Litigation Paralegal

Tell me about a subpoena you handled. How did you decide what to produce and what to push back on?

What they are checking: Whether they read scope carefully and escalate privilege or burden concerns instead of simply sending everything the requester asked for.

Tell me about a time you caught an error in a filing or a calendar entry before it caused a problem.

What they are checking: Whether they double-check their own work and others', since paralegal mistakes become the attorney's and the company's problem.

How is working as an in-house paralegal different from working at a law firm, and which have you done more of?

What they are checking: Whether they understand that in-house work means the business is the client and cost and relationships matter as much as winning.

You work with vendors, contractors, insurers and brokers. Tell me about a time one of them was slow or unresponsive on something you needed.

What they are checking: Whether they can keep outside parties moving with firm, polite follow-up rather than waiting and letting a matter stall.

A new claim comes in from a customer who says a product injured them. What are the first things you gather?

What they are checking: Whether they know how to capture facts, preserve evidence and loop in insurance early, before memories fade and documents disappear.

You get a subpoena with a response date ten days out, and the records sit with three different departments. How do you get it done?

What they are checking: Whether they can pull documents from busy internal teams on a hard deadline without the attorney having to chase anyone.

An employee outside Legal asks you whether they should talk to an adjuster about an incident. What do you say?

What they are checking: Whether they know where the paralegal line is and avoid giving legal advice while still pointing the person to the right help.

Three attorneys each tell you their task is urgent on the same afternoon. How do you sort it out?

What they are checking: Whether they rank work by actual deadlines and risk and say so openly instead of quietly letting one request slip.

Walk me through how you track deadlines across a caseload of litigation and pre-litigation matters at the same time.

What they are checking: Whether they have a real calendaring system, because one missed deadline in litigation can cost the company the case.

How do you put together an insurance report for a new claim, and what do carriers usually need to see?

What they are checking: Whether they understand tender and notice requirements, since the posting values insurance industry experience and late notice can void coverage.

How do you organize a litigation file so that someone else could pick it up tomorrow and know exactly where things stand?

What they are checking: Whether their file habits are disciplined enough that the legal team is never dependent on their memory.