MUD Paralegal

Job Summary: The Municipal Utility Districts “MUD” Paralegal researches law, investigates facts, and prepares documents in order to provide substantive legal support to a group of attorneys who perform work in the areas of real estate, municipal utility districts, and other special purpose districts.

For more than 90 years, McGinnis Lochridge has provided legal expertise through its offices in Austin, Houston, and Dallas, Texas. McGinnis Lochridge provides legal counsel on business and financial matters, as well as advocacy for clients before administrative agencies, at the State Capitol, and in courthouses across Texas and throughout the Southwest. The firm serves clients in many areas, including oil and gas, electric energy, employment law, financial services, international trade law, commercial litigation, technology, trust and estates, healthcare, hospitality, higher education, real estate, special utility districts, and other political subdivisions. McGinnis Lochridge offers competitive salary, excellent benefits, paid training, parking allowance, paid leave time, and business casual work environment. Visit mcginnislaw.com for more information.

Experience

The ideal candidate will have experience in supporting lawyers who represent special districts, such as municipal utility districts, as well as experience in a paralegal.

Key Responsibilities

• Support a team of lawyers with an active practice in representing multiple special purpose districts, such as municipal utility districts, including performing tasks such as coordinating the day-to day activities for districts; drafting and posting of meeting agendas; drafting of official meeting minutes; ensuring compliance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations; and assisting with municipal bond sale closings.
• Prepare and submit government filings.
• Review due diligence materials/third party reports and provide summaries for review.
• Conduct various types of real estate research.
• Perform factual and legal research, prepare correspondence, and draft various agendas, resolutions, orders, contracts, agreements, and other legal documents.
• Work with title companies and coordinate closings of real property transactions as directed by attorneys.
• Handle electronic recording of real property documents.
• Understand and take ownership of assigned projects, responsible for monitoring all deadlines.
• Organize and track multiple transactions and timelines and ensure deadlines are met.
• Communicate and coordinate with constituents, elected officials, agencies, and governmental entities as required to obtain information needed for project work.
• Communicate and work with clients as directed by the attorneys.
• Assist attorneys in identifying and developing process improvements.
• Attend periodic evening meetings.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• Training from a paralegal program or paralegal certification preferred
• 5 years paralegal experience, preferably in real estate and municipal utilities
• Strong proficiency in MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and Adobe Acrobat
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Familiar with any enterprise time and billing system, preferably Elite
• Familiar with any enterprise document management systems, preferably iManage
• Familiar with research resources and electronic filing
• Organized, detail oriented, and thorough, and able to prioritize, multi-task, and work well under pressure
• Able to work independently and consistently meet deadlines
• Able to maintain confidentiality
• Professional, polite, and positive customer-centric attitude
• Able to attend periodic evening meetings
• Familiar with public finance matters and/or organization of local political subdivisions is a plus