Contracts and Litigation Paralegal

Pacific Maritime Group is a leading provider of maritime, marine construction, dredging, towing, and vessel support services throughout California and beyond. Built on a foundation of hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit, our company has grown from a small tug and marine services operation into a diversified maritime organization serving commercial, government, and military customers. At the heart of our success are our people. We believe that investing in talented employees, fostering a culture of teamwork and safety, and maintaining strong relationships with our customers and industry partners are essential to achieving long-term success. 

The Contracts & Litigation Paralegal provides direct support to the Company’s Chief Legal Officer across PMG’s in-house legal function. The primary emphasis of the position is contract administration, keeping the Company’s agreements moving from request through execution, renewal, and compliance, with secondary responsibility for litigation management and claims support on the Company’s active disputes. Working under attorney supervision, the paralegal will coordinate with project managers, accounting, insurers, and outside counsel in a fast-paced marine construction and vessel operations environment.

Job Responsibilities

Contract Administration

• Draft agreements and amendments from Company templates under attorney direction, including NDAs, master service agreements, tow and charter agreements, vendor agreements, and change orders.
• Track contract status from request through negotiation, signature routing, and execution.
• Maintain the Company’s contract database with key dates flagged, including renewals, expirations, and notice deadlines.
• Maintain insurance certificates and compliance documents for customers, vendors, and subcontractors.
• Assist with RFPs and proposals, including assembly of required forms, certifications, and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate with project managers, sales, and accounting to align contract terms with Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, and billing stages in Salesforce.

Litigation Management

• Maintain litigation files for active matters from demand letter through resolution.
• Maintain the litigation calendar, including responsive pleadings, discovery deadlines, hearings, mediation, arbitration, and trial dates.
• Coordinate with outside counsel and track legal budgets and outside counsel invoices.
• Collect and organize evidence; manage litigation holds and document preservation, including vessel logs and project records.
• Draft discovery responses, coordinate document production, and maintain privilege logs under attorney direction.
• Prepare court and arbitration filings where appropriate (through outside counsel or in-house where permitted), including state and federal e-filing.
• Assist with mechanics liens, stop notices, bond claims, and maritime lien documentation.
• Prepare status reports for management on pending matters.

Claims Support

• Maintain the Company’s claims log and track customer disputes.
• Assemble claim packages and manage insurance claim submissions and correspondence.
• Coordinate incident investigations at the direction of the Chief Legal Officer and preserve related evidence.
• Outreach to local customers

Corporate Legal Support

• Maintain corporate records and minute books for Company entities.
• Track and renew business licenses; prepare Secretary of State filings, annual reports, and UCC filings.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Must satisfy the qualification requirements for paralegals under California Business & Professions Code § 6450, including applicable continuing education, and provide documentation of compliance.
• 3–7+ years of paralegal experience, including meaningful experience in both commercial contracts and California civil litigation.
• Experience with contract tracking or contract lifecycle management processes; CLM software experience (Ironclad, Agiloft, or similar) a plus.
• Experience with state and federal court e-filing and civil procedure deadlines; arbitration and mediation experience a plus.
• Construction, maritime, insurance defense, or in-house legal department experience preferred.
• Proficient with Microsoft 365 (including Excel and SharePoint), Adobe Acrobat Pro, and DocuSign; experience with e-discovery platforms (Relativity, Everlaw, Logikcull, or similar) preferred; experience with AI legal tools (CoCounsel, Spellbook, or similar) a bonus.
• Experience with Salesforce a plus.
• Highly organized with exceptional follow-up; strong writing and proofreading skills; comfortable working independently under attorney supervision.
• Good judgment regarding confidentiality; comfortable interacting directly with executives, outside counsel, insurers, and customers.

Nice-to-Have Experience

• Mechanics liens, public works, or government contracting.
• Davis-Bacon / prevailing wage matters.
• Commercial collections.
• USCG or maritime law exposure.

Physical Demands

• Exposure to prolonged periods of sitting and keyboard input.
• Adequate hearing & vision ability.
• Proper heat/cold tolerance, working in all weather conditions.
• Occasional travel between Company offices and to court, arbitration, or deposition venues.

Benefits

• Sick and vacation package
• Paid Holidays
• Company PAID health benefits (medical, dental, vision and life insurance) 
• 401K with Company Match 
• Additional voluntary benefits like, FSA, Aflac products, additional life insurance, etc.
• Year-end bonus opportunity.

Salary Range: $40.00 - $50.00

“Pacific Maritime Group is an equal opportunity workplace. We don’t just accept but we celebrate and support differences for the benefit of our employees. Pacific Maritime Group is proud to be an affirmative action employer.”