IN-DOT-Litigation Paralegal

Purpose of position/summary:


The Litigation Paralegal provides paralegal, office and administrative support to attorneys and staff on the Litigation Team for issues involving any or all of INDOT's Districts/offices.



Essential duties/responsibilities:
• Serves as a contact in Central Office for the Litigation Team, answering phones, scheduling attorney meetings and other logistical arrangements and handling any litigation-related mail in Central Office.
• Serves as a resource and screener for legal/litigation issues and questions arising in all the Districts and Central Office, and when necessary, directs legal issues to the appropriate resources within the Legal Division.
• Serves as a principal Litigation Team contact with outside counsel for matters in litigation or pre-litigation.
• Responsible for creation and maintenance of Litigation Team files in case management system, including directing intake of new matters, opening files in case management system, tracking down additional information needed by attorneys to process requests for legal assistance, maintenance of any paper working files as needed and uploading/organizing pleadings/notices/discovery /correspondence/etc. in each matter in the case management system.
• Responsible for paralegal functions including drafting, editing and finalizing simple pleadings, correspondence, and other various legal documents requested by the attorneys.
• Locating and gathering information and documents responsive to discovery requests for review by attorneys, INDOT and outside counsel.
• Managing, responding to and tracking tort claim notices for the Litigation Team, including coordinating notices with the Office of the Attorney General.
• Assist attorneys in follow-up and tracking status of litigation, discovery, non-party requests for production and other matters for all Districts and Central Office, including assisting with gathering signatures and reviewing documents to be disclosed depending on responsiveness and confidentialty.
• File and document organization and retention in accordance with Legal Division guidance for Central Office.
• Reviewing online court dockets for all litigation of the Team.
• Evaluate all new online court docket entries, uploading and distributing to our Team recent pleadings and court orders.
• Calendar all new critical dates for all litigation of the Team, providing notice to our Team attorneys.
• File/serve documents and pleadings.
• Update the Team's case management system with information/deadlines.
• Other duties as assigned.
Our case management system is called ActionStep. A successful candidate should be familiar with and comfortable using DoxPop and MyCase to locate and upload pleadings.



Job requirements:
• Adapts readily to new situations and changes in the workplace; works well under pressure; learns and functions well under widely different situations and circumstances.
• Demonstrates knowledge of internal and external customers; is sensitive to customer needs and expectations; anticipates needs and responds promptly and willingly to provide information, services and/or products as needed.
• Understands importance of achieving results; makes effort necessary to achieve goals/objectives; achieves results requested or agreed upon.
• Establishes effective working relationships with co-workers, supervisors & managers, clients and/or the public; gets along well with others.
• Strong writing skills; possesses adequate knowledge skills and experience to perform the duties of the job; understands the purpose of the work unit and how position contributes to the overall mission of the agency; maintains competency in essential areas.
• Proficiency with the civil discovery process, including knowledge of the various forms of discovery.
• Ability to comprehend, analyze, develop and evaluate administrative procedures, while providing attention to details and meeting deadlines.
• Establishes priorities and work sequences to coordinate efforts, maintain work flow and meet deadlines; ensures sufficient functioning through smooth interface with related processes.
• Ability to plan and conduct work with minimal supervision and direction for routine and everyday tasks; judgment to identify when attorney or supervisor input is needed.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to details.
• Recognizes and defines problems; thoroughly obtains and analyzes facts; takes immediate corrective action; uses resources and techniques to develop sound solutions while foreseeing possible consequences.
• Ability to develop and implement new policies, provide deliverables and meet established deadlines.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and other basic computer skills.
• Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works cooperatively with others to achieve overall goals.
• Prefer at least 5-7 years of paralegal experience (including but not limited to experience in preparing discovery responses, drafting pleadings, etc.).
Supervisory responsibilities/direct reports:
This position has no direct reports.


Difficulty of work:


The work is broad in scope, varing from routine to very complex challenges which requires the Litigation Paralegal to exercise judgment and decision-making abilities in formulating potential solutions and in interpreting and applying policies, rules, and laws, and propose recommendations to the Litigation Team attorneys.


Responsibility:


The Litigation Paralegal makes a major contribution to the office and the agency. General goals and objectives are discussed with the supervisor in order to provide program continuity. This position works independently, possesses sufficient technical authority for the work and makes a substantial contribution in the development and implementation of significant programs.
Personal work relationships:
The Litigation Paralegal works with and must establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relationships with a wide variety of individuals, including INDOT staff, INDOT management, representatives from other state agencies, and federal government agencies for the purpose of providing information, and to review, discuss and solve problems relating to project development and disseminating program information. The Litigation Paralegal makes a substantial contribution in the development of the Legal Division.


Physical effort:
Work is performed in an office environment. This position works seated most of the time, with minimal lifting or other physical effort required.
Working conditions:
Standard desk work in an office environment.