Litigation Paralegal

Responsibilities:

• Case File Management: Organize and maintain all physical and electronic case files, ensuring documents are accurately filed, indexed, and easily retrievable. This often involves using e-discovery and document management software.
• Calendaring and Deadlines: Monitor and manage the litigation calendar, tracking and ensuring compliance with all court-imposed deadlines for pleadings, discovery, motions, and hearings.
• Liaison: Act as a key point of contact between in-house attorneys, outside counsel, opposing counsel, clients, expert witnesses, and court personnel.
• Legal Research: Conduct legal research on statutes, case law, regulations, and legal articles using tools like Westlaw or LexisNexis to support legal arguments and strategy.
• Fact Gathering: Investigate case facts, interview clients, and locate and interview internal or external witnesses.
• Discovery Preparation: Draft, review, and prepare responses to various discovery requests, including interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admission.
• Document Review: Assist with the process of e-discovery, reviewing large volumes of documents for relevance, privilege, and responsiveness to discovery requests.
• Deposition Support: Prepare notices of depositions, organize exhibits, and summarize deposition transcripts.
• Drafting Documents: Draft routine legal documents for attorney review, such as pleadings (complaints, answers), subpoenas, affidavits, motions, and legal correspondence.
• Filing: Prepare and file legal documents with various state and federal courts, ensuring strict adherence to court rules and procedures (e-filing experience is often required).
• Trial Preparation: Prepare and organize all materials for trial, including witness and exhibit lists, trial binders, demonstrative aids, and exhibits.
• Trial Attendance: Provide assistance to attorneys in the courtroom or at arbitrations/mediations, managing documents and exhibits, and taking notes.
• Post-Trial: Assist with filing post-trial motions and closing out case files, including ensuring documents are properly archived.

Education and Experience:

• Education: An Associate's or Bachelor's degree, often in paralegal studies or a related field.
• Certification: An ABA-approved paralegal certificate is often preferred or required.
• Experience: Previous experience as a paralegal, specifically in commercial litigation or general litigation, is typically required, with a focus on complex business disputes being highly valued.

Core Competencies:

• Attention to Detail: Meticulous accuracy is essential for court filings, document review, and managing deadlines.
• Organizational Skills: Exceptional skills in managing, tracking, and organizing high volumes of information and legal documents.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for drafting legal documents and interacting with clients, counsel, and the courts.
• Technical Proficiency: Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), e-filing systems, legal research databases (e.g., Westlaw, LexisNexis), and litigation support/e-discovery software (e.g., Relativity, CaseMap).
• Legal Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of court rules, civil procedure, and litigation processes.