Paralegal

Paralegal Position at Stanford University's Office of the General Counsel

The Office of the General Counsel ("OGC") is seeking an experienced and motivated paralegal to join a collegial legal team supporting the mission of Stanford University, a world-renowned institution at the forefront of education, research, healthcare, and innovation. This is an excellent opportunity to take on a broad and highly visible role within a collaborative legal office, working closely with attorneys on litigation, subpoenas and records requests, discovery, and a variety of legal projects for the university and its healthcare entities.

The ideal candidate will combine strong litigation and organizational skills with technological experience, sound judgment, initiative, and excellent interpersonal skills. The position involves the handling of confidential information and work on sensitive matters so a strong foundation of ethics and integrity is essential. The position offers a unique opportunity for professional growth and to help shape a developing function within the OGC. Working across OGC and with departments throughout the university and healthcare entities, the paralegal will support attorneys, coordinate projects, and help develop efficient processes for managing legal matters. The successful candidate will serve as an important resource for e-discovery and legal technology as OGC expands its use of legal holds, e-discovery platforms, document collection and review tools, and case management processes. This position is well suited to someone who enjoys variety, takes ownership, embraces new technologies, and is energized by opportunities to improve how work gets done.

Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel and Managing Attorney, the paralegal will provide litigation and project support to a team of university and healthcare attorneys.

This position requires residency in the Bay Area and in-office attendance at least three days per week. There may be a need for evening or weekend work.

Core Responsibilities:

Subpoenas and Record Requests

• Assist attorneys with responses to requests for records and documents, including third-party subpoenas; criminal and grand jury subpoenas; search warrants from law enforcement; requests for information from government agencies (e.g., FBI, DOJ); and other legal requests for information.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for incoming and pending third-party subpoenas and requests for information.
• Maintain internal tracking of requests, deadlines, and response status and coordinate timely completion of responses.
• Liaise with departments and offices throughout the university to identify, collect, and organize responsive records.
• Review documents for relevance, privilege, confidentiality, and responsiveness; prepare privilege logs as appropriate.
• Redact personally identifiable information (PII) and other confidential or protected information as needed.
• Coordinate with records custodians to obtain declarations, verifications, and other materials required for productions.
• Bates-stamp productions, prepare affidavits of service, and ensure records are disseminated securely.
• Exercise sound judgment in identifying issues that require attorney review and promptly escalate questions or concerns.

Litigation Support and Case Management

• Provide broad litigation and case-management support to attorneys across a variety of matters.Organize and maintain detailed case files, litigation calendars and reports, deadlines, and key case information.
• Assist attorneys with discovery, document review, productions, and other litigation-related projects.
• Assist attorneys with preparation for mediations, depositions, hearings, and trial.
• Prepare executive summaries, chronologies, and other written case summaries and materials.Assist with e-filing in California state and federal courts.
• Conduct legal research using LexisNexis.
• Proactively monitor assignments, deadlines, and deliverables and communicate with attorneys regarding status, priorities, and potential issues.
• Identify opportunities to improve case-management processes and develop more efficient approaches to recurring work.
• Perform analysis of litigation and claims activity, outcomes, and related metrics to identify areas of heightened risk, support risk mitigation strategies, assess risk exposure and recommend process improvements.

E-Discovery

• Serve as an internal resource and subject-matter specialist for e-discovery and related legal technology.
• Issue and oversee legal holds using the Exterro platform in collaboration with university departments and stakeholders; support the ongoing administration and improvement of the legal hold process.
• Coordinate data collection with University IT teams across departments for litigated matters.Upload, organize, and manage data for document review and production.
• Support document review and preparation of productions, including coordinating with attorneys and outside counsel.
• Liaise with outside counsel legal teams to facilitate secure transfer of data for collection, review, and production in response to discovery requests.
• Coordinate with outside e-discovery vendors, including project scoping, Statements of Work, budgets, timelines, and deliverables.Assist with the evaluation and selection of e-discovery vendors and technology solutions, including seeking bids based on OGC's needs.
• Contribute to OGC's efforts to expand its internal e-discovery capabilities, including implementation of document collection, review, and production platforms.
• Identify opportunities to use technology and process improvements to make litigation support and information management more efficient and effective.
• Help develop and document procedures, workflows, and best practices for e-discovery and legal projects.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.
• Paralegal certificate from ABA approved program preferred.
• Experience working as a litigation paralegal in a law firm or on an in-house legal team preferred. Experience in a higher education setting is a plus.
• Proficient knowledge of federal and state rules of civil procedure, including discovery rules.
• Experience working with e-Discovery platforms to implement legal holds, collect and review documents (working knowledge of Exterro is a plus).
• Experience with legal case management platforms (e.g., iManage, Legal Tracker, LexisNexis).Excellent organizational skills and ability to track multiple competing deadlines and prioritize effectively to ensure all deadlines are met.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to communicate clearly and concisely while maintaining a high level of professional courtesy both internally at OGC and with a varied array of campus departments.
• Proactive, ability to work independently and take initiative to accomplish tasks.
• Team player with a positive attitude and willingness to learn who takes direction well.

Note: The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

The expected pay range for this position is $125,000 to $150,000 per annum. Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs. The final candidate will need to successfully pass a background check to be considered for this position.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

How to Apply: For consideration, please submit your confidential materials to Erica Carpenter, Recruiting Manager, Robert Half (View email address on click.appcast.io) and Carol Scott (View email address on click.appcast.io), Executive Assistant to Jennifer Zimbroff, Deputy General Counsel and Managing Attorney.