Paralegal I

Desert Financial Credit Union•Phoenix, AZ

12d

About The Position

The Corporate Litigation Paralegal provides litigation-focused legal and operational support to the Credit Union, with primary responsibility for managing litigation matters and supporting attorneys representing the Credit Union in pre-litigation disputes, litigation, arbitrations, subpoenas, garnishments, bankruptcies, and other regulatory actions involving member, account, lending, and operational matters. This role oversees and manages assigned legal matters, analyzes legal documentation, coordinates case activities, and supports risk mitigation efforts while ensuring compliance with legal requirements and organizational standards. The Corporate Litigation Paralegal collaborates closely with internal business partners, in-house attorneys, outside counsel, courts, regulators, and law enforcement to manage legal matters throughout the case lifecycle and ensure compliance with legal deadlines, procedural requirements, and departmental standards. The role supports the identification and mitigation of litigation, regulatory, and operational risks while delivering responsive, high-quality service to internal and external stakeholders and helping protect the Credit Union's legal and operational interests.

Requirements

Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree or Paralegal Certificate, preferably in Legal Studies or a related field.
4+ years of Paralegal experience required, preferably experience including litigation, collections, bankruptcy, subpoena response, or financial services matters required.
Strong working knowledge of litigation procedures and litigation management required.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple legal requests, deadlines, case files, and documentation requirements with accuracy and strong attention to detail required.
Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment. Demonstrates sound judgment and the ability to prioritize work while managing competing deadlines required.
Applies sound independent judgment in routine tasks and escalates complex matters appropriately. Demonstrates discretion and professionalism in handling confidential, privileged, and sensitive information required.
Builds effective working relationships across the organization and with external legal partners to support collaboration, information sharing, and timely resolution of legal requests required.
Demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills, fostering trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders while ensuring accurate, timely, and professional exchange of legal information required.
Ability to draft, review, analyze, and revise routine to moderately complex legal documents, applying sound judgment to identify issues, escalate concerns, and support compliance with legal and regulatory requirements required.
Proficient in legal case management systems, document management platforms, and Microsoft Office Suite required.

Nice To Haves

Equivalent combinations of education and relevant legal experience may be considered preferred.
A combination of law firm or in-house Paralegal experience is preferred preferred.
Experience working in a credit union, banking, or financial services environment with exposure to deposit operations, consumer lending, collections, bankruptcy, or related legal matters preferred preferred.
Professional paralegal certification (e.g., NALA CP, NFPA RP) preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage end-to-end litigation lifecycle, including matters involving member disputes, deposit accounts, lending, collections, bankruptcy, fraud, and operational issues, in collaboration with supervising attorney.
Manage litigation deadlines and track key developments in each ongoing matter.
Serve as Credit Union representative handling small claims court matters, including member account, collections, and consumer dispute matters as appropriate.
Track budgets for ongoing matters and review invoices from outside counsel for compliance with established budgets and billing guidelines.
Review and revise legal documents under attorney supervision and direction while also demonstrating initiative and independent judgment.
Conduct legal research and provide analysis and recommendations to attorneys.
Lead discovery strategy execution, including document collection across lines of business, core banking and lending systems, member communications, and review workflows.
Draft, execute, and manage legal holds and preservation efforts for litigation, regulatory inquiries, and other legal processes.
Collaborate with in-house and external attorneys in case preparation, research, discovery, and drafting legal responses, affidavits, or other documentation.
Maintain confidentiality in accordance with company policies, attorney-client rules, and applicable financial privacy and information security requirements, including protection of member nonpublic personal information.
Manage pre-litigation issues under supervision of attorney.
Conduct matter intake triage and make recommendations on initial steps and strategy to supervising attorney.
Conduct preliminary factual investigations, including gathering and reviewing relevant documents, communications, and records.
Flag potential risks and escalate pre-litigation issues to attorney when appropriate.
Draft demand letters, and coordinate and manage responses to demand letters and informal disputes.
Liaise with external counsel, insurers, and business units as needed for pre-litigation matters.
Provide advice and support to Collections team on processes, document review/drafting, account documentation, repossession and deficiency matters, and compliance with applicable consumer financial services laws.
Review and analyze escalated bankruptcy issues and make recommendations to supervising attorney regarding strategy.
Support credit union governance and compliance such as through regulatory filings, policy updates, reporting, and board support.
Support internal business units in handling sensitive member-related issues.
Partner with business units to obtain injunctions against harassment or other legal remedies, where appropriate. Prepare and submit filings, and serve as company representative during hearings.
Collaborate with internal business units to refine procedures related to handling of member-related issues.
Ensure all litigation and pre-litigation processes are aligned with federal and state regulations, rules of civil procedure, credit union regulatory requirements, internal policies, and risk management strategies.
Participate in compliance audits and assist with gathering and preparing documentation for regulatory reviews, examinations, and inquiries involving agencies such as the NCUA, CFPB, Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, or other applicable regulators as needed.
Identify potential legal risks and escalate matters to attorneys for guidance and resolution.
Collaborate with risk management, compliance, fraud, lending, collections, operations, and Legal Operations teams to ensure proper and accurate handling of legal processes, with a focus on litigation and pre-litigation related processes.
Provide support, guidance, and training to Legal Operations team on legal document interpretation and litigation processes.
Provide analysis and recommendations regarding external legal counsel performance.
Assess and provide recommendations regarding litigation-related technologies, including matter management and legal billing technology.
Other job-related duties as assigned.