Paralegal or Senior Paralegal

Paralegal or Senior Paralegal 

Office of General Counsel  

Job Summary: This is para-professional work under the direction and supervision of a staff attorney performing legal research and providing administrative assistance to staff attorneys. 

Job duties include: 

• Conducts legal research in state and federal case law and statutes and prepares legal memoranda containing analysis and recommendation; prepares pleadings and motions for presentation at administrative proceedings or to courts; analyzes final judgments and administrative final orders for legal errors, examines and evaluates opposing legal documents, such as complaints, petitions, briefs and motions.
• Supports attorney review and preparation of documents related to conservation easements and operation and maintenance of permitted stormwater systems; utilizes the District’s permitting software (E-Reg).
• Provides support and coordination for District responses to public record and discovery requests; serves as primary point of contact for public records matters for the Office of General Counsel; serves as an administrator for the District’s eDiscovery software system; organizes, prepares, and manages documents for presentation at hearing or trial; assists attorneys at depositions, trials, hearings, and meetings.
• Monitors the state’s legislative session and tracks all bills that may affect the District; prepares legislative analysis of the bills that passed affecting the District and circulates analysis to appropriate staff; analyzes, reviews, and responds to staff inquiries regarding proposed and enacted legislation.
• Analyzes, reviews, and responds to staff inquiries regarding regulatory and administrative programs, e.g., procurement of goods and services, human resources issues, public records, Sunshine law issues, and permitting matters; maintains the current subject matter index of district final orders; maintains the current index of settlement of regulatory enforcement actions

Ability to: 

Adapt and support multiple attorneys; independently gather and analyze facts and evidence and evaluate its applicability in resolving legal issues; perform substantive legal research and analysis; identify pertinent laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials relevant to assigned cases and provide recommendations to attorneys; analyze case law and legal documents; draft pleadings, memoranda, motions, appellate briefs, and other litigation documents; respond to staff regulatory and administrative inquiries; prepare cases for administrative proceedings and civil litigation; assist attorneys at deposition, hearing or trial. 

Technical Skills:

Legal research; legal writing; legal analysis; review of legal documents; document management (paper and digital); real property law; virtual meeting applications (e.g., Teams, Zoom); and District computer applications (Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Everlaw, Adobe Pro, E-Reg). 

Minimum Qualifications: 

Paralegal: An associate degree from an accredited two-year college and must either be a Florida Registered Paralegal or have successfully completed an American Bar Association approved paralegal program. Paralegal work may substitute on a year-for-year basis for the required college education. 

Senior Paralegal: Must be a Florida Registered Paralegal or meet the educational and work experience requirements necessary to become a Florida Registered Paralegal. 

Preference will be given to candidates with technical skills, professional competencies, and experience aligned to the position.