Litigation Paralegal and Contracts Manager

Department: Office of the General Counsel Campus Location: Wichita, KS - WSU Main Campus Hire Type: Full Time Pay: Range $57,000–$75,000/yr, commensurate withqualifications Work Schedule: General business hours; work is performedon-site and in person. Export Compliance Requirement: This position requires accessto EAR or ITAR controlled technologies. Applicants are required tobe eligible for employment under U.S. export control laws and mustmeet the requirement of being a “U.S. Citizen”. Job Story Keep the details sharp. The process moving. The universityprotected. The Office of General Counsel needs a highly organized, thoughtfulprofessional who can bring structure to complex legal matters whilekeeping university business moving. This role sits at theintersection of legal research, contracts, records management, anduniversity operations; supporting work that requires soundjudgment, discretion, and the ability to connect the right peoplewith the right information. Some areas you'll be directly responsible for: Investigation & Research Pleadings & Drafting Discovery and Records Management Attorney Support Case & Deadline Management Work with university stakeholders across departments and leadershiplevels, helping navigate legal and regulatory requirements,coordinate contract development, and prepare documentation thatsupports agency actions, legal proceedings, and institutionaldecisions. The common thread? You know how to turn complex,detail-heavy work into an organized process with clear nextsteps. Priorities can shift quickly. Sensitive information must be handledappropriately. You'll need the judgment to recognize what needsimmediate attention, the initiative to seek out missinginformation, and the persistence to see projects through tocompletion. If you're someone who values accuracy, exercises soundjudgment, manages competing deadlines, and takes pride in makingcomplicated work easier to navigate, this is an opportunity to putthose strengths to work in a university-wide environment. Job Summary Supports the Office of General Counsel in drafting policies,contracts and legal documents pertaining to University activitiesand other initiatives. Responds to records requests and subpoenas;conducts interviews of witnesses; identifies, gathers, organizesand summarizes records in preparation for agency action or lawsuit;and performs support functions as it relates to managing outsidecounsel, records and database libraries and intake on legalguidance and counseling issues. Facilitates contract development aswell as campus training and communication efforts. Researches andinterprets regulations, guidelines, and standards and negotiates,drafts, edits, approves, and oversees the processing of contracts.Manages all office activities including business operations,facilities, overseeing all expenditures and coordinates financialreporting, administrative support for department programs andservices, and work product of administrative personnel and studenthires. Essential Functions Writes, reviews, and negotiates contracts and legal documents withinternal and external partners. Researches and facilitatescompliance with University, state, and federal laws, policies, andregulations in the daily operation of the contract lifecycle.Provides guidance to internal leaders and administrators oncontract negotiation strategies. Serves as a liaison between seniorleadership and employees. Drafts, edits and processes policies.Supports and manages litigation efforts, documents, evidence andwitnesses. Conducts interviews of, and compiles key documents from,potential witnesses in internal and external hearings, claimsagainst the University, agency actions, and litigation. Tracks casefilings and developments and reports to attorneys and clients.Assists with review of outside counsel billing statements. Directsand coordinates office services and staff in the development andsupervision of departmental operations and services, which includeshiring and onboarding for staff. Resolves office problemsindependently and facilitates solutions. Hires, supervises, trains,mentors, evaluates, and manages administrative assistant(s) andstudent employees, as applicable. Oversees administrative supportand coordination for meetings, conferences, events, projects, andservices. Provides ongoing monitoring and tracking of departmentbudget. Job Duties Provide advanced litigation and legal support for active andthreatened litigation, administrative proceedings, claims,investigations, mediations, depositions, discovery, settlements,and other legal matters. Manage and coordinate responses to complaints, charges,subpoenas, records requests, court orders, and governmental orregulatory inquiries, including matters involving the EEOC, KHRC,U.S. Department of Education, KBOR, and HLC. Conduct and support internal investigations, including gatheringand reviewing records, interviewing witnesses, preparingdeclarations, and drafting responses, correspondence, agreements,and other legal documents for attorney review. Administer legal holds and document-preservation processes andmaintain litigation, subpoena, claims, legal-hold, outside-counsel,and other legal matter tracking and reporting systems. Coordinate with University leadership, departments, witnesses,governmental agencies, outside counsel, and