SUMMARY:

• Negotiated and drafted commercial contracts, and managed contracts in financial service industries including banking, leasing, finance leasing of heavy equipment, real estate and mortgage financing, service agreements, purchase and sale agreements, financing agreements, leases, lease purchase agreements, security agreements, RFPs, NDAs, and UCC - 1 financing statements.
• Negotiated, drafted, and edited leases, subleases, assignments, lease amendments, and purchase and sale agreements under counsel’s supervision. Reviewed retail leases for compliance with master financing and lease terms. Drafted notices of default pursuant to lease terms and provisions. Assisted counsel in preparing for and closing real estate transactions. Prepared closing documentation and Closing Binders.
• Exercised well-developed interpersonal skills and supervisory experience in large law firm and corporate environments as well as in-house, enterprise level legal departments including training, supervising and mentoring junior paralegals/staff in litigation, contracts, and transaction management. Prepared for and closed complex financial and real estate transactions on time, on budget with professional quality while under demanding circumstances, tight deadlines, and court schedules.
• Assisted counsel in pre-trial investigation, discovery, law and motion, summary judgment preparation, trial preparation, jury voir dire and selection, and trial conduct of both jury and bench trials, in state and federal courts.
• High level proficiency with all Microsoft programs, especially Word and Excel. Professional level knowledge of Relativity, Summation, Live Note, IPro, and Trial Director legal software, and Bloomberg, Lexis, and Westlaw legal research systems, Pacer, and state based e-filing systems.
• Strong background in physical and biological sciences.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Confidential, San Francisco

Senior Paralegal

Responsibilities:

• Reviewed, negotiated, drafted, and edited leases, lease amendments, subleases, assignments, purchase and sale agreements, and landlord consents to a tenant subleases and assignments under attorney supervision; drafted notices of default to serve on defaulting tenants; assisted counsel in preparing for and closing real estate transactions including office and retail shopping centers.
• Legal Department managing a portfolio of 1,040 mortgage litigation cases pending in state and federal courts throughout the United States with total bank exposure exceeding $350 million; served as litigation case manager as well as liaison between Bank management and outside counsel with authority to approve filings, motions, trial and settlement of court and jury trials; achieved outstanding results and substantial savings to the client in managing over 950 settlements and trial successes during the secondment.
• Assisted attorneys in the Financial Services and Insurance Recovery Departments handling factual investigation, discovery, law and motion, pre-trial and trial litigation in cases involving complex legal financial and contractual issues, and extensive discovery practice in state and federal courts.
• Provided litigation, analysis, and research assistance to attorneys defending mass tort cases involving hundreds of plaintiffs claiming severe injuries allegedly caused by surgically implanted medical devices, including pulse generators, ventricular pump assisted devices, and related surgical implant equipment.
• Utilized sophisticated data base, discovery and litigation management tools including Relativity, Summation, Live Note, and Trial Director software programs.
• Created and managed complex Excel spread sheets and Relativity document management programs.

Contract Manager/Director

Responsibilities:

• Negotiated, drafted, and managed portfolio of 2,100 data processing service and licensing agreements, term sheets and RFPs written by San Francisco based merchant banking company specializing in marketing, and installation of bank settled credit and debit card systems and rental/sales of related electronic equipment.
• Provided electronic data processing for retail transaction merchants.
• Achieved annual gross revenues exceeding $45 million at the time of company’s sale to a Los Angeles based commercial bank.
• Developed and marketed credit card based ATM cash systems to major casinos in Nevada and California.
• Utilized SalesForce1 and APTTUS CPQ software.
• Supervised staff of 25 sales agents, programmers, and accounting personnel.

Senior Corporate & Litigation Paralegal

Responsibilities:

• Closed complex corporate transactions including financial services contracts, finance leases, tax based lease financing instruments, and capital equipment financings for rail (locomotives and rolling stock) and commercial aircraft and engines for B737, B767 and B777 aircraft. Prepared, closing binders, closing memos, financing statements, purchase and sale agreements, non-recourse loan and security agreements, UCC-1s, and related transaction/closing documents.
• Drafted corporate governance documents including board resolutions, closing certificates and corporate secretary documents; assisted corporate counsel in preparing 10Q and 10K quarterly, and annual reports for publicly registered companies and other corporate governance documents.
• Assisted litigation counsel in all phases of complex civil litigation in state and especially federal court actions including: pre-filing factual investigations; preparation of and filing pleadings; manage discovery using Summation, Live Note, and Concordance; law and motion; preparing for depositions and trial using the Trial Director Program.

Confidential, San Francisco

Senior Litigation Paralegal

Responsibilities:

• Supervised 40 contract lawyers and paralegals conducting a three year review of all documents produced by our client, Confidential, both electronic and hard copy, defending against a nationwide multi-billion dollar class action against our client, the 9th largest bank credit card issuer at that time.
• Our efforts enabled us to settle this action for less than $200 million for plaintiff class of credit card holders.

Transaction Paralegal and Contracts Manager

Responsibilities:

• Negotiated and closed over $150 MM in aircraft and railcar lease finance transactions involving tax leveraged leases between railroads, air transport companies, and major banking and insurance companies throughout the country; assisted house counsel in negotiation of lease terms, drafting leases of aircraft and rolling stock, indenture and financing agreements, loan and security agreements; filing UCC financing statements, preparing debt covenants reports and contract management reporting documentation.