Paralegal II - Civil Litigation - City Attorney's Office

About Our Job

With competitive pay, great benefits, and endless opportunities, working for the City and County of Denver means seeing yourself working with purpose - for you, and those who benefit from your passion, skills and expertise. Join our diverse, inclusive and talented workforce of more than 11,000 team members who are at the heart of what makes Denver, Denver.

What We Offer

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. The salary range for this position is $33.54-42.18/hour, based on education and experience. We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which include but are not limited to:

• A guaranteed life-long monthly pension vested after 5 years of service

• 457B Retirement Plan

• 140 hours of PTO earned within first year + 11 paid holidays, 1 personal holiday and 1 volunteer day per year

• Competitive medical, dental and vision plans effective within 1 month of start date

Location

The City and County of Denver supports a hybrid workplace model. Employees work where needed, at a job site several days a week and off-site as needed. Employees must work within the state of Colorado on their off-site days.

What You'll Do

The Denver City Attorney's Office is one of the largest law firms in Colorado, with over 230 attorneys and staff members comprised of paralegals, victim advocates, and other support and supervisory staff members. It may have the most diverse practice of any law firm in Colorado since Denver is a home rule city and county. Clients include the Mayor, City Council, all other elected and appointed officials, all city agencies, departments, boards, commissions, and employees.

The City Attorney's Office is dedicated to providing an equitable, inclusive, and diverse work environment. Through Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts, we strive to respect and honor differences, create a culture of compassion, collaboration, and common purpose for sharing our talents, skills, and creativity with each other. We are committed to removing barriers and providing opportunities. The successful candidate for this position must demonstrate these core operating principles.

The Denver City Attorney's Office is looking for a Paralegal II to join its Civil Litigation Section. This role involves performing intermediate-level paralegal tasks to assist attorneys, including drafting legal documents, managing deadlines, preparing trial and hearing exhibit notebooks, collecting and organizing relevant information, conducting research, analysis, and providing general paralegal support.

The ideal candidate will have significant experience in civil litigation in both state and federal courts, including appeals. They should have a strong background in supporting attorneys through all phases of the litigation process, from trial preparation to post-trial activities.

The Civil Litigation Section represents the City and County of Denver, the third largest employer in the State of Colorado, and its employees in lawsuits and claims made against the City for civil rights and tort law violations. The attorneys regularly appear in Colorado federal and state courts. Paralegal II's in Civil Litigation are expected to understand Colorado federal and state court deadlines, and assist attorneys in meeting said deadlines. Paralegal II's spend a significant amount of time organizing and preparing documents for production.

This job is a perfect fit for an experienced paralegal that is highly skilled, organized, detail-oriented, able to work in a fast-paced environment, and a self-starter. This position offers the opportunity for meaningful and interesting legal work in a dynamic environment with good work-life balance and regular hours.

Day-to-day responsibilities for this Paralegal II position include the following:

• Performing lead work as necessary, provides work instruction, assists with difficult or unusual assignments, resolves problems encountered during daily operations and determines appropriate solutions

• Conducts research and studies in order to summarize laws, court decisions, and other legal authorities for use in the preparation of cases, opinions, pleadings, briefs, and other documentation. Investigates the facts of cases and ensures that all relevant information is considered: Collects, compiles, organizes, and analyzes various data for use in reports and documentation using Bates-stamping, redaction, de-duplication and indexing; Prepares and presents written legal analysis, reports, and recommendations to attorneys; Collects, compiles, organizes and summarizes case discovery; Drafts privilege logs

• Drafts complaints, affidavits, motions, interrogatories, and other pleadings connected with trial preparation and/or discovery; Provides administrative legal support services, manages case/matter documentation, facilitates open records requests and/or meetings and assists in transactional cases/matters; Assists attorneys at depositions/trials in the preparation of motions, briefs, depositions, and pleadings; Provides immediate research and document retrieval when called upon during trial, provides litigation support to attorneys at depositions/trials, and hearings

• Assembles and prepares documentation/exhibits based on materials developed during the investigatory/discovery stage; Prepares witness and exhibit binders for deposition/trial; Checks legal citations by proofreading for substance and format including conformance with approved standards and prepares witness and exhibit binders for deposition/trial

• Provides support functions for document control, coordinating exhibits and witnesses during trials and hearings, and providing immediate research and documentation retrieval when called upon; Organizes and indexes case documentation; Assists in administering contract preparation/execution, responds to client inquiries/communications and performs document management

• Organizes and tracks case/matter documentation and ensures they are available and easily accessible to attorneys; Files documents in the proper filing system; Locates witnesses and interviews, subpoenas, assists attorneys in preparing for depositions/trials, and prepares witness statements

• Assists in setting up case files and prepares requests and obtains necessary documentation

• Prepares exhibits for hearings and assembles and prepares trial notebooks and exhibits; Assists in the preparation and revision of routine contracts and responds to counter proposals and/or related documentations/exhibits

• Prepares correspondence and legal documents requiring thorough knowledge of the Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Evidence, legal format, terminology, and procedures

• Performs other related duties, as assigned

Employees may be re-deployed to work in other capacities in their own agencies or in other City agencies to support core functions of the City during a City-wide emergency declared by the Mayor.

Any one position may not include all of the duties listed. However, the allocation of positions will be determined by the amount of time spent in performing the essential duties listed above.

About You

What You'll Bring

We value diversity of ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, gender, religion, language, ability, and experience and exemplify this through the makeup of our team at all levels. You'll be right at home here if you cultivate strong relationships and push yourself, your work, the people around you and Denver to the next level.

We are looking for a team player who is detail-oriented and wants to be a part of a team of professionals whose primary focus is legal support. You must be self-motivated, very dependable and think critically.

The candidate should thrive in a demanding environment that is constantly changing and be willing to assist with additional duties when needed.

The preferred candidate will possess the following qualifications:

• At least five (5) years of experience with complex civil litigation in both state and federal court, including handling all aspects of a case through trial and on appeal

• Knowledge of electronic court filing procedures and rules for state and federal courts, including appellate courts

• Significant experience with trial preparation and trial support in both state and federal courts

• Civil rights defense and/or personal injury legal experience

• Drafts, issues and monitors litigation holds. Performs keyword and other searches on electronic discovery, perform first pass reviews for documents that are potentially relevant or subject to privilege.

• Extensive experience with and demonstrated proficiency with the following: MS-Office 365; Adobe-Pro; Westlaw or LexisNexis; Passport or other document management software; Sanction or other trial management software; Exterro or other E-discovery software

• Proven expertise in cite-checking, legal research, writing and analysis skills

• Ability to effectively communicate with clients, attorneys and other staff members

• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and work effectively in a fast-paced environment

• Strong attention to detail

• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work well under pressure

• A self-starter and team player

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Education requirement: Graduation from high school or the possession of a GED, HiSET or TASC Certificate.

• Experience Requirement: Two (2) years of full-time paralegal experience in a public or private law office, not including internships.

• Education/Experience Equivalency: Additional appropriate education may be substituted for the minimum experience requirements.

• Licenses and certifications must be kept current as a condition of employment.

Application Deadline

This posting will accept applications until 11:59 PM on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Please submit your application as soon as possible to ensure consideration.

About Everything Else

Job Profile

CL0367 Paralegal II

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.

Position Type

Unlimited

Position Salary Range

$31.65 - $49.06

Starting Pay

$33.54-42.18/hour, based on experience and education

Agency

City Attorney's Office

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law.

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact Jobs@Denvergov.org with three business days' notice.

Applicants for employment with the City and County of Denver must have valid work authorization that does not require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.