affiliatedorganizations regarding legal matters, deadlines, documentproduction, and compliance obligations. Manage significant University-wide legal, regulatory,remediation, and compliance projects, including developing trackingsystems, coordinating stakeholders, monitoring deliverables, andreporting progress to attorneys and University leadership. Assist with outside counsel management, including engagementdocumentation, conflict waivers, invoice review and processing,scheduling, and matter coordination. Develop and maintain Office of General Counsel procedures andassist with legal research, court-record searches, risk monitoring,legislative requests, and preventive legal complianceactivities. Assist attorneys with employee, student, labor-relations, andother institutional matters presenting legal or litigation risk,including participation in collective bargaining andmeet-and-confer activities. Perform other legal, compliance, and administrative dutiesnecessary to support the effective operation of the Office ofGeneral Counsel. Investigation & Research: Conduct searches and casecompilation using platforms like Westlaw, Pacer, Findlaw, andgather evidence, locate and interview witnesses, and run backgroundchecks. Pleadings & Drafting: Draft complaints, answers, agencyresponses, and discovery requests or responses under attorneysupervision. Discovery and Records Management: Oversee legal holds, discoveryproduction, prepare key document and case chronologies, and manageand coordinate with outside counsel electronic discovery(eDiscovery). Attorney Support: Prepare all documents, exhibits, and outlinesfor agency, court, and dispute matters; coordinate witnessschedules; manage court filings (including federal systems likePACER/ECF), and provide real-time support. Case & Deadline Management: Track strict court deadlines,maintain master calendars, and organize case files. Required Education and Experience 60 hours of college coursework in business administration, law,or social science. Seven (7) years of experience in general office, clerical,administrative support or related field, with two (2) years ofexperience in project management or contract administration. Anadditional 60 hours of college coursework can be substituted fortwo (2) years of experience. Required License/Certifications/Training None Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Knowledge of legal processes, litigation procedures,investigations, discovery, subpoenas, records preservation, andadministrative proceedings. Strong organizational and project-management skills, includingthe ability to manage multiple complex matters, competingpriorities, and time-sensitive deadlines. Ability to conduct factual investigations, interview witnesses,gather and analyze records, and summarize complexinformation. Strong legal writing, research, analytical, and proofreadingskills. Ability to draft professional correspondence, legal documents,investigative materials, reports, and responses for attorneyreview. Capable exercising sound judgment, discretion, initiative, andindependent decision-making within assigned responsibilities. Ability to handle confidential, privileged, and sensitiveinformation appropriately. Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to workeffectively with attorneys, senior leadership, employees, students,outside counsel, governmental agencies, and otherstakeholders. Ability to develop and maintain effective tracking,records-management, and legal matter-management systems. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and electronicdocument-management, collaboration, and research systems. Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-pacedenvironment and effectively manage significant or sensitiveinstitutional matters. Preferred Qualifications Bachelor's degree in any field combined with substantialrelevant legal, litigation, compliance, or investigativeexperience. Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in alaw firm, corporate or governmental legal department,higher-education legal office, compliance office, or similarenvironment. Experience supporting litigation, administrative proceedings,investigations, discovery, subpoenas, legal holds, or regulatoryresponses. Experience managing complex projects involving multipledepartments or stakeholders. Experience drafting legal documents and substantivecorrespondence for attorney review. Experience working with outside counsel, governmental agencies,senior leadership, or regulatory bodies. Higher-education, governmental, public-sector, employment-law,or regulatory-compliance experience preferred. Preferred License/Certifications/Training One or more of the following may be preferred but should not necessarily be required: Paralegal certificate from an ABA-approved or other recognizedparalegal program. Certified Paralegal (CP), Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP), orcomparable professional credential. Training or experience in e-discovery, litigation support,investigations, records management, or legal-holdadministration. Physical Requirements Ability to remain in a stationary position. Ability to operate acomputer and other office equipment including but not limited tophone, printers, copiers, and calculators. Ability to communicatewith others and accurately exchange information. #J-18808-Ljbffr Wichita State University