Civil Litigation Paralegal needed in Oakland, Montclair Area
The Law Offices of Andrew J. Christensen, P.C., is a small firm specializing in civil litigation in plaintiffs side consumer protection and has an opening for a full-time civil litigation paralegal. Must have a minimum of 3 years’ experience as a litigation paralegal in California state court and federal court. There is no limit to the years of experience above that, and the salary will be competitive for any level of experience. Our firm specializes in representing consumers and businesses in actions against mortgage lenders and servicers for illegal lending practices, fraud and related torts, and for statutory violations. We also handle some real estate related litigation. Our other specialty is representing debtors and creditors in litigation in bankruptcy cases and appeals in unique and important cases. The work is rewarding because it often involves protecting homeowners and consumers who have been victimized by large scale lending and mortgage servicing fraud. The work is interesting and involves evolving areas of law and leading the way in setting important precedents in lending and foreclosure cases and bankruptcy cases. Our firm recently won the first case under the new California Civil Code §2924m by successfully voiding a foreclosure sale where a bankruptcy case was filed after the foreclosure auction but before the sale was deemed final under the new statutory timelines. This was a major victory for many California homeowners facing foreclosure. The job is also interesting because it involves investigation into the facts of cases and finding critical evidence in discovery that contributes substantively to the success of the cases. This includes many things, including gathering and reviewing documents, conducting witness interviews, and working with private investigators.
Salary: $55,000 - $95,000, commensurate with experience
Job Description
Assist in drafting complaints, briefs, motions, table of contents, table of authorities, case management statements, and all manner of court filings.
Assist in propounding and responding to discovery such as interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admission.
Investigations for fact gathering for intake of new clients and in discovery and litigation.
Organize document production in discovery.
Managing documents from clients, client files, and evidence in cases.
Drafting and serving notices of deposition, including subpoenas for out of state witnesses in both federal and state court.
Drafting and service of deposition subpoenas, records subpoenas, and foreign subpoenas.
Assist in all aspects of trial preparation and trial.
Preparation and service of trial exhibits and exhibit binders.
Filing notices of appeal and related documents, preparing the record on appeal, and citing to the record in appellate briefs.
Drafting bankruptcy petitions and schedules, and Chapter 13 plans in Best Case Software (no previous experience with this is required).
Coordinate with outside vendors such as court reporters, process servers, expert witnesses.
Summarizing deposition transcripts.
Managing email, organizing and scanning documents.
Communication with clients for fact gathering and client intake.
Tracking and calendaring court, discovery, and other deadlines.
Correspondence and communicate with clients, opposing counsel, and court personnel.
Preparing and filing documents in state and federal courts (and related e-filing portals such as Pacer, GreenFiling, TrueFiling), must have familiarity with using One Legal and similar services.
Research case law using Lexis-Nexis.
Performing administrative and clerical functions.
There may be occasional opportunities for travel if desired for depositions, conferences, and to attend hearings.
Desired Qualifications
Bachelor's degree.
Paralegal Certificate preferred but not required.
Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.
Minimum 3 years’ experience in civil litigation and discovery matters, and
California and Federal Civil Procedure and local court rules.
Complete proficiency with all civil procedure rules in state and federal court, including calendaring state and federal motion and trial deadlines, and calculating notice periods, subpoena procedures, ex parte motions, motions to shorten time, subpoenas, and related litigation procedures.
Proficiency in Office 365 (Word and Excel). This must include knowing how to use advanced word processing features of Word.
Proficiency in Adobe Acrobat, including creating and editing PDFs, bates numbering, OCR, annotating, and converting other document types to PDF, and redacting.
Legal research proficiency in Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw.
Type 75+ WPM.
Experience in handling appeals is helpful, but not required.
Knowledge or experience with statutes such as the California Homeowners’ Bill of Rights, the foreclosure statutes, TILA, RESPA, FDCPA, the Rosenthal Act, and the Bankruptcy Code are helpful but not required.
Knowledge and experience with tort cases such as fraud, misrepresentation, intentional interference, and related types of claims is useful but not required.
Knowledge and experience in real estate related issues in the purchase and sale of real estate, real estate brokers and agents is helpful but not required.
Knowledge of the rules and procedures in arbitrations is preferred but not required.
To apply, submit your resume and a writing sample, and a list of at least two references to Andrew@CaliforniaHomeLawyer.com. You may submit a cover letter if desired, but it is not required.
The interview will test your knowledge of the rules of civil procedure, legal research, and writing.