Litigation Paralegal

At Our Children’s Trust, we are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Our Children’s Trust believes that diversity and inclusion is critical to our success and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people. 

 

Our Mission:
 

Our Children’s Trust is a non-profit public interest law firm that provides strategic, campaign-based legal services to youth from diverse backgrounds to secure their legal rights to a safe climate. We work to protect the Earth’s climate system for present and future generations by representing young people in global legal efforts to secure their binding and enforceable legal rights to a healthy atmosphere and stable climate, based on the best available science. We support our youth clients and amplify their voices before the third branch of government in a highly strategic legal campaign that includes targeted media, education, and public engagement work to support the youths’ legal actions. Our legal work – guided by constitutional, public trust, human rights laws, and the laws of nature – aims to ensure systemic and science-based climate recovery planning and remedies at federal, state, and global levels.
 

 

Position Summary: 

Reporting to the Senior Litigation Paralegal, the Litigation Paralegal will assist the Deputy Director Litigation Practice, Deputy Director U.S. Strategy, and Senior and Staff Attorneys by reviewing, preparing, and filing court papers in jurisdictions across the United States; researching and summarizing court rules; managing electronic discovery; providing clerical and basic research support services, including document preparation and review; research and fact-checking; trial preparation; and plaintiff support. This position will also provide scheduling and meeting support for the legal team and plaintiffs. 

  

Key Responsibilities: 

• For assigned jurisdictions, oversee all case files, organizing them in the appropriate document databases; track court rules and deadlines.  

• Manage electronic discovery, including processing incoming and outgoing document production, as well as discovery requests, deposition notices, and subpoenas. 

• Gather, review, and summarize documents for litigation and case development purposes. 

• Perform basic legal research, including cite checking, on Westlaw. 

• Prepare discovery, pleadings, and caselaw binders to prepare attorneys for meetings, hearings, and trial. 

• Prepare, edit, and cite-check both legal and scientific sources, format and create tables, and file pleadings and other documents through court filing systems. 

• Ensure arrangements for depositions, court reporters and service agents, and ordering of transcripts in a timely manner. 

• Assist with client management to support new client outreach; professional monitoring, collection, documentation, and management of client circumstances and related evidence; and to apprise clients of status in cases, in coordination with counsel of record. 

• Support legal assistant in arranging case-related travel and logistics for plaintiffs and provide plaintiff support for travel needs including expense and reimbursement requests. 

• Support annual outreach and calculation of pro bono support to OCT. 

• Prepare agendas for, and record minutes of, legal meetings and keep task lists updated as requested by attorneys and/or Senior Litigation Paralegal. 

• Support the legal team with excellent knowledge of all facets of Microsoft 365, including SharePoint and other case management software 

• Support other projects, such as PowerPoint presentations, as needed. 
  

Minimum Required Education and Experience: 

• A Paralegal Certificate plus 8 years of experience as a litigation paralegal.  

• -OR- Associate’s degree plus 7 years of experience as a litigation paralegal.  

• -OR- Bachelor's degree plus 5 years of experience as a litigation paralegal 

• -OR- equivalent combination of education, skill, and experience 

 

Competencies: 

• Demonstrated commitment to legal excellence, legal advocacy, and experience leading legal efforts 

• Experience in the fields of constitutional, human rights, environmental, or civil rights litigation. 

• Experience in client management working with youth and families. 

• Basic understanding of legislative processes. 

• Exceptional proficiency with Westlaw, Microsoft 365, docket management, timekeeping, client management and document management software. 

• Experience with multi-state and federal court rules and electronic filing. 

• Experience working in a fast-paced trial and appellate advocacy practice. 

• Exceptional proficiency with the Bluebook for cite-checking purposes. 

• Experience cite-checking scientific sources, or willingness and capacity to learn how to do so. 

• Highly dependable and available and able to respond quickly to litigation needs, including short deadlines and in high pressure situations. 

 

Expectation for All Employees: 

• Exceptional writing, organizational, and communication skills. 

• Demonstrated commitment to excellence.  

• Identify and solve problems with sound judgment and effective solutions. 

• Work independently, jointly, and under pressure. 

• Respectful, approachable and team-oriented, building strong working relationships and contributing to a positive work environment. 

• Takes personal responsibility for job performance; receptive to feedback, willing to learn, and embraces continuous improvement. 

• Professional participation, presentation and conduct during in-person and virtual events. 

• Commitment to Trauma Informed Care principles and practices.  

• Active participation in creating an inclusive workplace by respecting diverse perspectives, treating everyone fairly, and actively working to dismantle systemic barriers, demonstrating a commitment to promoting equality and belonging within our organizational culture. 

 

Working Conditions/Work Schedule: 

Work is primarily performed in a standard office setting. Work is primarily performed Monday through Friday during regular business hours; however, evening and weekend hours may be necessary dependent upon case activity, deadlines, and workload. 

  

Physical Working Requirements:
 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to the extent possible and appropriate in the event of ADA qualifying disability. 

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer 

• Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 20 pounds 

 

Travel: 

Some out-of-state and overnight travel may be  for organizational retreats and/or case specific events. 

 

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice. 

Salary

• $69,030 - $79,600