Paralegal

At The Obama Foundation, our mission is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world.  We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change in the communities where they live, work, and play. Right here on the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with a range of opportunities - coordinated programming, community outreach events, educational moments, and more - that invite visitors from down the block or across the globe to turn hope into action.

Achieving our ambitious goals starts with an exceptional team built on our Hope to Action Values - Courage, Empathy, Integrity, Accountability, Community, Inclusivity, Pragmatism, Resilience, Imagination, and Hope. A Framework that anyone, anywhere, can use to build trust, activate participation, and expand opportunity in their community.

Purpose of the RoleAs a member of the Legal Team, the Paralegal will support fast-paced, mission-focused work related to legal research, legal document review, contract, compliance and operational support on a wide range of issues. The Paralegal will assist with the drafting and editing of legal documents, special projects, and will help respond to legal inquiries and contract requests.
The Paralegal reports directly to the Deputy General Counsel, Legal Operations, with managerial support from the Senior Paralegal. The Paralegal will also assist in the organizational management of legal documents, ensuring that the team has an effective system for storing and sourcing important information, and will be responsible for the management of the department’s contract management system.

Core Job Responsibilities 

• Review, analyze, and organize complex factual material and other substantive legal documents 

• Monitor system for legal inquiries, responding to business team partners (reviewing materials, etc.) or escalating to attorneys in a timely fashion

• Assist attorneys in initial review of, and finalizing, Foundation agreements by reviewing contract requests from business team partners, coordinating with business team partners to resolve ambiguities, preparing initial drafts of contracts, and coordinating with the reviewing attorney, business team partners, and third-parties

• Manage contract management system with an eye towards improving the system with input from business users and other stakeholders at the Foundation 

• Work closely with attorneys on regulatory reporting obligations, implementation of compliance training materials, legal systems optimization, and creation and maintenance of Legal team policies and standard operating procedures and related training efforts

• Assist with other Legal operations workstreams as directed by manager for department, which may include maintaining Legal team project management trackers, managing outside counsel engagement letters and invoices, and creating reports on Legal operations data 

• Draft and/or edit legal documents as directed by manager for department as needed 

• Perform legal research as directed by manager for department as needed 

• Prepare materials for trainings,  internal presentations, and board and executive team meetings

• Perform other duties as assigned

Key Deliverables / Outcomes 

• Concise explanations of legal research findings

• Initial drafts of Foundation contracts and memos

• Organized Legal Team file system containing the Foundation's contracts and other core documents

• Curated and well-managed contracting system that implements feedback from Foundation partners, and is responsive to the needs of the Legal Team 

• Timely responses to Legal inquiries from Foundation partners, all inquiries are responded to or sent to the appropriate attorney within 24-48 hours

Required Qualifications 

• 4 years of previous paralegal or other legal experience, either at a firm or in-house 

• Excellent writing ability, research skills, and analytical thinking, with confidence to apply research results to fact patterns to propose conclusions or prescriptions

• Highly organized, with a track record of meeting short- and long-term responsibilities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven, high volume organization 

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team 

• Prior experience building or maintaining a contract management system, such as Ironclad, a plus but not required

• Prior experience with Google Suite and Freshservice a plus but not required

• Committed to our mission of inspiring, empowering, and connecting people to change their world 

The salary range for this role is between $83,600  and $104,500.

This is a remote role based in Chicago.

Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings!

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at [email protected] if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.