, document processing, and legal research tools.
• Clear, effective, and professional collaboration and interaction.

Requirements

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major work in a related degree program or completion of paralegal training.
• Six or more months of experience in legal research and other phases of paralegal services.

Background check required.

Qualifications

• Three or more years of experience as a litigation paralegal.
• Three or more years of experience with online legal research platforms, such as Westlaw and Lexis.
• Three or more years of experience with judiciary filing platforms, such as MDEC and PACER.
• One or more years of experience with online legal case and document management platforms, such as HighQ.
• Extensive experience with Microsoft Office and Google Suite.

Pay

Pay will be based on education and direct experience, generally within fifteen percent (15%) of the base pay. The pay scale shown represents full proficiency of the position, not the starting range.