Legal Operations Specialist

Deadline to apply is 11:59 PM on

(Support staff salary will be based on internal equity and experience)

Position General Summary:

The Legal Operations Specialist for the Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) provides professional support to the Legal Operations Manager and the General Counsel. The Legal Operations Specialist plays a significant role in ensuring the delivery of high-quality and timely legal services from OGC and outside counsel to the Board of Trustees (“Board”) and FLVS officials and personnel.

The Legal Operations Specialist will work side-by-side with the Legal Operations Manager to create processes and practices to improve the day-to-day efficiency and effectiveness of the legal team, facilitate change, and control costs. This is a generalist role that involves managing and supporting projects across the full range of subject matter supported by the legal team. This team member should be adaptable and proactive in identifying areas of need and generating action plans.

Essential Position Functions:

• Provides primary support for the Legal Operations Manager and provides administrative and secretarial services to Attorneys

• Assists and provides support to OGC Counsel and Paralegals in litigation matters and administrative proceedings 

• Collaborates with the Legal Operations Manager to define and drive strategic and operational initiatives with on-time and on-budget results

• Utilizes Lean thinking (Lean Six Sigma) to assist in identifying and implementing legal department tools to streamline new or existing practices and manage design, rollout, and training for new systems

• Tracks outside counsel and purchase order spend; monitors processes to manage spend

• Assists the Legal Operations Manager with budget matters and optimizing workflows within the Legal department

• Collaborates with cross-functional teams including Procurement, Finance, IT, Curriculum & Instruction

• Monitors, maintains, and updates OGC Team department calendar as needed for critical deadlines, team events, and staff coverage

• Plans and arranges travel for all OGC staff and prepares travel requests and expense reports, ensuring policies, budgetary guidelines, and OGC calendaring requirements are adhered to

• Arranges for and assists General Counsel and OGC staff members’ participation in professional development and organizational seminars, conferences, and meetings; submits required professional development forms appropriately

• Assists in planning for, developing agenda, and registration of, all dept F2F (LEEP) meetings and conferences, including arranging travel/meals/event setup; submits and manages LEEP PD courses and registrations in Pathways

• Manages and tracks timely renewals of all professional association dues, memberships, and licenses for OGC Attorneys and Paralegals; manages professional license tracking ledger

• Answers incoming communications to the OGC inbox and relays inquiries to appropriate points of contact; responds to, or otherwise routes, internal and external inquiries in a timely, accurate, and courteous manner

• Assigns incoming Legal Support Requests and relays intake communications to appropriate OGC staff

• Monitors, audits, and responds to legal support requests (LSRs) and ensures essential KPI data is accurate

• Gathers, maintains, and manages all expense receipts for OGC team and ensures expense reports are accurate and current

• Collaborates with the Finance Team to ensure budget/expense codes are accurately reported

• Performs file management and recordkeeping duties/maintains file systems for the Legal Operations department to safeguard vendor contracts, templates, purchase orders, applications, documentation, and invoices

• Maintains and updates the OGC Handbook and OGC Digital Library; identifies, develops, and recommends model practices and procedures that enhance the efficiency and performance of OGC operations

• Administers content and elements of OGC internal/external facing web pages

• Maintains all home office needs, including equipment, supplies, and technology, for OGC staff

• Prepares and transmits monthly legal intake (LSR) reports to Legal Operations Manager

• Develops and prepares KPI reports at the request of the Legal Operations Manager

• Pursues professional training, seminars, and conferences to maintain and continuously improve upon the skills needed to faithfully perform assigned duties

• Attends meetings, hearings, interviews, and other events as needed and within normal work hours

• Performs professional obligations through effective work habits such as meeting deadlines, honoring schedules, coordinating resources, and demonstrating respect for others.

• All work responsibilities are subject to having performance goals and/or targets established

 (These essential functions are not to be construed as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees will be required to perform other job related duties as required.)

