KRISTI O’CONNOR
Benicia
Summary
Experienced, detailed and driven executive assistant/paralegal seeks an opportunity to utilize vast knowledge and experience of over 15 years in the areas of litigation, corporate, real estate, and public administration.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Legal Executive Assistant
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher- Law Firm
07.2023 - Current
- Coordinated executive schedules, ensuring optimal time management and meeting efficiency.
- Handled confidential and sensitive information with discretion and tact.
- Managed executive calendars, scheduling meetings and appointments and coordinating travel arrangements to optimize time.
- Processed travel expenses and reimbursements for executive team and senior management group.
- Served as a liaison between departments to facilitate effective communication throughout the company.
- Updated spreadsheets and databases to track, analyze, and report on performance and sales data.
- Contributed to budget management by tracking expenditures and identifying cost-saving opportunities.
- Managed complex travel arrangements, optimizing itineraries for cost and convenience.
- Developed and implemented office procedures to streamline workflow and enhance productivity.
- Facilitated communication between senior partners and clients, maintaining professionalism in all interactions.
- Assisted in preparing legal documents and presentations, ensuring accuracy and adherence to deadlines.
Legal Assistant/Billing Assistant
Shearman and Sterling
04.2022 - Current
- Assistant to two partners and two associates.
- Manage partner’s client billing, including budgets and monthly accruals. Involves very detailed client billing guidelines.
- Schedule and manage travel.
- E-filing in federal district courts.
- Assist attorneys with formatting, TOA, and TOC with all pleadings.
- Work with clients concerning billing matters and other logistics concerning active matters.
- Manage client matter calendars. Manage attorney calendars.
- Assist attorneys with time entry.
- Provide support to all IP litigation team members in preparing for depositions and hearings.
- Draft engagement letters.
- Manage new client/new matter process which incorporates the conflicts process in bringing in new clients as well as existing clients with new matters.
- Manage partner billable and collectable amounts through the fiscal as well as calendar year. This also involves reaching out to clients on any amounts not current.
- Manage attorney’s reimbursables/expenses.
- Provide back-up assistance to other attorneys as needed.
- Organize all client matter costs for monthly billing.
- Assist partners with marketing matters which include drafting narratives for bios, etc.
Executive Assistant to Superintendent and Board of Directors
Griffin Technology Academies (Charter Schools)
08.2021 - 04.2022
- Organize and coordinate workflow through the Superintendent’s office.
- Compose correspondence reports, memos, and other materials for the Superintendent and members of the Board of Directors. Supervise the organization and coordination of agendas for the Board of Directors’ meetings.
- Records Board of Directors meetings and transcribes and prepares minutes.
- Interpret and apply the school policies, rules, regulations, procedures, and laws.
- Communicate advice and instruction from the Superintendent to others in the schools.
- Organizes and maintains files for the Superintendent’s office and the Board of Directors, and supervises maintenance of general files and records for the school.
- Assists the Chief Business Official with all facility matters including project management.
- Schedules travel and any seminar/webinar conferences.
Administrative Assistant to General Counsel (Confidential)
Mt. Diablo Unified School District
12.2019 - 08.2021
- Manage all litigation matters involving MDUSD. Work with six outside law firms on litigation, employment, contract, and special education and union matters. All of these matters are highly confidential.
- Work with numerous California government agencies regarding teacher discipline, which includes preparing timelines and reports in response to investigations.
- Legal research to prepare and update board policies.
- Work with the local government agencies within MDUSD boundaries on land use matters including real property transfers.
- Office manager for the General Counsel, Risk Management and Benefits department. Includes supervision of two (2) administrative assistants.
- Point person for all MDUSD contracts with outside vendors. This includes insurance requirements, indemnification, background/fingerprinting, subcontractor issues and providing district insurance when required.
- Manage all insurance policies for the district. This includes negotiating premiums, renewals, certificate of insurance for contracts, property appraisals and worker’s compensation. Work with the district’s third party claims administrator on all claims involving the district.
