Litigation Paralegal

Stewart McKelvey proudly celebrates over fifteen years of innovative leadership as Atlantic Canada's first and largest regional law firm. With a distinguished heritage reaching back to Canada's Confederation, our firm has established an international reputation for generating results. With more than 210 lawyers and 290 staff in our six locations we have a single objective: excellence for our clients. As in any industry, our firm requires the skills and talents of a broad range of support staff to meet this objective.

Start Date: Immediately
Closing Date: May 23, 2008
Type of Position: Full-time

Job Description:

Organizing, coordinating and providing a broad range of litigation paralegal services to the Litigation Department.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

• Reviewing and organizing files and documents, including file and case management activities, preparing correspondence, preparing document and key fact summaries, and summarizing medical and other expert reports; 
• Preparing medical chronologies;
• Draft Lists of Documents; 
• Inputting of data into litigation support databases (e.g. Summation), and providing database support such as document categorization, scanning and tagging images, conducting searches, and preparation of reports; 
• Drafting and preparing pleadings and applications;
• Conducting investigative work, including interviewing witnesses and obtaining witness statements, and obtaining documentary evidence;
• Assisting with discovery preparations, reviewing and summarizing discovery transcripts, 
• Conducting research, including legal research and preparation of research memoranda for Court briefs and conference and seminar papers, reviewing court files and other documents; 
• Performing collections, including demands, pleadings, follow-up on demands, and execution on judgements; 
• Preparing client reporting letters, including discovery reports, litigation plan and budget updates;
• Assisting in all aspects of preparation for Court appearances, Small Claims and Supreme Court trials and appeals, including reviewing and assembling exhibits/exhibit books, preparations of witness summaries, and filing and serving subpoenas; 
• Assisting in the organizing and coordinating of client seminars and legal education presentations and conferences; 
• Performing general office and clerical duties, including timekeeping and billing support.

Required Skills and Knowledge:

• Completion of paralegal-specific training or education is required; 
• Preferences will be given to candidates with 5+ years of experience as a paralegal;
• Experience in conducting legal research and the use of proper citation protocols, legal databases, the Internet and the library; 
• Ability to interact with clients, lawyers and staff in a professional manner in a variety of settings, ie. on the telephone, in person, in writing etc.; 
• Ability to take initiative and be comfortable working without direct supervision; 
• Ability to work under pressure and complete a large volume of work for a number of lawyers on a timely basis; 
• Ability to prioritize work and manage competing deadlines; and
• Excellent clerical and computer skills, above average organizational and communication skills, and excellent analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Work Environment:

• Working in a fast-paced litigation department comprised of  partners and associates; and,
• Must be willing to work flexible hours when required. 

Reporting Relationship:

This position will report to the Director of Professional Resources & Development.

Interested Candidates:

If you would like to be considered for this position, please submit resume, stating salary expectations and citing competition number LP0424-CB, by 5 pm Friday, May 23, 2008 to:

Human Resources
Stewart McKelvey
PO Box 997
Halifax NS B3J 2X2

Confidential Fax: (902) 496-6191
Email: hr@smss.com

All interviewed candidates will be asked to complete a Predictive Index form.

No telephone inquiries please. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.