Staff Attorney - Contractor

Description:

Position Summary:
The Staff Attorney will be supporting a short-fused project that entails drafting responses to 500 borrower defense rule claims filed with the Board of Education. Work with paralegal support and additional teams of attorneys and paralegals to complete the responses by April 29, 2024. They will be provided with template responses for each claimant that have been researched and pre-populated by paralegals with claimant specific information. The Staff Attorney will review the responses for accuracy and legal sufficiency to ensure compliance with legal requirements and protect the University's interests. Additionally, determines the risk level of each claim and review each draft template for completeness. Adds additional language where necessary, follows up on missing documentation for high-risk claims, and otherwise finalizes the response in an efficient manner.

Essential Functions:

• Collaborate with team to draft responses to borrower defense rule claims filed with the Board of Education.
• Utilize pre-populated template responses for each claimant, ensuring accuracy and relevance to individual claimant information.
• Draft legal documents using versatility to generate university favorable clauses from experience or other legal team resources, i.e. Westlaw, open source, etc.
• Review and modify responses as necessary to address legal requirements and protect the University's interests.
• Conduct thorough reviews of drafted responses to ensure legal sufficiency and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Assess the risk level associated with each claim and adjust response strategies accordingly.
• Verify completeness of draft templates, adding additional language where necessary to address potential legal issues or mitigate risks.
• Collaborate effectively with the legal team, compliance team, and all business teams to efficiently complete claim responses from inception to completion at a designated pace to meet deadline.
• Protect and mitigate University risks that may arise from contractual commitments.
• Collaborate closely with internal legal team members, paralegals, and other relevant stakeholders within the University.
• Works with internal customers to obtain evidence as needed for each response.
• Provide updates on progress, identify any challenges, and seek input or assistance as needed to meet project deadlines.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:
Education & Experience:

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited ABA institution required.
• Currently licensed to practice law in California with no record of or pending discipline.
• Minimum of four (4) years of proven experience working as a staff attorney or in a similar role, preferably within an in-house corporate legal department, required.
• Experience in handling regulatory matters, including CCPA and FERPA.
• Experience and knowledge of current U.S. law governing higher education preferred.
• Strong background in compliance, transactional law, exceptional communication skills, and a proven ability to analyze complex legal issues.
• Experience in higher education preferred.
• Experience working in a technology-driven enterprise preferred.
• All skills, abilities and education will be considered for minimum qualifications.

• Ability to participate as an active team member of Business Unit, department and organization and work toward a common goal.
• Aptitude to drive towards achieving measurable and challenging goals to support organizational success. Demonstrate the ability to focus on achieving results consistent with objectives.
• Proactively seeks resolution of problems and supports honesty and respect towards others.
• Ability to generate and/or recognize imaginative or creative solutions that generate successful outcomes.
• Ability to quickly comprehend guidelines and procedures and follow them faithfully.
• Knowledge of the principles and procedures of legal research including understanding legal documents, such as pleadings, legal responses, affidavits, position statements and brief including legal contracts, agreement and settlement procedures and documentation. Demonstrated ability to edit and review legal documents and identify inaccuracies or omissions.
• Strong planning and organizational skills and follow through with an ability to work in a fast-paced environment with multiple deadlines and frequently changing priorities. Good follow-up and follow-through to ensure deliverables. Proficient in prioritizing work to meet deadlines, and multi-task while maintaining flexibility in the work environment in accordance with the organization's values.
• Strong strategic and analytic skills with the ability to research, analyze and report on various issues, policies and procedures and recommend enhancements, as necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality regarding materials and sensitive legal issues such as personnel actions, grievances, contract negotiations, management strategy related to collective bargaining, general projects, and lawsuits.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community and respond appropriately to conflicts and problems.
• Work independently and foster a cooperative spirit within a large and/or small team of diverse cultures.
• Must be comfortable working in a fast-paced work environment and adapting to changing circumstances.
• Must be highly detail-oriented and accustomed to high-volume repetitive tasks that require a high degree of accuracy.
• Strong collaborative and communication skills and strong Microsoft Excel, Word, and OneDrive skills are essential.
• Strong grasp and knowledge of document review.
• Exceptional attention to detail and strong analytical skills to identify legal risks and propose effective solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to effectively communicate legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong business acumen and the ability to balance legal considerations with practical business needs.
• Experience in regulatory compliance is a plus.
• Demonstrated professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct in handling confidential information and sensitive matters.
• Ability to quickly learn applicable concepts, policies and procedures and implement them faithfully in an efficient manner.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and MS OneDrive to effectively manage and organize response materials.
• Ability to utilize software tools and systems efficiently to streamline response drafting and review processes.

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