Litigation Paralegal (Product Liability)

Johnson & Johnson is recruiting for a Litigation Paralegal (Product Liability) to be located in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Caring for the world, one person at a time has inspired and united the people of Johnson & Johnson for over 125 years. We embrace research and science -- bringing innovative ideas, products and services to advance the health and well-being of people.

With $93.8 billion in 2021 sales, Johnson & Johnson is the world's most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care products, as well as a provider of related services, for the consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical devices markets. Employees of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies work with partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion people every day, throughout the world.

Thriving on a diverse company culture, celebrating the uniqueness of our employees and committed to inclusion. Proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

This position is for a paralegal within the Product Liability Litigation Group of the Global Legal Organization of Johnson & Johnson.  The primary responsibilities of this position are to consult, assist, and coordinate with in-house counsel on all aspects of product liability case management including: conducting case assessments; responding to third party inquires and subpoenas; overseeing discovery responses, updates, and deadlines; gathering and compiling case materials; drafting and revising correspondence and other litigation documents; interviewing clients for relevant case information; and reviewing invoices and managing litigation costs. 

As a Litigation Paralegal, you will report into an Assistant General Counsel, Product Liability Litigation Practice Group, and:

• Act as a liaison between in-house counsel, outside counsel and affiliate companies;
• Assist with case management as described above;
• Manage and evaluate claims under the direction of an attorney;
• Conduct research and resolve routine legal questions under the direction of an attorney;
• Perform diverse and complex legal tasks within specialty area to best serve business needs;
• Provide training and reports relating to specialty area to employees, outside counsel, and third parties;
• Ensure compliance with corporate reporting requirements;
• Identify and coordinate interaction with key players (i.e., witnesses, document custodians, consultants, and experts);
• Educate outside counsel on corporate relationships, product information and company logistics.
• Research parties as needed;
• Accept service of legal documents and ensure that proper service of legal documents has been effected for various corporate entities;
• Recommend and work on improvements to company practices and processes;
• Attend mediations, court conferences and trials;
• Duties specifically relating to discovery include:
  • Overseeing collection of records and other information for dissemination to outside counsel;
  • Reviewing complaints/subpoenas to identify pertinent document categories to preserve;
  • Drafting and issuing document hold notices to proper entities;
  • Providing guidance to Records Managers;
  • Fielding inquiries from notice recipients;
  • Considering privilege issues;
  • Ensuring timely responses to discovery/subpoena demands;
  • Ensuring appropriate timing for release of hold notices; and
  • Ensuring database decommission occurs, when appropriate, as matters are resolved.
• Work with matter management and electronic document systems (LawManager and iManage Systems) to ensure case status and documentation is updated in a timely fashion; 
• Analyze outside counsel and vendor bills, ensure adherence by outside counsel to billing and budgeting requirements, and audit outside counsel invoices to identify non-compliance with billing guidelines and enforce reductions;
• Review and monitor case budgets, including analysis of budget vs. spend; and
• Draft and prepare complex legal documents, correspondence and pleadings related to litigation and non-litigation matters.