Our client, a Houston area law firm, has a new opportunity available for an experienced Public Finance Paralegal.
Paralegals in this practice group work with a high level of responsibility both independently and in coordination with attorneys to provide skilled and substantive transactional legal services to the practice group’s clients, which include municipal utility districts (MUDs) and other special purpose districts located throughout Texas. The work regularly involves direct client contact through work with the district’s governing board of directors and the district’s professional, outside consultants. The work sometimes requires overtime with evening meetings that take place at the location of the districts; reliable, personal transportation is a requirement of the job.
The ideal candidate will have two or more years’ experience in a law firm or related setting with a direct background in public finance or drafting legal documents related to the issuance of public financing bonds or working with governing (public or private) corporate boards. Familiarity with special purpose entities (with particular focus on municipal utility districts) or real estate, corporate or transactional experience is a plus. Strong consideration will be given, however, to entry-level/trainee candidates with strong academic credentials and proven writing skills with undergraduate degrees.
Job Responsibilities and Duties:
While working both independently and collaboratively to accomplish a dynamic set of tasks as may be assigned, day-to-day responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Attend meetings of the Board of Directors of the firm’s municipal utility district clients and take notes of all board actions and decisions.
Draft and prepare agendas, orders, and resolution required for Board of Directors meetings and prepare multi- lingual agendas for election matters (outside translation services are used).
Ensure that the Board of Directors follows proper legal procedures at meetings.
Prepare minutes of the Board meetings.
Interact with the Directors of the districts as well as the other consultants for the districts, including engineers, operators, bookkeepers, and tax assessor/collectors.
Prepare required bond documents and assemble into a transcript of proceedings and assist in submission to the Attorney General of Texas for review prior to the district’s issuance and selling of bonds.
Prepares documents for obtaining the approval for annexation of land to districts and administers the applications for such approval.
Review memoranda regarding current legislation and inform the Board about new regulations.
Review new rules from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and inform the Board of Directors.
Assist with the renewal of various permits.
Prepare documents for the districts' annual tax exemptions and assessing the collection charges on delinquent taxes.
Keep track of filing requirements, such as the Registration Form due at least every two years and the Water Loss Audit due every five years for the TCEQ.
Review the Annual Financial Report (audit) and file with the appropriate parties.
Provide documents for the required annual review of investment policies and investment strategies; prepare required certificate pages.
Assist with the distribution of the Water Quality Reports.
File the annual continuing disclosure due pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 15(c)2-12.
Assist with the annual setting of the tax rate, including preparation of the Order Levying Taxes and Amendment to the Information Forms; make sure the forms are properly filed.
Assist with the annual Operating Budget for the districts' operating funds.
Maintain district files and permanent documents.
Review and finalize correspondence.
Record all client billable hours on the firm's tracking system
Requirements:
2 or 4 year degree and/or a Paralegal Certificate.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
Experience with document management software.
On-site training in NetDocs, LMS+, and other IT systems will be provided.
Experience in iManage document management system and JURIS Timeslips software for billing.
3 or more years of experience Public Finance/MUD/Water Districts experience is required.