Paralegal

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

The global law firm of K&L Gates is seeking a Paralegal to join the Corporate department in the Seattle office. The Paralegal assists partners and associates in a variety of practice areas, and performs legal tasks that require significant independent judgment. The Paralegal may have the responsibility to supervise and train project assistants, secretaries, other paralegals, and junior associates on core competencies. Candidates must be self-starters who possess the ability to work independently, and collaborate as part of a team. Excellent communication skills and a commitment to providing the highest quality client service are key attributes of a strong candidate.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Supervising partner(s), practice group chair(s), lawyers, Director of Administration, Firmwide Director of Paralegals, paralegals, and external clients.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Examines, organizes, analyzes, and summarizes information relating to particular questions into a logical and usable work product

• Assists in the formation of corporations, LLCs and other entities, including drafting, review and coordinating formation filings, and is responsible for ongoing maintenance and preparation of electronic corporate minutes books

• Researches and analyzes questions regarding entity registrations, foreign qualifications and business licenses in Washington state, counties and cities, and coordinates with paralegals in other offices regarding similar analysis

• Drafts, reviews and coordinates other corporate transactional filings, including to support the Corporate mergers and acquisitions practice

• Drafts, analyzes, reviews and coordinates private securities filings, including SEC Form D and state “blue sky” notices and filings, to support the Corporate venture capital and emerging growth practice

• Maintains, reviews, and reconciles shareholder records, including reconciliation of capitalization tables to transactional documents and coordination of shareholder communications, in support of the Corporate venture capital and emerging growth practice

• Investigates factual issues using a variety of sources, including libraries, websites, client repositories, and other outside sources

• Develops procedures and systems to provide effective legal services, to coordinate with and assist the Corporate practice group

• Utilizes the firm’s software and technology, and maintains client-, matter- and practice-group-specific resources

• Presents results of all projects in effectively written emails, memos, or another logical format

• Exhibits a high degree of professionalism when communicating with internal and external clients

• Adheres to all administrative standards set by the firm, including preparing and submitting daily time entries, attending Corporate practice group meetings, attending administrative meetings, and performing other administrative tasks as assigned

• Coordinates with vendors and service providers for outside services, following the firm’s procurement policies

• Trains project assistants on project specific duties and responsibilities when necessary

EXPERIENCE & SKILLS REQUIRED

• College degree preferred with a minimum of 5 years of paralegal experience in the relevant subject area

• Demonstrates proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and specific practice group technology, including document management systems (e.g., iManage)

• Experience with Carta and Athenian preferred

• Experience with Docusign preferred, including coordinating complex distributions via Docusign

• Requires high attention to detail and the ability to follow up on assignments with little or no guidance from leadership

• Requires critical thinking skills sufficient to make independent decisions regarding daily work tasks

• Follows detailed instructions and handles complex work independently

• Anticipates client needs and prioritizes work

• Manages competing demands to meet deadlines

• Possesses excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Demonstrates the ability to meet obligations with confidentiality, integrity, and sensitivity

• Brings problems, concerns, or discrepancies to the attention of the supervising lawyer(s)

• Has working knowledge of basic accounting principles and demonstrates proficiency in using Microsoft Excel

• Maintains current knowledge of practice area industry trends and the legal profession

ADDITIONAL ABILITIES REQUIRED

• In addition to the qualities and skills discussed above, candidates for practice area specific positions require certain educational credentials and skills.  These candidates are expected to have academic expertise in the practice area of interest, as well as the generic skills previously described.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers across five continents. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world.

The industry recognition the firm has garnered in the past five years emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

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Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

We offer a dynamic work environment and excellent benefits.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the Firm that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications and competence. Employment practices shall not be influenced or affected by virtue of a person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, military status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of unlawful harassment of any kind including, without limitation, that which is sexual, racial, age-related, disability-related or ethnic background-related.