Senior Specialist, Legal Operations & Paralegal

Smith Legal Search; Vancouver; Hybrid; CAD 77,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer‑paid extended health and dent

Generous vacation

Mental health coverage

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

Smith Legal Search is assisting a well‑established financial services organization in Vancouver in its search for a Senior Specialist, Legal Operations & Paralegal. This hybrid role blends legal operations with hands‑on paralegal support within an in‑house team facing modernizing initiatives.

The position is a 12‑month contract with potential extension or conversion to permanent, offering a salary range of CAD 76,500 to CAD 95,000 based on experience, plus employer‑paid extended health and

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of paralegal experience, ideally in‑house or within a financial services or regulated environment.
• Exposure to legal operations, such as matter management, outside counsel management, legal spend or invoice processing.
• Experience drafting legal documents and correspondence, and supporting litigation matters.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to spot discrepancies and resolve issues.
• Interest in legal technology, process improvement and AI tools.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence working with lawyers, business partners and outside counsel.
• Sound judgment and the ability to work independently, knowing when to upscale.
• Highly organized, with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Paralegal certificate or diploma, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Plan, implement, and maintain the department’s legal operations and digital transformation strategy.
• Review and process outside counsel invoices for approval and payment.
• Manage outside counsel procurement and engagement agreements, and build relationships with external firms.
• Track and manage the legal budget, including forecasting and expense reporting.
• Develop, monitor and report on KPIs and service level standards, including reporting for the board.
• Document legal processes to support internal audit and compliance requirements.
• Serve as the legal team’s first point of contact for operational support requests from across the business.
• Draft standard legal documents, correspondence and pleadings for lawyer review.
• Prepare clear, well‑written correspondence on behalf of lawyers.
• Coordinate litigation holds with business teams and help identify relevant records for production.
• Coordinate witness lists and communications for litigation matters.
• Maintain organized physical and electronic legal files.
• Develop and maintain precedents, processes and procedures, including AI‑enabled playbooks for the legal team.

Skills

Paralegal experience

Legal operations

Drafting documents

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Education

Paralegal certificate

Tools

AI-enabled playbooks

Job description

Do you enjoy legal work and also love finding better ways to get it done? This hybrid legal operations and paralegal role puts you at the centre of an in‑house legal team that’s modernizing how it delivers legal services.

Our client, a well-established financial services organization in Vancouver, is seeking a Senior Specialist, Legal Operations & Paralegal to join its in‑house Legal team on a 12-month contract, with the possibility of extension or conversion to a permanent role. Working closely with senior legal leadership, you’ll combine legal operations work with hands‑on paralegal support, all under the guidance of the team’s lawyers.

This role is ideal for an experienced paralegal or legal operations professional who brings structure and sound judgment and is excited to help shape the team’s digital transformation.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Help plan, implement and maintain the department’s legal operations and digital transformation strategy, including matter intake, matter management and document management
• Review and process outside counsel invoices for approval and payment
• Manage outside counsel procurement and engagement agreements, and build strong relationships with external firms
• Track and manage the legal budget, including forecasting and expense reporting
• Develop, monitor and report on KPIs and service level standards, including reporting for the board
• Document legal processes to support internal audit and compliance requirements
• Serve as the legal team’s first point of contact for operational support requests from across the business, including legal orders and compliance‑related matters
• Draft standard legal documents, correspondence and pleadings for lawyer review
• Prepare clear, well‑written correspondence on behalf of lawyers
• Exercise good judgment when lawyers are unavailable, including negotiating extensions and responding to incoming communications
• Coordinate litigation holds with business teams and help identify relevant records for production
• Coordinate witness lists and communications for litigation matters
• Maintain organized physical and electronic legal files
• Develop and maintain precedents, processes and procedures, including AI‑enabled playbooks for the legal team

What We’re Looking For

• 3-5 years of paralegal experience, ideally in‑house or within a financial services or regulated environment
• Exposure to legal operations, such as matter management, outside counsel management, legal spend or invoice processing
• Experience drafting legal documents and correspondence, and supporting litigation matters
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to spot discrepancies and resolve issues
• Interest in legal technology, process improvement and AI tools
• Excellent communication skills and confidence working with lawyers, business partners and outside counsel
• Sound judgment and the ability to work independently, knowing when to upscale
• Highly organized, with strong attention to detail and follow-through
• Paralegal certificate or diploma, or equivalent experience
• Salary range: $76,500–$95,000, based on experience
• 12-month contract, with the possibility of extension or conversion to permanent
• Employer-paid extended health and dental coverage from day one, with no waiting period; coverage extends to spouses and dependants
• Generous mental health coverage
• 4 weeks of vacation time off
• An opportunity to help shape a modernizing in‑house legal team