Senior Litigation Paralegal

Our client is a nationally recognized criminal and civil trial boutique based in New York City. The firm was founded and is led by a premier trial lawyer who has taught trial advocacy at a top-tier law school and has earned recognition from leading legal directories and national media. The firm's attorneys are graduates of top-ten law schools, bringing more than 70 years of combined experience and over 50 jury trials in some of the country's most complex and high-profile cases. The firm's largest practice area is criminal defense, including white-collar defense, and it also handles complex civil litigation and appeals. The firm has active cases in the Southern District of New York, New York state courts, and California courts.

This is a small, process-driven team where everyone shares an "all hands-on deck" attitude, focusing on delivering the best results for clients. The firm emphasizes thorough preparation to maintain control throughout each case.

About the role

Our client is hiring a Senior Litigation Paralegal for its Manhattan office. This is a senior, on-site role where you will provide direct support to the firm's four full-time attorneys and lead and mentor one junior paralegal. You will run and elevate the firm's paralegal function, focusing on real trial work—not just document review. The firm is preparing for a major federal trial expected in the first half of 2027, with motion practice already underway. You will help prepare and run that trial from start to finish: pre-trial, trial, and post-trial.

You will not draft legal arguments but will produce clean, precise, error-free documents, catch mistakes across complex filings, and ensure all deliverables are organized and on time.

Responsibilities

• Case management
  • Manage and organize cases from start to finish.
  • Maintain and update case files, including pleadings, discovery documents, correspondence, expert reports, and exhibits.
  • Build and track case timelines, calendars, and deadlines to ensure nothing is missed.
  • Coordinate with clients, witnesses, experts, vendors, opposing counsel, and co-counsel.
• Documents and court filings
  • Prepare, proofread, and edit legal documents, including pleadings, motions, briefs, affidavits, and sentencing memos.
  • Bluebook and cite-check briefs, and prepare tables of contents and tables of authorities.
  • File documents in state and federal court and follow all court rules and e-filing steps.
  • Organize and maintain electronic document databases, ensuring confidentiality and accessibility.
• Discovery and investigation
  • Prepare and respond to discovery requests, including document productions and interrogatories.
  • Manage document review, often across large volumes of data.
  • Draft memos, correspondence, charts, and research summaries.
• Legal research
  • Conduct legal research using Westlaw, LexisNexis, and PACER.
• Trial support
  • Prepare trial exhibits, witness lists, and other trial materials.
  • Provide on-site support during trials, hearings, and depositions.
  • Manage exhibits, coordinate witnesses, and run courtroom technology.
• Supervision and quality control
  • Mentor and train the junior paralegal.
  • Maintain high quality and consistency across all team deliverables.
• Time recording
  • Enter time daily into the firm's practice management software.

Why this role

• Work side by side with nationally recognized trial lawyers on serious, high-profile cases.
• Engage in hands-on trial work, not just back-office support.
• Hold a senior position, lead the paralegal function, and grow into more case and people management as the firm expands.
• Be part of a true team—on every filing date, the responsible attorney is in the office until the filing is complete.
• As a non-exempt role, overtime during heavy trial periods is paid, and the firm offers a year-end bonus.

Work Environment

• On-site at the firm's Manhattan office; no remote or hybrid option.
• Core hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• Expect significant overtime and some weekend work during trial preparation and trial periods.
• Day-to-day travel is minimal, but you may need to travel to courthouses during trials, sometimes on short notice.

Requirements

• Essential paralegal experience at a large law firm.
• Hands-on litigation and trial experience, including trial preparation and execution (e.g., motion practice, sentencing memos, exhibit management, witness coordination, and e-filing).
• Experience with New York state court and federal court filings and procedures, including the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
• Strong Bluebook and cite-checking skills, with experience preparing tables of contents and tables of authorities.
• Excellent proofreading, attention to detail, and written communication—able to produce clean, error-free legal documents and catch mistakes across complex filings.
• A strong sense of ownership; work accurately with minimal supervision.
• Ability to supervise and mentor a junior paralegal while maintaining high-quality deliverables.
• Comfort supporting the defense of clients facing serious criminal charges, including matters involving sexual assault and sex trafficking.
• Ability to work well under pressure, meet tight deadlines, and handle extended hours during trial preparation and trials.
• Proficiency with Westlaw, LexisNexis, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and legal practice management software.
• Bachelor's degree.
• Authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.
• Availability to work on-site in Manhattan, with overtime, occasional weekends, and short-notice travel to courthouses as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5 to 7 years of professional paralegal experience.
• Bachelor's degree from a competitive university and/or a paralegal certificate from an ABA-approved program.
• Experience in criminal defense or white-collar criminal defense.
• Familiarity with California court formatting and filing.
• Experience with eDiscovery and litigation tools such as Relativity, CaseMap/TimeMap, West Case Notebook, and PACER.
• A healthy sense of humor.

Benefits

• Base salary: $90,000 to $120,000 per year, based on experience.
• Non-exempt role; overtime is paid.
• Year-end performance bonus.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 10 days of paid time off (PTO).
• 5 paid sick days.
• A 401(k) plan is being implemented and is expected to be available by the end of 2026.