Paralegal Specialist

JOB SUMMARY:

The Paralegal Specialist plays a crucial role in supporting Textron Aviation’s diverse litigation docket covering product liability, commercial, employment, and transactional matters including discovery, investigations, matter management, scheduling, and supporting in-house and outside counsel through all phases of litigation and dispute resolution. This is a non‑remote position based within the Legal Department offices in Wichita, KS.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

·       Receive, review, and prepare draft responses and proposed objections to discovery requests. 

·       Assist in-house attorneys with managing litigation matters from inception to resolution, including working with other functional groups, outside counsel, and vendors.

·       Receive, acknowledge, and distribute lawsuits and other legal matters served on Textron Aviation and its businesses, including process served on the company through CT Corporation, and routing new matters to the appropriate business and in-house attorney.

·       Maintain and update as necessary the Service of Process (SOP) distribution lists.

·       Coordinate the opening of new matters, assist in retaining outside counsel, generate and transmit documents to outside counsel, insurers, and third-party administrators, issue litigation holds, and set up electronic case files in Textron Aviation’s legal matter database, eDiscovery system, and billing system. 

·       Direct the Company’s response to discovery requests by working with internal/external stakeholders to develop an efficient strategy for collecting and reviewing responsive information and ultimately finalizing discovery responses prepared by outside counsel and approved by in-house counsel.

·       Manage case files, including retention of case documents, and litigation calendars for such activities as witness interviews, preparation for deposition and trial testimony, and jury research projects.

·       Work with law firms to ensure timely case status reporting and budget submission, assist in managing outside counsel fees, and review invoices prior to attorney approval. 

·       Respond to insurer inquiries regarding matter status and updates.

·       Coordinate the closure of matters upon resolution, including review of resolution documents, confirming payment of settlement funds, collecting final resolution documents, obtaining final invoices, closing matter in matter management and billing system, and releasing litigation hold.

·       Prepare monthly agenda for the insured claims meeting with Textron Aviation’s insurer.

·       Schedule various in-person and Teams meetings with internal and external participants.

·       On a monthly basis, update various reports with new open and closed matters.

·       Proactively assist non-litigation attorneys as necessary.

·       Conform supply chain agreements and amendments as needed.

·       Manage monthly reporting for Medicare Secondary Payer obligations.

·       Pull data from Textron Aviation’s legal matter database and develop litigation-related metrics; and prepare memoranda and reports on the status and metrics of open and closed matters.

·       Manage the development and maintenance of ad-hoc reporting through Business Objects for matter management data.

·       Execute data-based requests from Textron Aviation’s Legal community, insurers, and other third-parties; and submit requests for reporting changes and complete testing/validation of change.

·       Maintain document database(s) for litigation involving discontinued operations.

·       Perform other duties as necessary or assigned.

EDUCATION:

• An associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies, a Paralegal Certificate or Bachelor’s degree in related field required.

EXPERIENCE:  

• 5 years of experience as a legal assistant, paralegal, or an administrative role supporting multiple individuals in a law firm or legal environment required.

• Experience with litigation, including legal holds, discovery, witness development, and trial support.

• Coursework/training in use of AI tools in legal and discovery context a plus.

• Coursework in project management, legal studies, or information technology a plus.

• Familiarity with legal matter databases or other matter management applications preferred.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships.
• Experience and success with working as part of a team.
• Ability to manage work independently with little or no supervision.
• Strong problem-solving and prioritization skills.
• Trustworthy and comfortable working with numbers.
• Detail-oriented and highly organized.
• Robust written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience and facility with data analytics.
• Leadership and project management skills, including budgeting, tracking, and auditing activities.
• Service-oriented and dedicated to exceeding the expectations of internal and external customers.
• Comprehensive knowledge of MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint), with a willingness and ability to learn new technologies as necessary.

 The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.