Legal Assistant

Position: Legal Assistant

Location: Nashville, Tennessee 37243

Duration: 6 Months

Job Responsibilities

The paralegal/legal assistant is responsible for the following:

• Responding to K-12 legal questions from a variety of stakeholders, including school district representatives, governmental agencies, teachers, legislators, and advocates.
• Assisting with the preparation and coordination of rulemaking activities, including compiling public comments, drafting rulemaking notices and agendas, editing and filing rules, and preparing materials for the Joint Committee for Government Operations in the TN legislature.
• Supporting the GC in preparing rules and policies for Board meetings and other legal proceedings.
• Conducting legal research on K-12 education matters as requested by the GC.
• Tracking deadlines, rulemaking hearing schedules, and regulatory timelines to ensure compliance with applicable laws and procedures.

Providing administrative assistance, including:

Scheduling meetings for the GC and legal team;

• Processing travel and expense reports;
• Filing legal documents;
• Responding to public requests to speak at Board meetings;
• Ensuring Board members and staff complete annual compliance forms;
• Procuring items required by the legal team;
• Printing and mailing SBE documents;
• Booking meeting rooms for team events;
• Assisting with scheduling and hosting Webex meetings for the Board’s leadership team;
• Compiling and organizing binders for Board meetings and administrative hearings
• Drafting, proofreading, and formatting legal documents, including rules, orders, memoranda, contracts, and correspondence.
• Maintaining and organizing legal team electronic files in accordance with state retention and confidentiality requirements.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support the work of the Office of General Counsel.

Required Qualifications

Candidates must have:

• An associate or bachelor’s degree.
• A paralegal certification or at least two years of experience as a paralegal, legal assistant, or in a similar role.
• Impeccable editing skills, including extraordinary attention to detail and the ability to review legal team documents for spelling, stylistic, and grammatical errors.
• Outstanding organizational skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• A demonstrated ability to meet and exceed expectations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).
• A commitment to confidentiality and ethical standards in handling sensitive information.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

We prefer candidates with:

• Ability to conduct legal research.
• Proficiency in legal research tools (e.g., Westlaw, LexisNexis).
• Strong understanding of legal terminology, research methods, and administrative procedures.
• Experience working in or with K-12 schools.
• Experience working for the state of Tennessee.
• Understanding of Uniform Administrative Procedures Act.