Litigation Paralegal and Contracts Manager

Department: Office of the General Counsel

Campus Location: Wichita, KS - WSU Main Campus

Hire Type: Full Time

Pay: Range $57,000–$75,000/yr, commensurate with qualifications

Work Schedule: General business hours; work is performed on-site and in person.

Export Compliance Requirement: This position requires access to EAR or ITAR controlled technologies. Applicants are required to be eligible for employment under U.S. export control laws and must meet the requirement of being a “U.S. Citizen”.

Job Story

Keep the details sharp. The process moving. The university protected.

The Office of General Counsel needs a highly organized, thoughtful professional who can bring structure to complex legal matters while keeping university business moving. This role sits at the intersection of legal research, contracts, records management, and university operations; supporting work that requires sound judgment, discretion, and the ability to connect the right people with the right information.

Some areas you'll be directly responsible for:

• Investigation & Research
• Pleadings & Drafting
• Discovery and Records Management
• Attorney Support
• Case & Deadline Management

Work with university stakeholders across departments and leadership levels, helping navigate legal and regulatory requirements, coordinate contract development, and prepare documentation that supports agency actions, legal proceedings, and institutional decisions. The common thread? You know how to turn complex, detail-heavy work into an organized process with clear next steps.

Priorities can shift quickly. Sensitive information must be handled appropriately. You'll need the judgment to recognize what needs immediate attention, the initiative to seek out missing information, and the persistence to see projects through to completion. If you're someone who values accuracy, exercises sound judgment, manages competing deadlines, and takes pride in making complicated work easier to navigate, this is an opportunity to put those strengths to work in a university-wide environment.

Job Summary

Supports the Office of General Counsel in drafting policies, contracts and legal documents pertaining to University activities and other initiatives. Responds to records requests and subpoenas; conducts interviews of witnesses; identifies, gathers, organizes and summarizes records in preparation for agency action or lawsuit; and performs support functions as it relates to managing outside counsel, records and database libraries and intake on legal guidance and counseling issues. Facilitates contract development as well as campus training and communication efforts. Researches and interprets regulations, guidelines, and standards and negotiates, drafts, edits, approves, and oversees the processing of contracts. Manages all office activities including business operations, facilities, overseeing all expenditures and coordinates financial reporting, administrative support for department programs and services, and work product of administrative personnel and student hires.

Essential Functions

Writes, reviews, and negotiates contracts and legal documents with internal and external partners. Researches and facilitates compliance with University, state, and federal laws, policies, and regulations in the daily operation of the contract lifecycle. Provides guidance to internal leaders and administrators on contract negotiation strategies. Serves as a liaison between senior leadership and employees. Drafts, edits and processes policies. Supports and manages litigation efforts, documents, evidence and witnesses. Conducts interviews of, and compiles key documents from, potential witnesses in internal and external hearings, claims against the University, agency actions, and litigation. Tracks case filings and developments and reports to attorneys and clients. Assists with review of outside counsel billing statements. Directs and coordinates office services and staff in the development and supervision of departmental operations and services, which includes hiring and onboarding for staff. Resolves office problems independently and facilitates solutions. Hires, supervises, trains, mentors, evaluates, and manages administrative assistant(s) and student employees, as applicable. Oversees administrative support and coordination for meetings, conferences, events, projects, and services. Provides ongoing monitoring and tracking of department budget.

