Paralegal & Legal Operations Manager

We invite you to Explore the Potential of being part of something Clearly Essential! 

Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) is a leading global provider of essential minerals focused on safely delivering where and when it matters to help solve nature's challenges for customers and communities. The company's salt products help keep roadways safe during winter weather and are used in numerous other consumer, industrial, chemical and agricultural applications. Its plant nutrition products help improve the quality and yield of crops, while supporting sustainable agriculture. Additionally, the company is pursuing development of a sustainable lithium brine resource to support the North American battery market and is owner of Fortress North America, a next-generation fire retardant company. Compass Minerals operates 12 production and packaging facilities with nearly 2,000 employees throughout the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Visit compassminerals.com for more information about the company and its products.

Summary:  

Under the direction and supervision of the VP, Assistant General Counsel, the Paralegal & Legal Operations Manager will assist in a broad range of legal matters with an emphasis on Legal Operations and overseeing our billing and legal budgeting process, litigation support, employment support, and contract management.  The Paralegal & Legal Operations Manager will possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, exercise mature and professional judgment, and have outstanding time management skills. 

Essential job functions include, but are not limited, to the following: 

(Management reserves the right to add or modify the duties and responsibilities at any time.)

• Assist the entire Compass Minerals Legal Team in a broad range of legal matters, including Legal Operations management (such as managing our enterprise legal management platform an overseeing our billing and budgeting processes), supporting the employment attorney, litigation support, help with filings and reports, contract management, legal compliance communications and education, etc.
• Work with Legal team and business team to provide trademark specimens, helping with trademark filing documentation, patent declarations, patent filing documents, creating and sending IP reports, help with maintenance fees and renewals, and related IP tasks.
• Work with Legal Team and HR business team to provide employment case management, fact-finding and interviewing for employment matters, data collection, and working with HR business team.
• Litigation management, including legal holds, filing litigation materials, process service distribution, document collection, reviewing discovery documents, assist with responding to subpoenas, and related tasks.
• Work directly with lawyers and staff on the Legal Team on a file management system.
• Provide general administrative and paralegal support to the Legal Team.
• Work collaboratively with member of the Legal Team and business partners.
• Define and drive strategic and operational initiatives with on-time and on-budget results
• Identify and implement legal department tools to streamline new or existing practices, as well as manage design, rollout, and training for new systems.
• Develop and enforce processes and policies to manage outside counsel usage and spend
• Assist with budget matters and optimizing workflows within the legal department
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including sales, support, service, business development, regulatory, IT, and finance as well as well as various business units
• Perform other related duties as required.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Education and/or Experience:

• A bachelor's degree and Paralegal certification or equivalent work experience;
• A strong understanding of Legal Operations management and litigation is essential. Must have knowledge of electronic legal management (ELM) systems and processes, litigation documents and processes, and contract management; and
• A minimum of five years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney, and demonstrated evidence of independent judgment, project management and substantive legal research and drafting skills.

Physical Requirements:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to sit, stand, walk, reach with hands and arms, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

Compass Minerals is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are firmly committed to making all employment-related decisions without regard to race, ancestry, ethnicity, color, religious creed or belief, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy and breastfeeding), age, military or veteran status, status as a qualified individual with a disability, genetic information, and any other characteristic protected by law. To request reasonable accommodations, email careers@compassminerals.com or call 913-344-9200. Learn more about equal employment opportunity laws at dol.gov.