Washtenaw Community College (WCC) is excited to hire a Paralegal to join our legal team!
Here's why you should join WCC! An inclusive, welcoming environment for all Work flexibility - one day (Mon/Fri) to work remotely per week Generous Paid Time Off on top of 12 Paid Holidays Affordable & Comprehensive Health, Dental, Life & Vision Insurance 4:1 Employer Match for Retirement WCC Tuition paid for you AND your dependents Tuition reimbursement for colleges outside WCC Check our Total Rewards Now, here's more about the position! This position, under the direction of the General Counsel (GC) and the Chief Labor Relations Officer (CLRO) will be responsible for supporting these executive positions by organizing, maintaining and creating documents, performing research, responding to information requests, preparing materials for presentations and hearings, maintaining the college's administrative policies library, and developing and maintaining tracking systems for all of these activities. This position will work closely with the GC and the CLRO to plan and execute the strategies related to litigation, investigations, collective bargaining and grievance processing, while maintaining strict confidentiality of College and related information.
Responsibilities All work under the General Counsel and Chief Labor Relations Officer will be conducted in strict confidence and in compliance with ethical obligations of the legal profession.
Under General Counsel: • Coordinates the collection, review and production of documents, whether in paper or electronic form, in response to Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for public records, Litigation Discovery, Subpoenas and other requests for information.
• Performs legal research, analyzes legal issues, and prepares various legal document.
• Coordinates with GC in the intake of claims and complaints received, response deadlines, notifications needed, preparation and distribution of materials and evidence in support of litigation and claims process, and preparation of meeting agendas and/or take notes during meetings .
• Serves as a knowledge manager for data, correspondence, matter files, reports, and all documentation associated with legal matters in the Office of General Counsel.
• Assists/coordinates with the process of developing college wide administrative policies and procedures, and develops and administers the college's administrative policy and procedures library.
• Drafts, reviews, and edits position statements, legal documents and transaction and research memos for form and legality; Summarizes lengthy documents or groups of documents and; Compiles information and preparing statistics, charts, graphs, presentations or summaries.
• Performs other duties as assigned by General Counsel.
Under Chief Labor Relations Officer • Assists with the collective bargaining process by conducting research, drafting College proposals, developing and maintaining official bargaining notes and coordinating tentative agreements to produce a final collective bargaining agreement.
• Coordinates the grievance processes for all bargaining units including, initial intake and review of grievance information, preparation of relevant contractual information for grievance meeting, management of timeline.
• Acts as the initial contact person regarding labor and employee relations issues, reviews information and prepares relevant contractual or policy information for further review, forwards complainant information, supporting documentation and contractual/policy information to appropriate party ( CLRO, Executive Officer, Supervisor, etc.) for further action.
• Supports the CLRO in investigations, inquiries/charges, grievance resolution, complaints of unfair employment practices/discrimination and disciplinary action.
• Creates and maintains confidential labor and employee relations records, including the use of all software platforms utilized by WCC.
• Coordinates collective bargaining and contract implementation meetings.
• Assists in the preparation of documents and other materials to support representatives of WCC in the presentation of matters in arbitration, mediation or any other legal, quasi-legal or administrative proceedings.
• Supports the GC & CLRO or their designee in investigations, governmental inquiries/charges, grievance resolution, performance and absence management, complaints of unfair employment practices/discrimination, and disciplinary action.
• Prepares and creates periodic seniority reports/lists for all unions.
• Performs other duties as assigned by Chief Labor Relations Officer.
Qualifications • Paralegal/Legal Assistant certificate from an ABA accredited program; or, an Associate Degree in paralegal/legal assistant studies.
• 3 years of experience as a paralegal/legal assistant in a law office or in-house legal counsel setting
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, specifically Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Demonstrated successful work experience with confidential material
• Ability to draft high-quality legal documents, including but not limited to: contracts, pleadings, legal memoranda, affidavits, and correspondence
• Ability to analyze, abstract, and summarize facts and information, including complex contracts and other documents
• Excellent organizational, time management, and communication skills, both written and oral
• Demonstrated knowledge of filing and record tracking systems, both paper and electronic
• Strong skills to research and problem-solve to obtain information or data from various sources and materials and organize with excellent attention to detail into a comprehensive package
Additional Preferred Qualifications • Bachelor's degree (or currently pursuing) related to law, contracts, journalism, or marketing
• Prior experience working in a research institution, or higher education environment highly desired
• Working knowledge of Michigan's Freedom of Information Act
• Working knowledge of Michigan's Open Meeting Act
• Working knowledge of Michigan's Public Employment Relations Act, union grievance processing and administration of labor contracts
About Washtenaw Community College
For over 50 years, WCC's open-door admissions policy, affordable tuition rates, and high-quality classes have attracted students from local communities and around the world. More than 18,000 register for credit classes each year, and thousands more enroll in non-credit LifeLong Learning classes. WCC's diverse student body includes more than 1,000 students from over 100 foreign countries.WCC's small classes allow for lots of individual attention. The average class size is 22 students. That's a fraction of the size of many basic classes at four-year colleges and universities.WCC also emphasizes convenience. It offers classes seven days a week, at night, and online. And transferring is easy because WCC has agreements with four-year schools throughout Michigan.
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