Paralegal - Quality Assurance Specialist

Mission: The mission of the Office of the Secretary of State is to exceed the expectations of our customers, the taxpayers, by operating at the highest levels of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and accountability in a customer-centered environment. 

Supervisor: Director of APD

Location: The official workstation is the Tennessee Tower in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. After a period of time, consideration may be given, at the Director’s discretion and with the approval of the Secretary of State, for a hybrid work arrangement. 

Hours: The official work hours are 8:00 am – 4:30 pm Central Time. After a period of time, consideration may be given, at the Director’s discretion and with the approval of the Secretary of State, for an alternative schedule.

Summary:
The Administrative Procedures Division (APD) within the Office of the Secretary of State aims to serve our clients, customers, and associates—government agencies, citizens of Tennessee, and judicial partners—by providing impartial, efficient, and sound contested case hearings and mediations. More than 70 state and local government agencies open an average of 7,000 cases with APD each year on issues that include, but are not limited to, professional licensure, civil forfeiture, medical benefits, special education, and property tax. APD offers an important platform for the enforcement of administrative laws and for citizens to contest administrative rulings from the government. 

The scope of APD’s portfolio of cases makes working for APD unique and exciting. In the course of a week, the Quality Assurance Specialist may suggest edits on over 150 orders dealing with anything from a citizen’s appeal of the denial of medical benefits coverage to a business’s appeal of a fine for alleged environmental contamination. The Quality Assurance Paralegal’s careful and efficient review of each order is critical to APD’s ability to issue high-quality, accurate, professional, and easily understood orders. 

The ideal candidate is an experienced proofreader, editor, or quality assurance professional with exceptional language and document-review skills. Legal experience is preferred but not required. We are willing to train a highly skilled proofreader in the legal subject matter. Successful candidates will demonstrate outstanding attention to detail, strong editorial judgment, and the ability to ensure that all written decisions are accurate, clear, professional, and ready for issuance. 

Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Proofread outgoing orders and their accompanying documents for grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, formatting, consistency, and typographical errors 
• Review written orders for clarity, readability, organization, and professional presentation 
• Review outgoing orders for sound legal reasoning and logical consistency, providing feedback and recommendations to the authoring judge and/or Quality Assurance Committee 
• Make suggested edits and corrections for the authoring judge’s review using MS Word Track Changes and Adobe Pro 
• Ensure finalized documents comply with established APD standards, policies, and quality assurance protocols 
• Edit PDF documents as needed to ensure compliance with ADA accessibility requirements prior to issuance 
• Process outgoing orders and related correspondence issued through mail, email, and electronic portal systems 
• Reset hearings on the master APD docket schedule pursuant to continuance orders and orders setting hearing 
• Receive, review, and process returned mail 
• Monitor and address unsent email notifications and the “Do Not Reply” inbox 
• Staff the Quality Assurance Committee and assist with the review, development, implementation, and refinement of quality assurance procedures and standards 
• Provide input regarding process improvements designed to enhance the quality, consistency, and efficiency of APD’s operations and written orders 
• Crosstrain on the responsibilities of other support staff and provide backup assistance as needed to ensure continuity of operations 
• Demonstrate effective communication and collaboration with judges and staff 
• Independently perform all assigned duties with professionalism, accountability, and productivity in both in-office and remote work environments 
• Consistently meet established deadlines while maintaining a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail 
• Perform other duties as assigned 

• Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Technical Writing, Professional Writing, or a related field 
• Three years of professional proofreading, editing, quality assurance, document review, technical editing, or related experience 

• Or, graduation from an accredited college or university resulting in any one of the following: 1) An Associate Degree in paralegal studies from an ABA-approved program; 2) an Associate or Bachelor’s Degree in any field plus a Technical Certificate in Paralegal Studies from an ABA-approved program; 3) a Bachelor’s Degree in Legal/Paralegal studies; or 4) a Masters of Legal Studies 
• And, three years of professional proofreading, editing, quality assurance, legal document review, technical editing, judicial support, or related experience 

Knowledge and Abilities: 

• Advanced proofreading and copyediting skills, preferably with legal documents 
• Excellent command of written English, grammar, punctuation, and style 
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy of information; ability to identify errors, inconsistencies, and ambiguities in complex written materials 
• Understanding of legal documents and legal terminology, preferably associated with litigation, is preferred 
• Ability to learn and apply legal terminology, concepts, and procedures 
• Ability to communicate recommendations diplomatically and professionally
• Strong organizational and time-management skills 
• Ability to independently prioritize work, manage multiple deadlines, ensure timeliness in meeting those deadlines, and maintain accuracy in a high-volume environment
• Excellent basic computer skills; comfortable and confident with quickly learning a new case management system
• Ability to envision and articulate proposals for how the case management system can be enhanced to improve quality assurance processes 
• Ability to use and familiarity with MS Office: Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 
• Ability to use and familiarity with Adobe Pro 
• Ability to use and quickly learn virtual meeting platforms: Webex and MS Teams 
• Ability to quickly adapt to new processes when implemented 
• Service-oriented attitude, both to customers and to colleagues 
• Knowledge of administrative law is a plus 

Salary: Commensurate with experience and State of Tennessee benefits package