Legal Operations Specialist

Position Summary

Rice is a preeminent research university whose excellence is established and whose ambitions, under President Reginald DesRoches, are courageous, transformational, and global. To help the Board serve Rice's bright future, we seek a Legal Operations Specialist to provide critical support by managing administrative tasks, maintaining departmental records, and ensuring the smooth execution of daily legal operations. Reporting directly to the Director of Legal Operations, this role serves as a key coordinator for the department's technology, finances, and office logistics. The Specialist is responsible for maintaining accurate data in legal systems, processing financial transactions, coordinating with various university departments to ensure timely task completion, and supporting special projects. Strong communication and organizational skills are essential for success in this role.

The ideal candidate has excellent time management and organizational skills and is proactive and service-oriented.

Workplace Requirements

This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change.

Hiring Range

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position, and the proposed salary is $56,000 - $65,500 annually, based on experience and qualifications.^* Exempt (salaried) positions under FLSA are not eligible for overtime.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
• Two or more years of related experience in a legal administrative office, business operations, or paralegal role

Skills:

• Ability to quickly learn and support legal-specific applications (e.g., enterprise accounting, billing management, contract management, and document management systems)
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and the highest level of discretion
• Excellent customer service skills and the ability to establish cooperative relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Exceptional attention to detail and success in follow-through on routine and complex tasks.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to create slide decks, trainings, spreadsheets, and charts for data retrieval, presentations, and budget tracking
• Advanced computer skills and demonstrated experience with office software and email applications

Preferences

• Paralegal certification
• Experience using Oracle
• Experience with cloud applications (Adobe Sign, Google Docs, Google Forms)
• Experience using LexisNexis CounselLink or other e-billing platforms
• Experience using financial business systems for purchasing, payment processing, or expense reports

Essential Functions

• Under the general direction of the Director of Legal Operations, resolves operational challenges and ensures office efficiency
• Collaborates with leadership to enhance departmental procedures, tools, and training
• Serves as a point of contact for legal matter intake, contract intake, delegations of authority, billing management, fee offers, and document management systems; assists staff with data entry and basic troubleshooting
• Processes financial transactions, reviews legal invoices, prepares expense reports and correspondence, performs reconciliations, and assists with budget-to-actual analysis and forecasting
• Generates routine communications; schedules meetings; assists with data entry and intake processes
• Plans and schedules calendars, resolves complex scheduling conflicts, and coordinates travel and event logistics for the legal team
• Maintains office supplies and equipment; obtains vendor quotes for major purchases and processes purchase orders
• Serves as the point of contact for facility concerns; reports incidents or safety problems to the appropriate representatives
• Performs other duties as assigned

Additional Functions

• Provides front desk coverage, answers phones, manages occasional client inquiries, and directs visitors to specific resources
• Provides administrative coverage during staff absences and assists other staff members as assigned
• Attends training workshops to remain current on legal operations trends and university policies
• Assists other staff members, as assigned

Special Instructions to Applicants: Applicants should attach a resume and cover letter in PDF format to the Supporting Documents section of the application.