Job description

Paralegal /Legal Assistant in Criminal Defense Law Practice

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 05/05/23

LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (REMOTE WORK) - MUST RESIDE IN LAS VEGAS, NV

Compensation: DOE

Employment Type: Full-time - 40 hours/week

PARALEGAL /LEGAL ASSISTANT JOB DESCRIPTION:

A Legal Assistant, or Paralegal, is responsible for helping Lawyers and other legal professionals prepare for trials or court cases. As a work from home legal assistant, or Paralegal, your job is to provide remote services for a lawyer or law firm. In this role, you may research documents and situations on behalf of an attorney, help assemble a case, file paperwork, transcribe recordings, analyze records, and provide any other services the lawyer needs. Their duties include answering phone calls and greeting clients, contributing to fact-checking and compiling case evidence and communicating with court employees to confirm court dates and ensuring filings are accepted. This is a remote position from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lobo Law is seeking a bright, creative, organized, and highly effective individual to serve as the Legal Assistant, or Paralegal. The Legal Assistant will be expected to perform a broad range of substantive and administrative tasks, and needs to be proficient in utilizing technology to carry out those tasks.

The duties of the Legal Assistant, or Paralegal include the following:

• Providing factual and basic legal research with minimal instruction;
• Providing substantive and stylistic editing for a range of internal and external documents; formatting and preparing legal documents for filing;
• Monitoring legal publications and news media for coverage of issues affecting the work of the projects and drafting, editing, and posting commentary on news items;
• Maintaining project websites including drafting, editing, formatting, and posting content;
• Planning and managing technical aspects of organizational events, including live streaming, production of print materials, and social media engagement.
• Organizing, Categorizing and Maintaining electronic and hard case files for all client matters;
• Managing email groups, collaborative documents, and meeting agendas and minutes for third party contractors such as experts and investigators;
• Hiring and supervising undergraduate interns with other legal assistants;
• Coordinating intake requests, interviews, and responses; summarizing and analyzing intake substance, and presenting recommendations for future action or referral;
• Attending educational webinars, conference calls, and in-person events on issues for work projects, and providing substantive reports to staff not in attendance; and
• Providing general administrative support, including mail retrieval, photocopying and scanning, scheduling conference calls, reserving conference rooms, etc.
• Demonstrating advanced knowledge and ability to use computer software such as Adobe Acrobat Pro, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and databases, to support the work of the projects;
• Training and assisting members of the staff in learning and using new software as well as general office technologies; and
• Conducting research in support of litigation using Westlaw and PACER.
• Opening files for new clients, which includes collecting and including specific documents in the file depending on the type of case.
• Opening new matters using case management software, and ensuring that calendar data and all other essential data remain updated.
• Order transcripts from court reporters for appeals and for other reasons.
• Reviewing presentence reports and helping the attorneys draft documents.
• Electronically filing documents once approved by the attorney.
• Proofreading briefs; arranging for printing and binding of briefs and filing and serving them.
• Maintaining written protocols for formatting and serving briefs in various courts.
• Communicating with clients, family, witnesses, court clerks, probation officers, law enforcement, and prosecutors.
• Word processing of motions, pleadings, appellate briefs, and related documents, with knowledge of format, procedures, and legal terminology.
• Helping maintain attorney calendar including scheduling of court appearances, motion and other deadlines, appointments, and the coordination of travel arrangements.
• Other duties as assigned.

A qualified candidate will have a bachelor’s degree, paralegal certificate, or two or more years of work experience as a legal assistant. The candidate must be able to manage reporting to multiple supervisors and handle competing demands. Organization, critical thinking skills, reading comprehension skills, communication skills both in writing and orally, and problem-solving are essential skills. In addition, the candidate must be able to accept direction and thrive on working both independently and as part of a team. The candidate must be able to perform extensive factual and basic legal research with minimal instruction. The candidate needs to be proficient with different types of office technology or capable of mastering technology with limited instruction. The candidate should be very organized with exceptional attention to detail. Fluency in reading, writing, and speaking Spanish is preferred. The perfect candidate will also be affable, outgoing, and will have a good sense of humor.

The Legal Assistant will report directly to the attorney. The Legal Assistant will also be expected to perform tasks as may be requested.

The successful candidate will have the ability to follow court rules and filing procedures, excellent communication skills, strong organizational skills, and the ability to multi-task and manage quickly changing priorities. The successful applicant will have a professional appearance and demeanor, as well as the ability to interact with law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, court clerks, clients, and clients’ families in a professional and compassionate manner.

Required Skills Include:

Computer literacy and acumen.

Written and spoken mastery of English. Proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar are required.

Focused attention to details and professionalism.

Ability to prioritize and work on one project at a time, while being flexible enough to jump from project to project without succumbing to the pitfalls for multitasking (i.e., increase error rates).

EXCEPTIONAL Organizational skills.

Logical thinking.

Desired Skills and Experience:

Knowledge of legal terminology and syntax, and of the content, organization, and format of legal documents and correspondence.

Proficiency in spoken/written Spanish (helpful but not required).

Ability to follow instructions and guidelines to make decisions and take actions if specific supervision is not immediately available.

Ability to determine work priorities.

A sense of humor and the ability to keep calm in a sometimes stressful environment.

Desired Computer Skills:

MS Word

Clio

Evernote

MS Excel

Westlaw or Lexis

Adobe Acrobat Professional

WRITING SAMPLE INSTRUCTIONS:

Please submit a writing sample that meets (and exceeds) the following requirements:

• 600-800 word sample.
• Discusses any relevant information pertaining to law and criminal defense.
• Proper sentence structure, syntax, grammar.
• Please note that this writing sample is an opportunity to showcase your writing skills in a multitude of different ways.

Answer the following questions:

1) What appeals to you about working in criminal defense law?

2) Discuss the importance of confidentiality.

3) What do you think about the presumption of innocence?

4) Tell me something about yourself that isn’t on your resume.

About Lobo Law PLLC:

Lobo Law PLLC is a firm dedicated exclusively to litigation in both criminal and personal injury matters in California and Nevada. Lobo Law PLLC’s mission is to deliver client-focused solutions and treat every client like a person and not a file. Adrian M. Lobo has been recognized as the Top 10 Under 40 by the National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys, Inc.

Job Type: Full-time

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: Remote

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