POSITION DESCRIPTION:
Darden Restaurants, Inc. has an opening for an experienced employment law paralegal to join the legal department's Employment Law and Litigation team. The candidate selected will support the team and the business in general in all aspects related to employment law. This includes representing the interests of the Company by understanding the business and business needs, working to gain efficient resolution of issues, and mitigating risks by applying knowledge of the business, policies, laws, and regulations.
ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
-Provide support to the Company in all aspects of employment mediations, arbitrations, governmental inquiries, and lawsuits, including conducting factual and legal research, gathering and analyzing documents, composing memos/summaries/timelines, interviewing relevant individuals, and effectively communicating information to attorneys and business partners;
-Paralegal will manage investigating and responding to government claims, charges, and audits, including analyzing facts, assessing risk, negotiating resolutions, representing the Company at mediations, and preparing positions statements on behalf of the Company.
-Paralegal will handle unrepresented matters brought through the Company's DRP, including investigating allegations, interviewing and preparing witnesses, preparing risk assessments, advising on resolution strategy, negotiating resolutions, and acting as the lead Company representative at mediations and arbitrations.
-Work directly with outside counsel, governmental agencies, and other third parties by providing resources, documents, and information;
-Act as a Company representative in mediations in front of agencies such as the EEOC;
-Provide information and training on legal proceedings or issues to Company functions and departments outside of the legal team;
-Prepare applicable government filings for federal and state agencies;
-Utilize online case management system to open matters, prepare litigation holds, track progress, maintain electronic file, drive the matters to resolution, and close out the files.
REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS:
-Five or more years of relevant work experience, preferably in a large publicly-traded company and/or law firm;
-Knowledge of legal terminology, employment law concepts, and legal environments;
-Proficiency in MS Office Suite software including: Word, Excel, Power Point, and Outlook required.
REQUIRED EDUCATION:
-Bachelor's degree or completion of a paralegal certification program from an ABA accredited program (will consider relevant work experience in lieu);
OTHER KEY QUALIFICATIONS:
-Experience developing and maintaining effective working relationships with senior management, colleagues, and other business professionals;
-Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as part of a team effort;
-Demonstrated ability to handle multiple projects/deadlines requiring the collaboration of multiple functional groups;
-Proven ability to perform under pressure of extremely tight schedules and multiple deadlines;
-Possession of a professional, positive, and service-oriented demeanor;
-Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing, and show strong organizational, prioritization, and problem solving skills.
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
-Bilingual (Spanish/English) abilities a plus
-Experience with Legal Tracker software
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