Supervising Paralegal - Trusts, Estates, & Litigation

The Opportunity

Most paralegal roles ask you to keep up. This one asks you to lead.

Golden Oaks Law Group is looking for a Supervising Paralegal who doesn’t just manage tasks — but builds systems, develops people, and drives outcomes across a growing trust and estate practice. You’ll serve as the operational backbone of our paralegal team: the person who ensures that every deadline is met, every work product is precise, and every client feels the difference between good legal service and exceptional legal service.

This is a leadership role with real authority, real accountability, and real impact. If you’re the kind of paralegal who has outgrown your current position — and you want to build something, not just fill a seat — this is your opportunity.

About the Role

Reporting directly to the Managing Partner, the Supervising Paralegal will own the performance, quality, and professional development of a three-person paralegal team. You’ll manage workflows across all four of the firm’s practice areas: proactive estate planning, disability support, post-mortem trust and probate administration, and trust/estate litigation.

This is not a “senior paralegal with a title upgrade.” You will be responsible for building and implementing the firm’s paralegal training program, authoring standard operating procedures, conducting quality control reviews on all paralegal work product, and reporting directly to leadership on team productivity, compliance, and operational risks. You will also maintain a personal billable caseload, ensuring you stay connected to the substantive legal work while leading from the front.

What Success Looks Like

We believe in measuring outcomes, not activity. Within your first year, here is what success looks like in this role:

First 30 Days: You’ve completed onboarding, demonstrated command of the firm’s systems and T&E workflows, and earned the Managing Partner’s sign-off that you’re ready to operate independently.

First 60 Days: You’ve designed and delivered a comprehensive paralegal training program covering trust formation, administration, litigation, and discovery — approved by the Managing Partner.

First 90 Days: All three subordinate paralegals have completed your training, passed competency assessments, and are operating independently with error rates below target thresholds.

Ongoing: You’re maintaining 25 billable hours per week personally, with a revision rate of 10% or less. Your team hits 90% on-time task completion. Zero missed statutory or court deadlines. Client communication complaints average one or fewer per quarter. You’re submitting weekly reports and quarterly improvement recommendations to the Managing Partner.

By Month 12: You’ve published core SOPs for all T&E workflows, achieved a 15% improvement in average case turnaround time, and built a paralegal operation that runs with precision, accountability, and minimal attorney intervention.

If these targets excite you rather than intimidate you, keep reading.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Development

• Directly supervise, coach, and develop a team of three paralegals across multiple T&E practice areas.
• Design and execute a structured training program covering trust formation, administration, litigation, and discovery procedures.
• Conduct quarterly performance reviews with documented feedback, goals, and development plans for each direct report.
• Participate in all paralegal hiring decisions, including screening, interviewing, and providing written candidate evaluations.
• Ensure balanced workload distribution, with no team member exceeding 120% of average load.

Quality Control & Work Product Oversight

• Review all paralegal work product for accuracy and completeness before submission to attorneys, serving as the firm’s quality control checkpoint.
• Maintain a post-review error rate of 5% or less on work reaching attorneys.
• Ensure 100% team compliance with established policies and SOPs through regular auditing and coaching.

Personal Billable Production

• Maintain an average of 25 billable hours per week while fulfilling supervisory and leadership responsibilities.
• Produce high-quality personal work product with a revision rate of 10% or less.

Process Development & Compliance

• Author, implement, and maintain standard operating procedures for all core T&E paralegal workflows within the first six months.
• Audit team compliance quarterly and address non-compliance with coaching and corrective action.
• Proactively identify operational risks, resource needs, and process improvement opportunities — with a minimum of one actionable recommendation per quarter.

Calendar & Case Management

• Oversee calendaring for all statutory, court, filing, and statute of limitations deadlines across the team, ensuring zero missed deadlines.
• Streamline paralegal workflows to achieve a 15% or greater reduction in average case turnaround time within 12 months.

