Paralegal

New Today

SUMMARY Facilitates the smooth operation and organization of legal services for the School System, including grievances, informal complaints, and related administrative processes; Handles public information, record requests and subpoenas; and Assists the School System’s legal counsel and Executive Director of Legal Services, as needed. QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. There may alternatives to the qualifications as the Board of Directors may find appropriate. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Bachelor's degree from an accredited university preferred; Associates degree required. Paralegal Certificate required. Two or more years related experience working in the area of education and/or school law preferred. ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES Serve as a liaison between the School System and legal counsel Manage public information and record requests and compile responses with assistance from the General Counsel and Executive Director of Legal Services. Model high standards of professional integrity and maintain confidentiality of privileged information Assist the School System’s legal counsel with any of the following:  Review legal documents such as but not limited to contracts, warrants, court orders, subpoenas, record records from attorneys, process servers  Coordination of administrative grievance hearings and proceedings  Assist in preparation of Board Agenda, Packet, and minutes  Assist in maintaining compliance with the Open Meetings Act  Communication with School System personnel, and/or School System legal counsel on status of legal situation or process matters  Respond to requests for student and employee records and prepare business record affidavits, as appropriate  Support School System’s legal counsel with responses to administrative complaints and proceedings, including, but not limited to OCR Complaints, TWCCRD/EEOC Charges of Discrimination and TEA Complaints  Prepare grievance packets for Level III Hearings before the Board of Trustees as needed  Organization of legal files related to any legal services provided to the School System  Create systems and procedures to support the provision of legal services to the School System  Other duties as assigned COMPETENCIES 1. To perform the job successfully, competitive applicants should demonstrate the following competencies: Must enjoy operating with freedom of maneuver. Ability to influence internal and external stakeholders. Willingness to provide your recommendations to CEO and senior management based on your personal judgement, even in situations where only limited knowledge exists. Ability to support and manage complex cross-network projects and processes with multiple stakeholders at all levels both internally and externally. Ability to independently lead and manage initiatives with multiple workstreams, with proven leadership success over a wide variety of cross-functional initiatives. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with demonstrated intellectual and analytical rigor, attention to detail and ability to structure and analyze complex data sets. Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and ability to research/track down key information. Versatility, adaptability, and a willingness to learn new content areas and work within ambiguity. A demonstrated deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Excellent planning and logistics skills: the ability to envision a project’s holistic work-steps and properly sequence those activities in order to streamline implementation Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word). Advanced Excel user – extremely competent in all aspects of Excel LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations. Ability to write reports and business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from employees or visitors to the school School System. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent. REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus. WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. + SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: This job has no supervisory responsibilities. OTHER QUALIFICATIONS: Must maintain emotional control under stress. Occasional prolonged and irregular hours may occur. The foregoing statements describe the general purpose and responsibilities assigned to this job and are not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills that may be required.
Location:
Richardson, TX, United States