Work at Grace Estate Law

Do you want to work in a field of law where you can positively impact people’s lives and be a part of their personal history? Do you want the daily satisfaction of a job well done as you support a rapidly growing estate law firm and develop or sharpen your paralegal skills?  If you answered yes to these questions, keep reading.

We help caregivers, supporters, and the most resilient clients create meaningful legacies with confidence and Grace! We need an experienced full-time paralegal to join our team. We are small but growing, and we want members on our team who are strong, and compassionate as well as ethical, professional, courteous, and trustworthy. You must be committed to excellence, value clients, and have a true desire to help our community. You must be trustworthy and have the capacity to be mentally “present” at work while serving our clients, no matter what is going on in your own life. Our clients depend on us to provide excellence in service!

Keep reading IF:

YOU ARE SELF DRIVEN AND ENJOY ENGAGING DIRECTLY WITH CLIENTS displaying strong written and verbal skills when communicating with the team, clients, or other attorneys by using the correct industry language. You convey confidence on the phone, with empathy and a smile, and put clients at ease. You don’t like micromanagement and take the initiative on tasks throughout the day while being proactive with schedules and deadlines.

YOU ARE FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE when facing a new challenge or roadblock, proactively developing ideas on how to overcome them. You can adjust and readjust daily priorities to accommodate the sometimes unpredictable nature of ensuring client cases are progressing forward and you display a learning mentality, enjoying the challenge of learning new tasks every day.

YOU HAVE STRONG TIME MANAGEMENT AND PRIORITIZATION SKILLS efficiently and effectively juggling multiple tasks while ensuring that long term projects are completed in a timely manner and all deadlines are being met.

YOU ARE DETAIL-ORIENTED and not satisfied with just doing the job quickly, but want to be accurate as well. You look out for the details, carefully proofreading all your work whether an email or a court document. You double check your output because you take pride in creating quality work product.

YOU ARE MENTALLY TOUGH and able to display empathy and courage while talking to our clients who come to us either during an emotionally difficult period in their life (death of a loved one or a disability) or having finally worked up the courage to plan around their biggest fears to create their Wills and Trusts.

Requirements/Qualifications:

Previous experience as a paralegal is required. Unfortunately, our current fast-pace environment does not allow for time to train on the basics of paralegal duties or our main practice areas of estate planning and probate law.

Thus, you must have the following experience:
2-3 years of experience working in a paralegal capacity
College degree, OR paralegal degree from accredited school with paralegal certificate, AND paralegal experience above
Confident knowledge of the Texas Estate Code, specifically Will formalities, probate process, and Texas intestacy/inheritance laws (knowledge of our other practice areas such as guardianship and public benefits like Medicaid and Social Security is preferred, but not required as we are willing to train in those areas)
Excellent legal drafting and writing skills (2-3 years of experience preparing near-complete drafts of petitions/applications, motions and proposed orders, real estate deeds, and all estate planning documents for attorney to finalize)
Excellent verbal and written communication skills: 2-3 years experience calling on clients and probate court clerks and staff and asking questions to get to the root of the problem as well as drafting detailed written communications with specific instructions to clients concerning their matter
2+ years customer service and client care
2+ years managing multiple calendars, tracking schedules for clients, and docketing court deadlines
2+ years meeting billable requirements

Other Skills Needed:
Task management
Following written instructions and checklists
Drafting letters, emails, and other formal correspondence to clients and other professionals
Copying, scanning, and filing (physical and electronic filing) of client documents and documents for court filings
Data entry using web-based programs
MS Word (high-level knowledge of formatting), MS Excel, Adobe Acrobat (creating and editing PDF documents)
Email (using Outlook or Google Mail)
Cloud-based file systems
Basic internet searches for common information (ability to search for public records on people and property, etc. and deed records for real property descriptions and title documents)
Light legal research
Using basic office equipment (desktop or laptop computer, scanner, printer, multiline phone, FAX, paper shredder, postage meter)
Networking and participation in client re-engagement initiatives will also be expected

Our ideal candidate will see this as a career opportunity and not just a “job”. This career opportunity offers mentorship and career progression options within our firm and our ideal candidate can see themselves growing and developing within our firm long-term. As our firm grows in the future, so too will the expectations and duties of this role.

Candidates who meet law firm goals and show initiative will be financially rewarded. Additionally, our firm is growing fast, and our firm’s attorney requires someone who has her back and will support critical client matters in any way necessary to keep the business growing. If the business grows, so do the financial opportunities for every employee of the firm. After succeeding in your first 90 days, you will receive paid holidays as well as additional paid time off, opportunities for bonus, and 401k contributions.

We value face-to-face engagement, but also work-life flexibility. This is a full-time job, but hours can be 30-40 hours per week, depending on your aptitude for getting the work done. We are tech savvy and offer opportunities to work from home 1-2 days per week, but require an in-office commitment of at least 3 days per week due to the fact that our clients also need face-to-face engagement.