The University of Maryland, College Park is one of the nation's preeminent public research universities and the State of Maryland's flagship university. The Office of General Counsel at the University of Maryland seeks an experienced paralegal to join its team.

Paralegals provide legal and administrative support services to all attorneys in the Office of General Counsel (OGC), the in-house office that provides legal support and advice to the University of Maryland, College Park. OGC is a fast-paced office that serves many high-priority client needs. The breadth of OGC's legal practice requires Paralegals to be capable and willing to support OGC, its attorneys, and its support staff in a wide range of legal, operational, and administrative tasks. These include but are not limited to assisting with transactional legal work, including contract review, drafting, and negotiation; assisting with litigation, hearings, and other adversarial matters; legal and factual research and writing; performing records management; tracking the wide variety of matters handled by OGC; and supporting the University's responses to information requests, human resources, corporate, transactional, real estate, and policy matters. Paralegals provide general administrative support (e.g., copying, scanning, filing) to the OGC attorneys and each other whenever the need arises.

Paralegals work under attorney supervision to review, edit, and draft legal documents, legal memoranda, and varied communications; perform legal and factual research and provide written analysis; review, prepare, and maintain documents, exhibits, and presentations; analyze, preserve, and maintain evidence; monitor and update internal tracking processes; and communicate and interact with clients, outside counsel, and third parties, including other governmental units.

Paralegals assist with the University's responses to internal and external information requests, such as Public Information Act (PIA) requests; subpoenas or court/legal/administrative orders; Employee Grievance Hearings; Public Safety Denial of Access Appeals; and similar matters handled by OGC. As the need arises, Paralegals may be assigned primary responsibility for such matters.

Paralegals work collaboratively and cross-train extensively with OGC's Executive Assistant(s) and Legal Coordinator(s) to provide administrative support for OGC and its attorneys as needed, which may include scheduling, coordinating, and tracking matters; supporting office operations and information management; and maintaining filing systems.

OGC is looking for a self-motivated person who has the ability and desire to be a team player and understands that no task is too small or mundane if it is in support of the office. The ideal candidate is: a strong writer who has attention to detail when it comes to grammar, spelling, and punctuation; provides solid legal analyses; able to assist with many assignments at the same time, prioritize them, and meet deadlines; one with excellent verbal communications skills; proficient in using the Microsoft Office Suite of applications, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel; proficient in using Google Workplace, including Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive; and proficient in using virtual platforms, including Zoom and Box.