Paralegal - Pizza Hut US

As a member of a dynamic legal team at Pizza Hut US, the Paralegal, Litigation and Employment position will serve a key role within the Pizza Hut US Legal Department and will work with cross-functional partners to support and facilitate a variety of litigation and employment initiatives. Reporting to the Director of Brand Threat Litigation and Employment, the Paralegal will provide employment support to HR and Training partners, and substantive litigation assistance (including case and subpoena management). The litigation caseload will primarily focus on consumer protection, employment, franchise, and personal injury litigation, but could also be as varied as real estate, patent infringement and data privacy. The successful candidate will have a strategic growth mindset and a passion for providing world-class legal support by collaboratively working across business units while consistently modeling Pizza Hut of America, LLC’s cultural values. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage demand letters, arbitrations, and active litigation matters, including processing service of process, assigning litigation matters to in-house and outside counsel, determining insurance coverage (if applicable), calendaring deadlines, opening and closing matters in Legal Tracker, determining necessary information to be obtained and conducting initial fact findings, gathering documents, researching, following up with external and internal partners when appropriate, assisting in preparing and scheduling witnesses for interviews, depositions, and trial, conducting general case organization, and facilitating settlement-related processes. 
• Ensure timely and accurate legal responses by overseeing actions on franchise-tendered litigation and other litigation-related projects. Provide first-line support on discovery, pleadings review, and other attendant litigation documents. 
• Assist with regulatory compliance and responses to government inquiries or subpoenas. 
• Managed insured claims process, including  communication with claims adjusters and other internal and external business partners. 
• Coordinate with IT and business units to collect and preserve electronically stored information (ESI) and prepare, issue, track and otherwise manage litigation holds. 
• Assist with the review of PH US and PH Global communications, training materials and programs to ensure compliance, particularly from a joint employer perspective. 
• Collaborate with Director, Legal Counsel, and cross-functional teams on HR-related projects such as policy and process review for corporate-owned restaurants.
• Monitor Ethics Line for team member reports and own delivering reports to appropriate franchisee or internal HR partner. Providing legal support for corporate employee reports. 
• Provide first level of review of invoices in Legal Tracker. 
• Work with legal team, internal corporate counsel, and/or external legal counsel to identify potential legal and/or business risks and provide proactive solutions.
• Assist in various legal projects and initiatives, as needed, and provide support to other legal areas as requested. 
• Partner with internal HR, Training, Operations, and cross-functional team members throughout the Pizza Hut of America, LLC organization, as well as the Yum! Brands, and sister Brands legal teams.
• Draft routine legal correspondence and support related administrative tasks.
• Other assignments and tasks as delegated by the Director, Brand Threat Litigation and Employment. 

Required Qualifications:

• This position is required to work in person from the Plano, Texas office three days a week – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Remote work Monday and Friday is permitted. 
• 5+ years’ experience in a litigation and/or employment-focused paralegal role at a law firm or corporate environment.
• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• Detail oriented with an ability to manage, juggle, and prioritize multiple projects and competing deadlines and resolve critical issues in real time. Must be a self-starter, comfortable with working autonomously, and possess strong multi-tasking skills.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to effectively support a variety of stakeholders, both inside and outside the company.
• Team player – ability to work with others directly and indirectly and to interrelate politely and professionally but firmly with demanding priorities and influence when needed.
• Flexibility, creativity, good judgement, enthusiasm, and diplomacy. 
• Urgency and results-focused to ensure timely and appropriate responses to rapidly changing situations. 
• Process-minded with strong analytical skills to gather, analyze, and interpret documents and data.
• Resourceful and adaptive in ambiguous situations with a proven ability to operate “in the grey.”
• Willingness to learn about the different facets of the fast-paced restaurant business, along with different aspects of the law. 
• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Paralegal Certification from ABA-accredited institution.
• Proficient in Open Text, Legal Tracker, and PACER. 

 Salary Range: $87,100 to $92,250 annually + bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.

Beware of fake job postings using Yum! and/or our brand logos -- KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill -- on fraudulent sites. Yum! Brands only posts jobs on official career pages and never asks for money during onboarding. Avoid unsolicited contacts via Telegram, WhatsApp or similar social apps.