Client Relations & Communication

• Manage client expectations through timely status updates and proactive communication on all active matters.
• Serve as the escalation point for client communications, resolving 70% of escalated issues at the paralegal level within 24 hours.

Reporting & Strategic Communication

• Provide weekly written updates and monthly detailed reports to the Managing Partner covering team productivity, active matter status, compliance, and escalated issues.
• Deliver actionable, data-informed insights — not just status updates.

Who This Role Is For

This role is designed for a seasoned trust and estate paralegal who has reached the point in their career where they want to lead, build, and have a measurable impact on a firm’s operations. You are the right candidate if:

• You have 5–8 years of hands-on paralegal experience in trust and estate law, including trust administration, probate, estate planning, and ideally litigation/discovery.
• You have supervised or mentored other paralegals and understand that leadership means developing people, not just delegating tasks.
• You think in systems. When you see a recurring problem, your instinct is to build a process that prevents it from happening again.
• You are meticulous about deadlines, accuracy, and follow-through. Missed deadlines are unacceptable to you — not because someone told you so, but because that’s how you’re wired.
• You communicate proactively. Attorneys, clients, and team members never have to chase you for updates.
• You take ownership. When something goes wrong on your team, you own it, fix it, and build a system to prevent recurrence.
• You want to be measured on results, not just effort. Clear KPIs and performance expectations motivate you.
• You are a lifelong learner who stays current on evolving T&E law and actively pursues professional development.

Who This Role Is NOT For

We respect your time, so we’ll be direct. This role is not the right fit if:

• You prefer to work independently without managing or being responsible for others’ output.
• You are uncomfortable with structured performance metrics and regular accountability reviews.
• You see SOPs and documentation as bureaucratic overhead rather than tools for excellence.
• You tend to wait for direction rather than anticipate what needs to happen next.
• You are looking for a fully remote or hybrid position — this role is in-person at our Upland, CA office.
• You do not have direct experience in trust and estate law. While we value diverse legal backgrounds, this role requires T&E-specific knowledge from day one.
• You are seeking a role where “supervisor” is a title without real management responsibilities. Here, you will hire, train, review, and be accountable for your team’s performance.

Compensation & Growth

Base Salary: $80,000–$100,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Performance Bonuses: The firm is building a structured, KPI-driven bonus framework tied to team and individual outcomes. As the Supervising Paralegal, you will play a direct role in shaping the metrics that drive bonus eligibility — giving you ownership over your own earning potential.

Benefits: Health insurance, life insurance, paid time off, paid sick leave, 12 paid holidays, continuing education and tuition assistance, and disability insurance.

Growth Path: Golden Oaks is a growing firm with an intentional culture of promotion from within. High performers in leadership roles have a clear trajectory toward expanded operational authority, profit-sharing conversations, and long-term career partnership with the firm’s leadership.

Why Golden Oaks

Golden Oaks Law Group isn’t a startup trying to figure things out, and it isn’t a bloated firm where your contributions disappear. It’s a firm at the inflection point — established enough to have nearly three decades of legacy and reputation, but lean and ambitious enough that the right people can have an outsized impact.

• Direct access to leadership. You report to the Managing Partner. Your ideas will be heard, your work will be visible, and your impact will be recognized.
• A proactive planning philosophy. Golden Oaks doesn’t just draft estate plans — it maintains them. The firm’s proprietary maintenance program is a genuine differentiator in the market, and you’ll be part of delivering that promise.
• Technology-forward operations. The firm invests in modern systems, efficient processes, and innovation — not legacy workflows held together with sticky notes.
• A team that takes its work seriously and treats each other well. Professional standards are high. So is mutual respect.

How to Apply

If this role speaks to the career you’re building — not just the job you’re looking for — we’d like to hear from you.

Submit your resume and a brief cover letter explaining: (1) your experience in trust and estate law; (2) your approach to leading a paralegal team; (3) 3 core values that govern your professional life and your approach to work; and (4) why Golden Oaks is the right next step for you.