Job Description

Are you a dynamic and motivated professional with experience managing paralegals and legal assistants in a fast-paced environment? If so, Democracy Forward Foundation (“Democracy Forward”) is looking for a Paralegal Manager to join our team.

We are seeking a Paralegal Manager who will pay an instrumental role in helping our Legal Team operate effectively and efficiently. This position will be responsible for the management, development, and support of the senior paralegals, paralegals, and legal assistants. This includes ensuring that legal filings in federal and state courts are error-free and timely, assigning and monitoring the progress of the legal support team’s work, identifying skill gaps and providing training, onboarding staff, regularly receiving and then sharing feedback from litigators and the legal support team, and providing back up paralegal support to litigation when necessary.

This position is full time and may require evening and weekend work when there are time-sensitive filings. Democracy Forward’s office is located in Washington, DC. While this position offers flexibility to work remotely, it requires regular in-office presence eight (8) times per month (averaging 2 times per week) to effectively support the nature of the role.

The Paralegal Manager will report to the Managing Attorney and work closely with the Deputy Managing Attorneys, the senior paralegals, the paralegals, the legal assistants, and the litigators.

Key Responsibilities:

• Litigation
  • Partner with the legal support team and litigators to ensure that legal filings are excellent, error-free, timely, and meet the required standards for filing in federal and state courts.
  • Partner with the legal support team to ensure that the litigators receive the support they require for their litigation.
  • Collaborate with the managing attorney team to support litigation.

• Management and Leadership of the Legal Support Team:
  • Supervise a team of 7-12 senior paralegals and paralegals and 6-8 legal assistants.
  • Manage, support, and develop the legal support team, including assigning work and serving as the primary point of contact for the legal support team on workflow.
  • Conduct regular check-ins with the legal support team to ensure appropriate resource allocation and excellent work product and to solicit and provide feedback and professional development support.
  • Identify skill gaps and provide training, development, feedback, and opportunities for growth for the legal support team, in collaboration with litigators and the managing attorney team.
  • Develop relationships with the legal support team and the entire Legal Team to foster trust and confidence in the function and role of manager.
  • Analyze and suggest improvements so that the legal support team provides excellent support to litigators and that legal support team members are integrated into litigation.
  • Collaborate across teams at Democracy Forward.
  • Support organizational leadership in cultivating a culture of accountability, inclusivity, and excellence, including through providing real-time support and skills-development for your team.

Qualifications:

We recognize that strong candidates may not meet 100% of the qualifications listed. If you believe you can contribute meaningfully to our team, we encourage you to apply.

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent skills or experience in a legal, government, or nonprofit setting. The role may also be appropriate for someone with a JD.
• 15 or more years of experience in the legal and legal support field
• 5 or more years of people management experience.
• Collaborative leadership style with the ability to develop relationships of trust and confidence with colleagues across teams and departments.
• Demonstrated ability to creatively solve problems and improve and simplify systems.
• Significant experience managing paralegals and/or legal support professionals, including reviewing work, identifying areas of improvement, and providing feedback, support, and professional development opportunities.
• Ability to prioritize and work well under tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated ability to perform and train individuals on tasks required for filing in federal and state court, including cite checking, creating tables of contents and tables of authorities, organizing and preparing exhibits, filing complaints and ensuring effective service, admitting attorneys, and working in Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, PACER, ECF, and Westlaw.
• Experience hiring, onboarding, and supporting a growing team.
• Ability to work independently, within a team, across teams, and to be flexible in the face of changing demands.
• Well-developed collaborative and interpersonal skills including demonstrated self-awareness, commitment to diversity and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Work Environment & Physical Demands:

• This role may require occasional travel for litigation or conferences.
• This role may require working evenings and weekends when there are time-sensitive filings.

The salary range for this position is $130,000 - $155,000 commensurate with experience plus excellent benefits. Compensation is commensurate with experience.

Democracy Forward Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We strongly encourage people of color; LGBTQIA+ people; women; people with disabilities; and veterans to apply. Please note that all lawyer positions require a law degree and active membership in the bar of a state or the District of Columbia.

Not sure you meet all of our qualifications? Research shows that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria. Yet women and other people who are systematically marginalized tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you are new to mission-based legal and policy work, returning to work after a gap in employment, or simply looking to transition or take the next step in your career path, we welcome the opportunity to have you on our radar. Please include in your cover letter the nature of your interest in legal and policy work promoting democracy and progress and what you hope to bring to our team and the role for which you are applying.

Democracy Forward is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all, including those with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application, interview, or otherwise participate in the hiring process, please direct your inquiries to recruiting@democracyforward.org or 833-391-4732.