Description

Litigation Paralegal, Office of General Counsel - UT System
MR 09

LOCATED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, MEMPHIS

About the UT System 

The University of Tennessee is comprised of campuses at Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, and Pulaski; the Health Science Center at Memphis; the Space Institute at Tullahoma; and the statewide Institute of Agriculture and Institute for Public Service. 

The UT System has a presence in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Through the combined force of education, research and outreach, the University serves students, business and industry, schools, governments, organizations, and citizens statewide. 

The University of Tennessee System, through its multiple campuses and institutes, serves the people of Tennessee and beyond through the discovery, communication, and application of knowledge. The System is committed to providing undergraduate, graduate, and professional education programs in a diverse learning environment that prepares students to be leaders in a global society. The UT System’s delivery of education, discovery, outreach, and public service contributes to the economic, social, and environmental well-being of all Tennesseans. 

The Opportunity
The University of Tennessee Office of the General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice and representation to the Board of Trustees and University administration.   Upon delegation from the Tennessee Attorney General, the OGC also provides representation of the State of Tennessee for matters arising out of the actions or omissions of University employees.

This position is primarily responsible for assisting two of the four attorneys in the OGC’s Memphis office:  one attorney, whose practice focuses on all aspects of defending health care liability claims arising out of health care provided by University employee health care providers involved in clinical programs of the UTHSC and other tort litigation arising from the actions of University employees filed against the State of Tennessee, and  another attorney, whose practice focuses on healthcare compliance, regulation & contracting, faculty practices and business ventures related to healthcare, and healthcare regulatory matters.  Although this position reports primarily to  these two attorneys, this paralegal will be called upon assist the other two Memphis office attorneys in their legal work for the University when needed, and share office responsibilities with the other litigation paralegal in the OGC Memphis office. 

The primary duties of this position are as follows:

Drafts correspondence, pleadings, motions, discovery requests/responses, and prepares court exhibits, and other litigation documents effectively and efficiently for attorney review and approval; Prepares documents according to instructions, in accordance with court rules, and with proper citations; Carefully proofreads documents prepared by self and others to ensure that they are free of typographical errors; Properly addresses, copies, and sends outgoing correspondence and enclosures. 

Reviews pre-suit notices, determines the status of UTHSC residents involved in new Tennessee Claims Commission claims and Circuit Court lawsuits and sends correspondence to residents to notify them of the pending claim and expected legal proceedings.  Opens, keeps current, and closes litigation files timely and properly.

Arranges depositions and meetings, reserves appropriate meeting rooms, and informs parties of date, time, location, and purpose of meeting; prepares necessary materials.  Arranges for court reporters when required, and processes related invoices for payment according to OGC procedures.

Collects, compiles, copies, and indexes pleadings, discovery documents and medical records effectively and efficiently; Accurately and thoroughly summarizes documents, medical records, and/or depositions as needed.  Prepares and sends authorizations for release of medical information to Claimants' counsel, and/or forwards signed authorizations to treating hospitals, physicians, and facilities to obtain medical records.

Shares responsibility with the other paralegal in the Memphis Office for preparing responses for attorneys to inquiries for claims histories of  current and former resident physicians and other current or former health care provider  faculty and staff.

Accurately maintains attorneys’ calendars, including (if applicable) noting all court appearances, depositions, and litigation deadlines; monitors deadlines in advance effectively; When necessary, assists attorneys in preparing for and appearing at depositions, hearings, and trials; Helps to determine, locate, and communicate with witnesses. 

Efficiently uses the various courts’ electronic filing systems.

Proficiently uses office technology, including the MS Office Suite (including OneDrive), Word, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Zoom, and MS Teams, as well as PACER, ECF, and other court and agency electronic filing systems (or ability and willingness to develop those skills right away).

Timely and properly scans, profiles, and saves documents in the OGC’s Document Management System, "NetDocs." Runs OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on all documents after uploading.

The duties of the position also include the following:
Answers phone calls promptly and courteously; directs callers to the appropriate attorney or voice mail;  makes travel arrangements for attorneys and witnesses in accordance with university policies and assists attorneys with travel reimbursement requests; supports attorneys in office administrative and operational matters as needed.  The successful candidate must have excellent communication skills and will routinely communicate with University departmental clients, attorneys, witnesses, courts, and state and federal agencies.  The successful candidate must have the ability to work independently to maintain and track litigation files from initial attorney assignment to closure.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will demonstrate a high level of professional integrity, initiative, comfort, flexibility, and ability to work with others on site and/or remotely, eagerness to assist our University departmental clients, and a collegial team spirit.

Other Requirements: A valid driver's license is required for various tasks as needed.

Education:     A bachelor’s degree, associate degree, or paralegal certificate from an ABA-approved program is required, provided that ten years of litigation paralegal experience may be deemed an adequate substitute for a degree or certificate.   

Experience:  5 years of litigation paralegal experience, including personal injury litigation.  Health care liability litigation experience is preferred. 

Pay Scale Type/Salary:  This is a non-exempt position classified as a Market Range 09/Legal Paralegal 1.  The minimum starting salary for this position is $33 per hour.  Salary will be determined in accordance with the successful candidate’s education and experience. 

In accordance with University of Tennessee Human Resources Policy HR0465, the successful candidate will be eligible on an elective basis to seek a nine percent (9%) salary increase by taking and passing the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) Examination.  See https://policy.tennessee.edu/policy/hr0465-salary-increase-for-passing-certified-administrative-professional-examination/

Hours: Office hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday.  The successful candidate is expected to be in the office during office hours with a discretionary option to work from home one day per week after fully trained, subject to the attorneys’ needs for support.

Benefits: A description of the University’s very generous benefit package is available at: https://hr.tennessee.edu/benefits/.

Materials Required to be submitted for Consideration: Candidates must provide a cover letter, resume, and three references knowledgeable of applicant’s skills and experience.  All applications must be submitted through the University’s online application system.  

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until applications are closed.

Job: Other Tech/Para-Professional
Primary Location: US-Tennessee-knoxville
Organization: General Counsel
Schedule: Full-time
Job Posting: Sep 19, 2023, 9:58:33 PM