Law Clerk

The Law Clerk is responsible for independently completing a wide variety of legal and administrative duties for teams practicing various law specialties such as civil litigation (including mass tort asbestos recovery and debt collection), prosecutions, contracts, bankruptcies and insolvencies.
The Law Clerk will perform a triage service, monitor caseloads to ensure critical activities are completed within statutory time limitations, prepare and assemble documents and work with a variety of databases and systems to maintain information and produce analytical reports.
**Major Duties & Responsibilities**
1. Undertake a range of activities such as:

- triaging incoming requests for service by identifying, gathering and reviewing pertinent information to prioritize, assign, or refer work
- gathering information from a variety of sources such as claim files to ascertain the circumstances of the accident, injuries or losses. Ensure availability of information such as case summaries, victim impact statements, lists of investigators/witnesses, and historical files
- preparing/assisting in the drafting and compilation of legal documents such as affidavits, Statement of Claim/Defence and Demand Letters according to section criteria and the Rules of Civil Procedure. Comply with instructions to amend contracts, consulting agreements and grants etc.; review documents and identify inconsistencies against the approved final draft and consult with Legal Counsel as needed regarding further action required
- assembling key documents and information in support of pending legal actions. This includes analyzing the relevancy of information, extracting that which is critical in support of the legal action, alerting Legal Counsel/Paralegal of any mitigating factors which may lessen the viability of a case, preparing key documents for issuance to opposing Legal Counsel
- arranging Examinations for Discovery and medical assessments
- monitoring all disclosure preparation, review and delivery of documentary and other evidence, which may be of a highly sensitive and confidential nature to defense counsel; tracking and reviewing delivery times and recommending alternate options for timely disclosure responses
- completing disbursements; processing debt and dividend payments received from workers, employers, representatives and Court Offices
- approving surplus calculations to ensure proper allocations of funds received and disbursed to employers and if applicable, workers
- monitor caseloads such as bankruptcy/insolvency to identify training requirements for staff, compilation and documentation of procedures as well as altering management to potential delays/obstacles in processing the work
- processing payment of agency fees, witness fees etc.

2. Perform a variety of advanced database and system functions within Microsoft Access and other WSIB systems to:

- enter, gather and summarize information for Legal Counsel/Paralegal to facilitate informed decision making related to matters such as acceptance of settlements
- search and extract information to identify potential trends or exceptions for further review by management or Legal Counsel
- prepare a variety of operational reports for Senior Management review, including those that are ad hoc requests
- present information in specified professional formats
- reflect current status of claims and accounts (e.g. disbursements received from bankrupt parties or debts repaid by workers).

3. Coordinate own and workload of others by:

- liaising with court offices to ensure proper scheduling and appearance of Legal Counsel, Prosecutors, witnesses etc.
- monitoring external agents/retained Legal Counsel from initial retention through to billing. Maintaining relevant records to track service quality
- maintaining diary of follow-up review dates for Legal Counsel, Senior Prosecutors, Paralegals; monitoring statutory limitation periods
- keeping abreast of caseload size to ensure appropriate allocation of work.

4. Act as a liaison to arrange court/witness appearances; advise agents of information relevant to a case such as sections of the Act under which the defendant(s) is/are charged, applicable penalty section (s), settlement discussions which may have taken place, and any other matter pertinent to a case. Liaise with WSIB staff in their capacity as court witnesses, external courts administration staff, external agents and legal counsel regarding court attendance, document preparation, delivery and disclosure; workplace parties to relay information.
5. Manage electronic and physical records by:

- opening and maintaining files to ensure complete and up to date information
- assisting to secure all executed contracts for the WSIB
- collaborating with Branch peers and other WSIB areas to ensure proper storage, retention and destruction of records as per established retention schedules.
- recommending enhancements to systems/processes to improve the efficiency by which information is stored and