Senior Paralegal Manager

We are seeking a Senior-level Paralegal Manager based in Chicago to join our team at Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres to lead our paralegal group. Our ideal candidate is an empathetic and progressive leader with a strategic mindset, you see the big picture and work as a hands-on contributor to the firm’s success. This position will play a vital role in leading the paralegal team, training, mentoring, maintaining paralegal policies and compliance, and collaborating with attorneys in the most efficient and effective manner to deliver the highest quality work.

As the Senior Paralegal Manager, you work directly with practice groups on complex matters that require paralegal support and oversee the efficient operation of the paralegal team, ensuring that the team supports the delivery of high-quality legal services. This role involves coordinating tasks, managing resources, and developing strategies to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of paralegals. By fostering a collaborative environment, The Senior Paralegal Manager ensures that the team is well-equipped and motivated, facilitating smooth legal processes and contributing to the overall success of the legal practice groups. Through their leadership, they play a significant role in maintaining the standards of legal assistance, optimizing workflows, and ensuring that the paralegal team aligns with the Firm’s objectives and compliance requirements. Areas of focus include:

Management Responsibilities

• Oversee the recruitment, hiring, and training of new paralegals, ensuring they meet the firm’s standards and requirements.
• Allocate paralegal resources to various cases and projects, matching skills and expertise to the needs of attorneys and clients.
• Develop and implement policies and procedures for the paralegal department to improve efficiency and quality of work.
• Monitor the performance of paralegals, providing feedback, and conducting regular performance evaluations.
• Manage the paralegal team’s workload to ensure deadlines are met and work is distributed evenly.
• Facilitate communication between paralegals and attorneys, ensuring clear understanding of client matter requirements and legal strategies.
• Oversee the maintenance of client matter documents and legal files, ensuring they are organized and accessible.
• Implement continuing education and professional development opportunities for paralegals to keep skills sharp and up to date with legal advancements.

Senior Paralegal Responsibilities

• Assist with the formation and management of corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships, including preparation of formation documents, obtaining EINs, filing annual reports, and applying for foreign registrations.
• Attention to subscription agreement review, tracking and following up with submitting investors including supporting AML/KYC documentation and related tax forms.
• Assist with fund closings, including preparing and send closing emails and analyzing federal and state securities laws exemptions from registration and exemptions filings and preparing federal Form D and applicable state “blue sky” securities filings (including related filings such as Form ID).
• Preparing and distributing closing sets to investors, attorneys and clients.
• Support transfer process for private investment fund sponsors from inception to closing, including but not limited to facilitating transfer intake process; initial drafting and distribution of transfer materials; review of completed transfer materials; and managing closing of transfer.
• Manage annual and periodic filings for investment advisers to private investment funds, including Form ADV, Form D, and blue-sky renewals.
• Assist with document work including redlines, PDF to Word conversion, and formatting requests.

Qualifications/Skills

• Extensive knowledge of paralegal functions. Experience in legal research, document preparation, and case management.
• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Paralegal certification preferred.
• Previous experience working in mid-large size law firms. Superior team leadership, strong legal project management, team collaboration and the ability to make informed decisions and work independently in a fast-paced environment with multiple deadlines.
• Outstanding communication skills, both verbal and written. Strategic, nimble, flexible, entrepreneurial, and resourceful approach to problem solving.
• Technical expertise: Excellent computer skills, including, but not limited to: Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe, and DocuSign. Experience with Document Management Systems (knowledge of Net Documents is a plus).

About

Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres is a growing law firm headquartered in Chicago, with a team of over 80 attorneys. Formed by partners who worked at preeminent international law firms, with a deep bench of sophisticated and experienced corporate lawyers and litigators, our team provides exceptional legal service while affording our clients the benefits of working with an agile and entrepreneurial-minded team of results-oriented, well-rounded professionals. We are a driven by our core values: humility, respect, collaboration, partnership, and innovation.

We represent a diverse group of interesting clients, which include private equity firms, founders, startups, venture capital investors, family offices and public companies (among others), in sophisticated and complex legal matters and transactions. Croke Fairchild is also member of the national association of minority and women owned law firms (NAMWOLF).