Sr. Paralegal - AZ - Office of the General Counsel

The Sr. Paralegal serves as a key legal partner within the Office of the General Counsel and is expected to be highly skilled.  This role independently negotiates complex contracts and institutional agreements, and participates in the development and governance of legal process improvements, including AI-enabled contract management tools.  This position requires advanced judgment, strong negotiation capability, and the ability to operate with minimal supervision in a fast-paced, time-sensitive environment. This position will report to the Vice President and General Counsel.

• →Independently review, negotiate and edit complex agreements with minimal attorney oversight, ensuring alignment with University’s legal requirements, regulatory obligations, institutional policies and risk tolerance. Agreements include, but are not limited to, affiliation agreements (pre-doctoral, internship and residency), faculty placement agreements, special event contracts, subsidized student housing lease agreements, facility use agreements, software license agreements, and business associate agreements.
• →Serve as a primary point of contact for contract negotiations with external parties, exercising advanced negotiation skills to balance legal risk with operational needs.
• →Apply advanced legal judgment to identify, assess and escalate complex legal, regulatory or operational risks to in-house general counsel and internal stakeholders as appropriate.
• →Administer the contract lifecycle management process, including intake, tracking, version control, execution, compliance documentation, and long-term archiving across NetDocuments, centralized affiliation agreement database, and hardcopy records.
• →Proactively manage contract workflows, providing regular status updates and serving as a liaison between the Office of the General Counsel, internal stakeholders and external parties to ensure timely execution.
• →Assist with the management and expansion of University’s affiliation agreements, including coordinating multi-college/program coverage, extending placement opportunities, and proactively addressing expiring or terminating agreements to maintain continuity of student clinical placements.
• →Design, develop and deliver agreement processing training for Midwestern University faculty and staff related to affiliation agreements and special event contracting, ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures.
• →Advise University Colleges/Programs on appropriate contract structures, approvals and compliance requirements for on- and off-campus events, many of which involve strict timelines and heightened University exposure.
• →Continuously strive to improve and streamline contract review, reduce turnaround time, and improve service delivery by the Office of the General Counsel. Serves as the Office of the General Counsel lead for AI-enabled legal playbooks, overseeing the design, implementation, validation, and governance of AI tools used for compliant drafting, review, and negotiation of agreements.  
• →AI Trainer leveraging legal expertise to train, evaluate and improve AI models, ensuring accuracy and context in legal technology applications for the Office of the General Counsel, and MWU Administration if/when required, which includes:
• →Preparing, reviewing and annotating legal documents, including litigation documents, Court pleadings, Court decisions, various contracts and affiliation agreements in order to enhance the AI process and performance.
• →Work with OGC and OGC’s AI vendor(s) to draft precise queries and prompts to obtain valid AI-generated results. This includes structuring questions, providing context and refining outputs to avoid errors or irrelevant responses.   
• →Integrating AI into daily legal workflows, automating routine tasks, like document drafting, case organization, litigation, research, Court pleadings, etc. in addition to maintaining accuracy and ethical standards.
• →Assessing AI model responses, identifying errors, accuracy in order to maintain quality control.
• →Organize and maintain electronic legal files in support of ongoing AI model development.
• →Collaborate with AI vendor(s), Office of the General Counsel attorneys to refine datasets and ensure legal accuracy.
• →Participate in testing of AI tools and providing feedback for improvement of model performance.
• →The Paralegal may provide administrative and paralegal support to the Office of the General Counsel to facilitate the efficient and effective management of all work housed within the department. All duties are performed on an as-needed basis and at the direction of the Vice President and General Counsel:
  • →Provide litigation support as assigned, which may include organizing case files, managing document production, coordinating discovery materials, tracking deadlines, and assisting with trial or hearing preparation.
  • →Support risk management functions as directed, including assistance with incident documentation, claims tracking, coordination with internal departments, and maintaining related records.
  • →Assist with the administration of Midwestern University’s insurance programs, as needed, including maintaining policy documentation, such as certificates of insurance, tracking renewals as they relate to affiliation agreements, coordinating information requests, and supporting communications with brokers or carriers.
  • →Provide support for other transactional matters as directed, which may include organizing and maintaining contract files, assisting with document review, tracking approvals and execution status, and coordinating information needed for transactions.
  • →Support corporate governance matters as assigned, including assistance with maintaining governance records, organizing board and committee materials, tracking approvals and actions, and supporting compliance with recordkeeping requirements.
  • →Maintain organized legal files, databases, and records to ensure accurate documentation and timely access to information.
  • →Coordinate and manage workflow within the Office of the General Counsel, including tracking assignments, deadlines, and deliverables to support efficient operations.
  • →Assist with routine legal research, document review, and preparation of drafts, summaries, or reports under attorney supervision.

• →Support communications with internal stakeholders and external parties, as directed, to facilitate the timely exchange of information.
• →Perform other duties as assigned in support of the Office of General Counsel’s strategic objectives.

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:

• Ability to independently manage complex legal matters and competing priorities in a high-volume contracting environment.
• Advanced organizational, written, and oral communication skills.
• Strong knowledge of contract management principles and familiarity with healthcare, higher education, and technology-related agreements.
• Working knowledge of applicable regulatory frameworks, including HIPAA and FERPA.
• Must be able to work in a constant state of alertness and safe manner and have regular, predictable, in-person attendance. 

Ability to work concurrently on a wide variety of projects and work effectively with others. Ability to work independently and have the willingness to assist others as needed.  Be reliable and dependable. 

Bachelor’s degree, American Bar Association Paralegal Certification from an accredited institution and a minimum of five years’ relevant experience in corporate/contract administration and litigation is required.     

Advanced knowledge of Word, Outlook, Excel, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, NetDocuments, AI-enabled platforms, electronic signature processing platforms (Docusign), and computerized legal research systems.

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 frequently required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle or feel, talk or hear.  The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10-25 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include 20/20 in at least one eye and normal visual fields.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  This position is occasionally exposed to outdoor weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. 

Midwestern University is a private, not-for-profit organization that provides graduate and post-graduate education in the health sciences. The University has two campuses, one in Downers Grove, Illinois and the other in Glendale, Arizona. More than 6,000 full-time students are enrolled in graduate programs in osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nurse anesthesia, cardiovascular perfusion, podiatry, optometry, clinical psychology, speech language pathology, biomedical sciences and veterinary medicine. Over 500 full-time faculty members and 400 staff members are dedicated to the education and development of our students in an environment that encourages learning, respect for all members of the health care team, service, interdisciplinary scholarly activity, and personal growth.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance plans as well as life insurance, short/long term disability and pet insurance.  We offer flexible spending accounts including healthcare reimbursement and child/dependent care account.  We offer a work life balance with competitive time off package including paid holiday’s, sick/flex days, personal days and vacation days.  We offer a 403(b) retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, child care subsidy reimbursement program, identity theft protection and an employee assistance program.  Wellness is important to us and we offer a wellness facility on-site with a fully equipped fitness facility.