Paralegal

This is a stand-alone classification. The Paralegal assists with legal administrative duties such as drafting and analyzing legal documents; document preparation and review; case planning, development, and management; legal research, client interviews and fact gathering; retrieving information; and collecting, compiling, and utilizing technical information to make recommendations to legal staff and other applicable City personnel.

Essential Functions:

• Drafts legal documents and correspondence, including routine pleadings and motions, formal discovery requests and responses, notices, affidavits, and interrogatories; files motions and pleadings according to judicial procedures.

• Meets with City attorneys, Mayoral staff, department heads, City Council, and other applicable stakeholders to discuss cases or projects.

• Accepts, documents, responds to, and manages open records requests.

• Prepares, organizes, stores, and retrieves case files which may include evidence, exhibits, depositions, pleadings, and other items.

• Acts as a liaison among all parties including the legal staff, the Mayor’s office, other City departments, the court system, and other stakeholders for scheduling and sharing information.

• Researches and analyzes statues, case law, regulations, legal articles, judicial decisions, and other legal sources and provides written analysis to legal staff.

• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level.

Education and Experience

• Associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies or a related field.

• Two (2) years of significant and substantive litigation experience as a paralegal/legal assistant in a law office setting.

•  An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the job's essential duties.

License and Certifications

• Paralegal certificate from an American Bar Association accredited program. (Preferred)

• Possession of a valid driver's license.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Applicable Federal, State, and local laws, rules, regulations, codes, and/or statutes. 

• Basic principles, concepts and methodology of legal proceedings and legal research.

• Principles of legal writing.

• The Tennessee Public Records Act and the exceptions thereof.

• Understanding of legal language and principles, the court system, attorney/client privilege and ethical rules, research methods, court pleadings, processes, and other related matters.

• Problem identification, analysis, and evaluation.

• Principles of effective writing and verbal presentation.

• Computerized information and database recordkeeping systems.

• Computer information systems, including personal computer applications, work processing, and spreadsheets.

Skill in:

• Superior verbal and written communication.

• Drafting, cite-checking, and correcting legal briefs.

• Proficiency with Google Suite and Microsoft Office software applications and legal research tools such as Westlaw.

• Managing medium to large-scale document productions.

• Clear understanding of legal language and principles, research methods, court pleadings and processes, and other related matters.

• Legal research and investigation.

• Organization, keen attention to detail, and time management with a proven ability to meet deadlines and prioritize workload and assignments.

• Ability to function well in a high-paced, and at times, stressful environment.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and to exercise discretion and good judgment.

• Analyzing and solving problems.

• Applying Federal, State, and local laws, rules, and regulations.

• Computers and related software.

• Communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with subordinates, coworkers, supervisor, the general public, etc. sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction.

Physical Requirements:

The work is sedentary work which requires exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required: 

• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature, or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.

• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.

• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.

• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination sound. 

• Mental Acuity: Making rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.

• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. 

• Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.

• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.

• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.

• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.

• Visual ability 1: sufficient to perform an activity like preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading.

• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or move from one work site to another.