Job Duties

• Provide advanced litigation and legal support for active and threatened litigation, administrative proceedings, claims, investigations, mediations, depositions, discovery, settlements, and other legal matters.
• Manage and coordinate responses to complaints, charges, subpoenas, records requests, court orders, and governmental or regulatory inquiries, including matters involving the EEOC, KHRC, U.S. Department of Education, KBOR, and HLC.
• Conduct and support internal investigations, including gathering and reviewing records, interviewing witnesses, preparing declarations, and drafting responses, correspondence, agreements, and other legal documents for attorney review.
• Administer legal holds and document-preservation processes and maintain litigation, subpoena, claims, legal-hold, outside-counsel, and other legal matter tracking and reporting systems.
• Coordinate with University leadership, departments, witnesses, governmental agencies, outside counsel, and affiliated organizations regarding legal matters, deadlines, document production, and compliance obligations.
• Manage significant University-wide legal, regulatory, remediation, and compliance projects, including developing tracking systems, coordinating stakeholders, monitoring deliverables, and reporting progress to attorneys and University leadership.
• Assist with outside counsel management, including engagement documentation, conflict waivers, invoice review and processing, scheduling, and matter coordination.
• Develop and maintain Office of General Counsel procedures and assist with legal research, court-record searches, risk monitoring, legislative requests, and preventive legal compliance activities.
• Assist attorneys with employee, student, labor-relations, and other institutional matters presenting legal or litigation risk, including participation in collective bargaining and meet-and-confer activities.
• Perform other legal, compliance, and administrative duties necessary to support the effective operation of the Office of General Counsel.
• Investigation & Research: Conduct searches and case compilation using platforms like Westlaw, Pacer, Findlaw, and gather evidence, locate and interview witnesses, and run background checks.
• Pleadings & Drafting: Draft complaints, answers, agency responses, and discovery requests or responses under attorney supervision.
• Discovery and Records Management: Oversee legal holds, discovery production, prepare key document and case chronologies, and manage and coordinate with outside counsel electronic discovery (eDiscovery).
• Attorney Support: Prepare all documents, exhibits, and outlines for agency, court, and dispute matters; coordinate witness schedules; manage court filings (including federal systems like PACER/ECF), and provide real-time support.
• Case & Deadline Management: Track strict court deadlines, maintain master calendars, and organize case files.

Required Education and Experience

• 60 hours of college coursework in business administration, law, or social science.
• Seven (7) years of experience in general office, clerical, administrative support or related field, with two (2) years of experience in project management or contract administration. An additional 60 hours of college coursework can be substituted for two (2) years of experience.

Required License/Certifications/Training

None

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of legal processes, litigation procedures, investigations, discovery, subpoenas, records preservation, and administrative proceedings.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills, including the ability to manage multiple complex matters, competing priorities, and time-sensitive deadlines.
• Ability to conduct factual investigations, interview witnesses, gather and analyze records, and summarize complex information.
• Strong legal writing, research, analytical, and proofreading skills.
• Ability to draft professional correspondence, legal documents, investigative materials, reports, and responses for attorney review.
• Capable exercising sound judgment, discretion, initiative, and independent decision-making within assigned responsibilities.
• Ability to handle confidential, privileged, and sensitive information appropriately.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and ability to work effectively with attorneys, senior leadership, employees, students, outside counsel, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective tracking, records-management, and legal matter-management systems.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and electronic document-management, collaboration, and research systems.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment and effectively manage significant or sensitive institutional matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in any field combined with substantial relevant legal, litigation, compliance, or investigative experience.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in a law firm, corporate or governmental legal department, higher-education legal office, compliance office, or similar environment.
• Experience supporting litigation, administrative proceedings, investigations, discovery, subpoenas, legal holds, or regulatory responses.
• Experience managing complex projects involving multiple departments or stakeholders.
• Experience drafting legal documents and substantive correspondence for attorney review.
• Experience working with outside counsel, governmental agencies, senior leadership, or regulatory bodies.
• Higher-education, governmental, public-sector, employment-law, or regulatory-compliance experience preferred.

Preferred License/Certifications/Training

One or more of the following may be preferred but should not necessarily be required:

• Paralegal certificate from an ABA-approved or other recognized paralegal program.
• Certified Paralegal (CP), Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP), or comparable professional credential.
• Training or experience in e-discovery, litigation support, investigations, records management, or legal-hold administration.

Physical Requirements

Ability to remain in a stationary position. Ability to operate a computer and other office equipment including but not limited to phone, printers, copiers, and calculators. Ability to communicate with others and accurately exchange information.

Additional Physical Requirement