Senior Paralegal

At American Equity Investment Life Holding Company® we offer leading annuity products that help empower our clients to fulfill their needs and wants in retirement. Our success comes from hiring high-energy individuals who embody the beliefs that drive our unique culture. We currently fund over half a million retirements nationwide, and have been headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, for over twenty-five years with satellite offices in Charlotte, NC and New York, NY.

GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE JOB:

The Senior Paralegal provides substantive day-to-day paraprofessional support for the company’s legal team with minimal/appropriate oversight on a wide range of general corporate legal matters including subpoenas/ and litigation, regulatory inquiries, compliance, and insurance retail.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Analyze and respond to subpoenas and litigation received by the company; identify and contact individuals who may have responsive information, support legal holds and discovery, conduct file searches, analyze information and provide related technology support.
• Perform litigation case management, including file creation, organization and management, case calendaring and logging, reporting, and case closure.
• Analyze and respond to inquiries/requests for information from regulators, risk management, compliance, resolution (complaints) and others within the legal department and company.
• Analyze and respond to requests from company representatives about company product and producer contract terms, legal representative documents, producer and policyholder matters and legal and compliance expectations.
• Draft, review and/or analyze routine legal documents and agreements.
• Conduct factual and basic legal research, including relevant case information, case law, statutes, regulatory guidelines and bulletins, legal articles and other writings.
• Monitor and provide legal updates on emerging legislation, noteworthy lawsuits and trends related to general corporate legal matters and stay current on best practices.
• Maintain legal calendar for reporting, team meetings, deadlines, and monitor compliance.
• Complete basic clerical tasks, including data entry, photocopy/scan/fax, and mail management.
• Assist with document retention activities.
• Demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness; look for meaningful ways to improve and promote quality.
• Develop systems and procedures to improve efficiency with this role and across the Legal department.
• Perform other related work as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

None.

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:

Associates Degree in related field of study; plus five (5) or more years of related corporate paralegal experience; or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.

Financial Services/Insurance Industry related experience preferred.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS:

None

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of legal terms, practices and procedures.
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret legal and other documents and to write clearly and succinctly.
• Ability to follow complex instructions and exhibit strong attention to detail.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Proficient in the use of Internet databases such as LexisNexis, Pacer and court databases, and use of Adobe Acrobat in a legal setting.
• Ability to effectively present information.
• Ability to solve practical problems and multi-task accurately and efficiently.
• Ability to work cooperatively and successfully with co-employees within the company as well as customers and other outside third parties.
• Ability to work well under pressure and to effectively deal with difficult and possibly adversarial situations.
• Self-motivated and efficient with good business judgment.
• Ability to maintain professional composure.
• Ability to work in person at company offices during normal business hours and be available by telephone and/or email to facilitate communication and work.
• Ability to work overtime as required.