Litigation Paralegal

Job Description:

The client is a nationally respected Family Law Firm with a focus on high-net-worth clients, complex litigation, and mediation, seeks a dedicated full-time Paralegal with 2-3 years of litigation experience to join our Lake Forest or Chicago office. This is a hybrid position: four (4) days in the office and one (1) day remote per week.

Our ideal candidate is a proactive, detail-oriented person with strong organization and litigation skills who can assist attorneys in preparing for hearings, depositions, and trials. The candidate takes initiative and interacts with all levels of management and staff with tact and diplomacy. This position requires effective oral and written communication skills, self-motivation, and the ability to work independently. The skill to perceive and analyze problems, develop alternatives, and make or recommend sound decisions is essential.

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate the collection, review, and production of documents.
• Respond to discovery requests.
• Prepare subpoenas.
• Summarize deposition transcripts, trial transcripts, and exhibits.
• Assist with the preparation, filing, and service of pleadings.
• Assist with trial preparation including the assembly of exhibits, witness lists, and appendices for depositions and court filings.
• Organize documents, create spreadsheets, and manage document retrieval systems.
• Compile information and prepare statistics, charts, and graphs to detail findings.
• Prepare financial analyses, dissipation claims and analysis, and financial balance sheets.
• Effectively communicate with clients, colleagues, attorneys, experts, and consultants.
• Act as liaison among all parties, including the court, to schedule and share information.
• Use Aderant (time entry and billing software) to accurately enter time records.

Qualifications:

• 2-3 years litigation experience as a paralegal in a law firm setting, preferably with an emphasis on family law.
• Paralegal certificate from ABA-accredited program and/or Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Knowledge of litigation procedures, local and state discovery rules, legal terminology, regulations, and court systems in Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Will County.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe).
• Working knowledge of document management software systems.
• Proficiency with document review software.
• Outstanding time management skills.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Possess a strong work-ethic and be a dependable team player with the ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to meet the annual billable goal of 1,600 hours (prorated based upon start date)