- Assist General Counsel with bi-weekly board meeting agenda.
- Work with Fiscal department on yearly budgets for General Counsel, Risk Management and Benefits department.
- Attend webinars relating to risk management, contracts, bid process and other procurement matters and then summarize and distribute information to other members of administration.
Legal Assistant
Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti & Heppell
02.2016 - 11.2019
- Initial contact for all new potential clients. Conduct interviews and all client intake services.
- Draft and edit pleadings, discovery. Lease agreements, and correspondence.
- Meet with clients to assist with responses to discovery and other legal documents.
- Prepare and file pleadings with state and federal courts including e-filing systems.
- Legal research.
- Oversee all unlawful detainer matters representing property owners. Prepare attorneys for trials.
- Prepare witnesses for depositions.
- Prepare and facilitate document subpoenas and personal appearance subpoenas.
- Assist criminal defense attorney. Work with district attorney office and public defender office. Act as a liaison between attorney and client. Work with California Department of Motor Vehicles on DUI matters.
- Organization of over sixty client files on a daily basis.
Paralegal
Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canaday Falk & Rabkin
10.2007 - 01.2009
- Prepare large documents in preparation of producing to opposing counsel.
- Set up and maintain client files.
- Create chronologies both medical and non-medical.
- Create and maintain document databases.
- Prepare attorneys for depositions of experts for trial and non-experts.
- Assist in motion practice, which includes pulling relevant documents, proofreading, organizing exhibits and creating document indices.
- Draft pleadings. Cite check pleadings. Prepare ancillary documents.
- Prepare cases for trial. Assist attorneys through trial.
- Work with local counsel, regional counsel and in-house counsel on large tobacco cases.
Paralegal
Heller Ehrman
05.2005 - 10.2007
- Assist attorneys in the preparation of documentation for amendments, withdrawals, mergers and dissolutions of corporations, partnerships and/or limited liability companies.
- Assist attorneys with the completion of stock certificates.
- Complete franchise tax forms for attorney review.
- Create and maintain client corporate minute books.
- Provide attorney assistance in preparing for and closing of various corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings.
- Preparing and filing of UCC filings. UCC filing searches in all states.
- Prepare and file SS-4 forms with the Internal Revenue Service for obtaining Employee Identification Numbers (EINs) for corporations, partnerships and/or limited liability companies.
- Prepare for attorney review, documents required to form corporations (both business and not-for-profit corporations), partnerships and limited liability companies in any state.
Education
Political Science
Golden Gate University
12.1992
Paralegal Certificate - undefined
Saint Mary's College of California
12.1991
Skills
- Experienced research skills (legal and non-legal)
- Organizational skills
- Communication
- E-filing (State and Federal)
- Summation, Concordance
- Microsoft Office: Excel, PowerPoint, Word
- Trello Project Management Program
- Teams
- Microsoft Project
- Chrome River
- Working with co-workers
- Confidentiality
- Ability to adjust and learn new systems (computer, accounting, filing)
- BoardDocs and Zoom for all Board of Directors Meetings
- Elite Billing System
- Legal Tracker
- CounselGo
- Intapp
- Best Authority
- Excel spreadsheets
- Proofreading
- File organization
- Project management
Timeline
Legal Executive Assistant
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher- Law Firm
07.2023 - Current
Legal Assistant/Billing Assistant
Shearman and Sterling
04.2022 - Current
Executive Assistant to Superintendent and Board of Directors
Griffin Technology Academies (Charter Schools)
08.2021 - 04.2022
Administrative Assistant to General Counsel (Confidential)
Mt. Diablo Unified School District
12.2019 - 08.2021
Legal Assistant
Favaro, Lavezzo, Gill, Caretti & Heppell
02.2016 - 11.2019
Paralegal
Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canaday Falk & Rabkin
10.2007 - 01.2009
Paralegal
Heller Ehrman
05.2005 - 10.2007
Paralegal Certificate - undefined
Saint Mary's College of California
Political Science
Golden Gate University