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Orange County Public Schools · 10 hours ago

PARALEGAL

Orlando, FL

Full-time

Onsite

Entry Level

1+ years exp

Orange County Public Schools is seeking a Paralegal to provide legal assistance to the school district’s legal staff. The role involves preparing legal documents, conducting research, and supporting attorneys in various legal matters while maintaining confidentiality and adhering to established policies.

EducationHigher EducationPrimary EducationSecondary Education

Responsibilities

Responds to internal and external customers in a timely, accurate, courteous and empathetic manner representing OCPS in a positive light

Prepares and finalizes drafts of documents including, but not limited to correspondence, pleadings, motions, other court related documents or filings, contracts, policies, resolutions or other school district documents as directed by the supervising attorney; performs other assigned secretarial duties

Interviews staff and other witnesses, who may be affiliated with a particular case or matter in pending claims against the district; summarizes and reports findings to attorney

Assists attorneys in all phases of legal research, background investigations and case management. Gathers and analyzes information; indexes various materials that have been compiled

Assists the attorney in the review of miscellaneous legal documents to ascertain their accuracy and conformance to established policies and standards

Works with the attorney in coordinating and overseeing document production associated with assigned cases

Researches legal information in statutes, legal opinions, court rulings, pleadings, and official guidance via conventional and computer-based methods, independently or at the direction of an attorney

Opens, organizes and/or maintains both physical case/matter files and those maintained via any electronic case management system(s)

Maintains attorney calendar and master docket calendar for legal deadlines; schedules all appointments, tracks work in progress, and monitors cases through final disposition

Serves as an ambassador for OCPS and the Office of Legal Services in communications with parents and community members, representatives of other organizations and staff in response to claims, requests, complaints, and other matters of a legal/technical nature

Prepares hearing notebooks and arranges for attendance of witnesses at hearings or internal investigations

Coordinates the scheduling of administrative hearings for student disciplinary hearings, including preparatory witness meetings and evidence review

Assists in providing technical support for various district departments and schools concerning legal issues such as custody issues

Maintains confidentiality regarding schools and workplace matters

Tracks new developments in the legal field; maintains familiarity with applicable laws, rules, policies and regulations

Assists with preparation of school board legal agenda items for board meetings. Demonstrates initiative in the performance of assigned responsibilities

Follows adopted policies and procedures in accordance with School Board priorities

Conducts oneself in the best interest of students, in accordance with the highest traditions of public education and in support of the District’s Mission Statement

Responsible for keeping up-to-date on current technology being used by OCPS. With the support of the district, attends training to ensure skill level in various technologies is at the level required to perform in current position

Responsible for timely and accurate information they maintain as part of their job responsibilities

Qualification

Paralegal studiesLegal researchDocument preparationCase management softwareMS Office proficiencyConfidentialityCritical thinkingInterpersonal skillsIndependent workTime management

Required

Associate's degree from an accredited institution with course work emphasis in paralegal studies

One (1) year of verifiable legal experience

Proficiency in all MS Office products such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint

Ability to maintain confidentiality, discretion, critical thinking, excellent interpersonal skills

Ability to research and work independently and meet deadlines

Ability to review, classify, categorize, prioritize, and/or analyze data and/or information

Ability to apply principles of persuasion and/or influence

Ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions

Ability to utilize consulting and advisory data and information, as well as reference, descriptive and/or design data and information as applicable

Ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may require ability to utilize principles of fractions and/or interpret graphs

Ability to apply principles of rational systems

Ability to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule form

Ability to exercise independent judgment to adopt or modify methods and standards to meet variations in assigned objectives

Ability to exercise the judgment, decisiveness and creativity required in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory, judgmental, or subjective criteria

Ability to exert very moderate physical effort in light work, typically involving some combination of stooping, kneeling, crouching and crawling, and which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of moderate weight (12-20 pounds)

Some tasks require visual perception and discrimination

Some tasks require oral communications ability

Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate sounds