Minimum Requirements:

Education/Licensure/Certification:

• Bachelor’s degree in legal studies or finance or equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience

Experience:

• At least three years of experience in legal, budgeting, accounting, or fiscal management

• Accounting System (financial or CRM) experience

• Strongly prefer experience in an office or law firm related to the field of public education

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's):

• Ability to evaluate, synthesize, and report relevant facts

• Ability to identify and recommend alternative ways to overcome administrative, technical, and other challenges or issues to enhance General Counsel’s operations

• Strong knowledge of computer operations and office software

• Ability to monitor and maintain budget and accounting records

• Strong negotiating skills and ability to determine financial implications for purchases

• Excellent interpersonal skills

• Ability to evaluate or assess data and/or information using established criteria

• Ability to review, classify, prioritize, and analyze problematic situations

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Ability to work with cross-functional teams

• Ability to work within and meet deadlines and schedules while respecting the schedules and obligations of others

• Strong organizational skills and ability to address multiple tasks simultaneously

• Ability to assume responsibility with minimal direction

• Ability to exercise good judgment and make sound decisions

CORE COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS:

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Clearly and effectively conveys and/or presents information verbally; summarizes what was heard to mitigate miscommunication;  Shares ideas and perspectives and encourages others to do the same; Informs others involved in a project of new developments; Disseminates information to other employees, as appropriate; Effectively uses multiple channels to communicate important messages; Keeps supervisor well informed about progress and/or problems in a timely manner; Writes in a clear, concise, organized and convincing way for a variety of target audiences; The written message is consistently error-free; The written message has the desired effect on the target audience    

CUSTOMER FOCUS

Prioritizes customers (internal and external)  and their needs as primary and is dedicated to meeting their expectations; Develops and maintains customer relationships; builds credibility and trust; Quickly and effectively solves customer problems; Provides prompt, attentive service in a cheerful manner; adapts to changing information,  conditions or challenges with a positive attitude; Incorporates customer feedback into delivery of service to provide the best experience possible for the customer; Actively promotes our organization in the community by serving as an ambassador or volunteer

 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Relates well with others; Treats others with respect; Shares views in a tactful way; Demonstrates diplomacy by approaching others about sensitive issues in non-threatening ways; Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings and capabilities of others; Fosters an environment conducive to open, transparent communication among all levels and positions; Takes the initiative to get to know internal and external customers

FUNCTIONAL /TECHNICAL EXPERTISE

Has the skills, abilities, knowledge and experience to be successful in functional area of expertise; Dedicates time and energy to keeping abreast of the latest information related to area of expertise and technology; Picks up on technology quickly; Does well in technical courses and seminars; Produces high quality work in organized and timely fashion

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR COMPETENCIES FOR SUCCESS:

PEER RELATIONSHIPS

Finds common ground and solves problems for the good of all; Can represent his/her own interests and yet be fair to other groups; Solves problems with peers with minimal “noise”; Is seen as a team player and is cooperative; Easily gains trust and support peers; Encourages collaboration; Is candid with peers       

CREATIVITY

Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; Easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; Tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming sessions; Takes calculated risks; Is not afraid to try new things and potentially “fail fast”

SELF KNOWLEDGE

Seeks feedback; Gains insight from mistakes; Is open to constructive criticism; isn’t defensive; Proactively seeks to understand his/her strengths and areas for growth; applies information to best serve organization; Recognizes how his/her behavior impacts others and incorporates insight into future interactions

PLANNING

Accurately scopes out length and difficulty of tasks and projects; Sets objectives and goals; Breaks down work into the process steps; Develops schedules and task/people assignments; Anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks; Measures performance against goals; Evaluates results

ORGANIZING

Uses his/her time effectively and efficiently; Concentrates his/her efforts on the more important priorities; Can attend to a broader range of activities as a result of organizing time efficiently; Can marshal resources (people, funding, material, support) to get things done; Can orchestrate multiple activities at once to accomplish a goal; Arranges information and files in a useful manner     

PROBLEM SOLVING

Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions; Probes all fruitful sources for answers; Can see hidden problems; Is excellent at honest analysis; Looks beyond the obvious and doesn’t stop at the first answers

DRIVE FOR RESULTS

Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; Very bottom-line oriented; Steadfastly pushes self and others for results; Is full of energy for the things he/she sees as challenging; Not fearful of acting with a minimum of planning; Consistently seizes opportunities; Consistently exceeds goals

Physical Requirements and Environmental Conditions:

• Frequency of travel: Occasional travel is required for meetings, trainings, and conferences; location may vary and may require overnight stays

• Light physical activities and efforts required working in an office environment

(Reasonable accommodations will be made in accordance with existing ADA requirements for otherwise qualified individuals with a disability.)