Paralegal

This full-time position is located within the Office of Law and generally supports the litigation practice area. Work assigned involves considerable knowledge of paralegal tasks involving legal research, drafting and reviewing legal documents, interviewing witnesses, and performing related activities designed to conserve time and facilitate the work of the professional legal staff, and adhering to the practices and procedures of the judicial system and the Office of Law. Supervision is received from a higher-level member of the legal staff and work performance is evaluated based on the quality, thoroughness and timeliness in completing assignments. Work is performed in a normal office environment.



NATURE AND VARIETY OF WORK 
An employee in this class has considerable contact with County and court representatives and Attorneys for the purpose of explaining a legal matter or coordinating a particular issue. Work involves responsibility for preparing legal documents, conducting legal research, drafting opinions, interviewing witnesses, and performing related activities designed to conserve time and facilitate the work of the professional legal staff. Work is performed according to established procedures and special instructions for complex assignments. Supervision is received from a higher-level member of the legal staff and work performance is evaluated based on the quality, thoroughness and timeliness in completing assignments. Work is performed in a normal office environment.

(Note: The duties and responsibilities enumerated in this class specification are for the purpose of determining a common set of minimum qualifications and salary level for all positions in this class. They are not intended to include all of the essential functions of all positions in the class.) 

Responsibilities
Assisting in the preparation, electronic or manual filing, and tracking of certain legal documents, and maintaining a comprehensive case and document management database, including case statuses, deadlines, and court filings, to facilitate efficient case management. 

Assisting in the preparation, including proofing, finalizing, indexing, and organizing, of appellate briefs, memoranda, and other court documents, including discovery requests and responses.

Explaining and collecting taxes or other debts owed to the County; researching and documenting the transfer of property ownership; and confirming and collecting debts owed to the County, which may include setting-up payment plans. Using multiple data sources to obtain data and reconciles disparate substantive information between or within records and databases to ensure sufficiency and accuracy of information in the work product, including ownership of property, types and amounts of debt, or court decree. Using and analyzing existing information in databases including County, Maryland, and nationwide databases.

Performing legal research and analysis to evaluate and summarize relevant information, including legislative history, case precedents, legal decisions, and opinions, to support case preparation and assist in formulating County actions or positions on legal issues utilizing sources and applications of computerized and other bibliographic tools.
Performing searches, collections, and reviews of electronic data (e-discovery) in response to public information act requests, litigation hold requests, or other litigation cases.

Abilities

• Excellent skills in case management, including organization, handling and prioritization of multiple assignments, coordination of competing tasks under tight deadlines, and meeting of deadlines.
• Excellent skills in document management, including strong organizational skills and attention to details, communications skills, both written and verbal, and information governance and security protocols.
• Utilization of computer technology hardware and software, including proficiency in case and document management, document processing, and legal research.
• Clear, effective, and professional collaborations and interactions.

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major work in a related degree program or completion of training as a paralegal; and six (6) or more months of experience in legal research and other phases of paralegal services.

Note: Background Check Required
Note: Pay will be based on education and direct experience, generally within fifteen percent (15%) of the base pay. Please note that the Pay Scale shown represents the full proficiency of the position, not the starting range.

Three or more years of experience as a litigation paralegal.
Three or more years of experience with online legal research platforms, such as Westlaw and Lexis.
Three or more years of experience with judiciary filing platforms, such as MDEC and PACER.
One or more years of experience with online legal case and document management platforms, such as HighQ.
One or more years of experience with electronic discovery software (e-discovery), such as Exterro or Relativity.
Extensive experience with Microsoft Office and Google Suite.