Careers

Paralegal - Criminal Defense

Fremstad Law is currently seeking an experienced professional to apply for a Paralegal opportunity in our Fargo office. This position works closely with our Criminal Defense attorney and is the perfect fit for someone who has compassion for the client experience, is eager to help, has a proactive approach to their work, and who takes pride and ownership in their contribution. If you have excellent attention to detail and an ability to organize and stay on top of managing the many details of a busy attorney, then this position may be your next long term role. 

The ideal candidate will have experience supporting a Criminal Defense attorney, a 2 or 4 year degree in Paralegal studies and 1+ years’ experience working in a law firm setting. In addition to an excellent salary and benefits package, we offer a fun, flexible and rewarding culture. We encourage innovation, independent action, team spirit and personal growth. Helping our clients move forward is our passion and inspiration for excellence.

Please see position summary below. Also be sure to check us out on Facebook to see what we’ve been up to!

If interested, send your resume and cover letter to lori@fremstadlaw.com. Please describe why this role is a great match for you and what talents you possess that would help support the values that we live, and are guided by: Relationships, Wisdom and Trust.

POSITION SUMMARY

This position performs a variety of duties to assist attorneys in the criminal defense practice area.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

General

1. Prepare, draft, and process correspondence and legal documents including subpoenas, notices of appearance, assertion of rights, waivers of personal appearance, not guilty pleas, discovery demands, preliminary hearing waivers, plea petitions, stipulations, exhibits, motions and appeals.
2. Maintain attorney calendar by planning and scheduling conferences, teleconferences, depositions, and travel; recording and monitoring court appearance dates, pleadings, and filing requirements; monitoring evidence-gathering; anticipating changes in litigation or transaction preparation requirements; updating continuing legal education records.
3. Prepare and assemble materials, documents and exhibits for meetings, court appearances and hearings; conduct research and collate information relevant to case preparation.
4. Review legal documents to ensure they are in proper format and contain all necessary portions or related documents for court acceptance; electronically and/or manually file legal documents on state and federal court systems.
5. Receive and screen client telephone calls; respond to inquiries on a variety of matters.
6. Proofread and edit legal documents for grammar, spelling, punctuation, format, syntax and content.
7. Document and maintain case file details and pleadings indexes.
8. Communicate verbally and in writing to answer inquiries and provide information.
9. Arrange for delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses and court officials.
10. Organize and maintain law library; research and locate legal citations upon request.
11. Generate revenues by assisting with the inputting of attorney billable time and reimbursable expenses.
12. Ability to assist and support attorneys with all aspects of litigation from inception of case through discovery, investigation, trial and post-trial
13. Represent attorney by communicating and obtaining information; following-up on delegated assignments; knowing when to act and when to refer matters to attorney.
14. Update job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; and participating in professional organizations.
15. Enhance department and organization reputation by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests; exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

Criminal Defense specifics

1. Locate and interview witnesses.
2. Verify information.
3. Review state’s evidence with attorney.
4. Assist in the development of defenses, theory of case and trial strategy.
5. Draft applicable case pleadings and documents.
6. Mark exhibits.
7. Obtain copies of court documents, such as arrest records, search warrants, and prior records.
8. Locate evidence and exhibits
9. Assist in jury selection
10. Attend pretrial conference with attorney.
11. Coordinate the appearance of witnesses at trial.
12. Make the necessary arrangements to post bail.
13. File motions requesting a reduction in bond.
14. Gather discovery information, including affidavits, police reports, and search warrants.
15. Interview witnesses.
16. Complete legwork to prepare for plea bargains, including affidavits, police reports, and search warrants
17. Write motions such as a request for a new trial or a request for appeal.
18. Communicate with probation officers.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS

Legal expertise

1. Knowledge of court rules, legal procedures and local, state and federal filing rules.
2. Uses correct English usage, spelling, punctuation, and legal terminology.
3. Basic legal research skills.
4. Intimate familiarity with the rules of Professional Conduct as they apply to paralegals.

Business skills

1. Creates and follows administrative and clerical procedures, composes business letters and written materials.
2. Communicates efficiently, respectfully, and clearly with clients, prospects, and others in all aspects. This includes receiving calls, making appointments, giving information as appropriate, and explaining instructions and guidelines.
3. Organizes and maintains filing systems related to the work.
4. Skillfully uses personal computers, hardware, software, and related applications and systems.
5. Transcribes or converts documents from written, oral or computer generated formats.

Professionalism

1. Assesses and determines work priorities.
2. Applies established guidelines as well as identifies additional efficiencies to support and improve the effectiveness of managing attorney.
3. Maintains composure during stressful situations occurring as a result of workloads and/or deadlines.
4. Communicates effectively with colleagues and manager as well as clients and others.
5. Remains diplomatic and discrete when giving out information as well as referring and directing clients and callers.
6. Interprets instructions and guidelines in order to make sound decisions and take necessary actions.

Qualifications

1. Law firm experience of 1+ years as well as a 2 or 4-year degree are required.
2. Proficient in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook.
3. Familiar with scanning, OCR and Adobe Acrobat.
4. Strong and accurate timekeeping skills.
5. Experience in electronic filing in North Dakota and Minnesota and general legal research.
6. The ideal candidate will be a confident, energetic self-starter with the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously with limited supervision.
7. Must be extremely organized, have excellent problem solving, interpersonal and verbal and written communication skills.

Attorney

FREMSTAD LAW = MOVING YOU, YOUR CAREER, AND YOUR CLIENTS, FORWARD!

At Fremstad Law, our mission is to move our clients forward. For over 10 years, our focus has been on transforming the client and attorney experience. This unique approach is based on our core values and requires motivated attorneys who are interested in a different way to practice law.

We began with the goal of providing a wide range of general counsel services to small businesses and their owners. As our client base grew, so did our need to add additional services to meet client demand. We expanded to include attorneys specializing in family law and criminal defense but have found our clients often requesting legal counsel in other areas.

If you have experience in one of the following practice areas, we would like to hear from you:

• Estate Planning
• Probate
• Guardianships and Conservatorships
• Banking
• Bankruptcy
• Immigration
• Tax
• Intellectual Property
• Medicare Planning
• Or even other practice areas we currently cover

We are not a traditional law firm. When you join Fremstad Law, you’ll find a team-based culture. There is no division between partners or associates. We take pride in not having those designations. Instead, each attorney has the opportunity to set their own goals and to access “profits-based earnings” as though they’re partners. 

Our attorneys are encouraged to practice in a way that helps them maintain a work-life balance which suits them. While some of our attorneys choose to work more because of the greater earnings potential, some of our attorneys choose to work less or at least in more flexible ways. There is the freedom to do either.

We believe this approach has not only created dedicated attorneys who have gone on to earn Super Lawyers designations, but it has also proven to increase satisfaction for our clients who have graciously voted us Best Law Firm in the Best of the Red River Valley three years in a row.  

If you’re interested in exploring the opportunities we have available, please contact Joel Fremstad directly at joel@fremstadlaw.com or at 701-478-7620.

We look forward to hearing from you and exploring if Fremstad Law is right place for you to move yourself, your career and your clients forward!