Senior Corporate Paralegal – Legal Operations - Akron, OH

As Senior Paralegal, this role will report to the Chief Legal Officer and work closely with the Law Department Team to support legal, compliance, and corporate governance activities while owning the day-to-day legal operations. This role will assist in the development of departme ...

Job description

As Senior Paralegal, this role will report to the Chief Legal Officer and work closely with the Law Department Team to support legal, compliance, and corporate governance activities while owning the day-to-day legal operations. This role will assist in the development of departmental priorities and lead the execution of key operational, financial, and technology initiatives for the Law Department. The ideal candidate will possess excellent interpersonal skills, strong judgment, and an ability to design and implement best-in-class legal processes, tools and workflows. This position will interface with professionals in other business units and will work cross functionally, particularly with professionals in Finance, HR, and IT.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist with the Law Department's budget and forecasting processes.
• Manage department invoices and e-billing system.
• Manage and optimize outside counsel and legal vendor relationships, including onboarding, fee arrangements, matter budgets, performance tracking, and spend controls.
• Develop best-in-class systems, policies and processes required for maximum efficiency and consistency.
• Support drafting and revising of commercial contracts, including but not limited to procurement, customer/sales agreements, and NDAs.
• Organize Law Department information.
• Administer contract management system, including uploading and organizing signed contracts, managing contract signature processes, calendaring compliance related tasks and identifying contract management process improvements.
• Support creation of contract and other templates.
• Research, draft and monitor corporate policies.
• Assist with Compliance activities, including development and implementation of compliance programs required to meet current and future legal requirements for the Company's operations, both domestically and internationally. Manage the Compliance calendar and facilitation of Annual Compliance program.
• Manage the formation, maintenance, dissolution, acquisition, and disposition of companies, including drafting documents based on existing templates, preparing, and maintaining charter documents and foreign qualifications, business registrations and powers of attorney and timely filing statutory reports in all necessary jurisdictions.
• Update and maintain corporate minute books for legal entities. Maintain director and officer appointments for the Company's legal entities.
• Manage real estate records.
• Assist with intellectual property development, registration, and maintenance, and provide support for licensing.
• Manage service of process and subpoena requests. Provide support for claims and litigation.
• Assist with preparation of litigation reports and liaise with insurance representatives.
• Provide support to the Corporate Secretary and Assistant Corporate Secretary for public company reporting requirements.
• Support the company's M&A process, including managing diligence materials, ensuring completion of documents, and drafting correspondence.
• Complete ad-hoc and special projects as requested/required by the Law Department. Conduct legal research on various matters as warranted.
• Other duties as assigned

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, or governmental regulations.
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, and the general public.
• Ability to communicate with all levels of the Company in a professional and business-like manner.
• Ability to write policies, processes, reports and business correspondence.
• Ability to manage and analyze data related to legal spend, contracts, and matters and to add numbers to manage billing/invoicing and assist with budget preparation.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited information exists.
• Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
• Experience with Legal technology platforms.
• Possess high degree of discretion and ability to manage confidential and sensitive information.

Education and Experience

• Minimum of an associate degree or its equivalent required
• 5+ years of experience in the field or in a related area (preferably in-house experience).
• Possess a proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Word and Adobe; experience in Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and law department management software helpful, but not required.

Working Conditions

• Typical office environment

Physical Requirements

• Work conditions consistent with a general office environment.
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• The employee frequently is required to stand, walk; use hands to finger, and reach with hands and arms.