Hiring: Pre-Litigation Associate!

The Melonakos Law Firm is looking to add an Associate Attorney to our growing team!  Our firm is small and currently has two attorneys and six staff members.  Since we are a small office, keeping a happy working environment is important.  Any candidate we hire must be a positive person and pleasant to be around.  We treat people with respect.  Any lawyer who joins our firm should treat our clients, staff, potential clients, and witnesses with respect and courtesy.

Job Description:

The lawyer we hire will have primary responsibility for most of the cases that he or she works on.  The lawyer will work mostly independently but of course will be able to consult with other lawyers in the office.  There will be some oversight, but once trained will have little day-to-day supervision.

Primary duties will be (1) Handling cases for which he or she is the primary attorney, (2) Moving cases forward effectively and working with a sense of urgency and compassion, and (3) Creating happy clients who will speak well of the firm.  As you can see from our Google Reviews, we actively work on making sure our clients are thrilled not just with the result, but with their experience working with our firm.  Duties will also include some generalized work for the firm, and may also include collaborating with other attorneys at the firm on larger cases.

This position will primarily handle cases that are not in suit.  There will of course be opportunities to file lawsuits and handle some litigation matters and try cases, but we strive to do things differently here, and at this time our other associate primarily handles the cases where lawsuits are required.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Initiate a positive introduction with potential and existing clients.
• Speak with clients on a regular basis.
• Perform intake and case management duties (along with staff) willfully and with consistent attention to detail and care for the clients.
• Meet with clients via Zoom and in person when needed.
• Monitor client’s treatment progress and client relationship with various medical and service providers.
• Draft and review settlement demands and all pre-litigation documentation.
• Negotiate cases to settlement.
• Manage a good-sized caseload proactively using our case management system by working the assigned task list to move cases forward.
• Interact with expert witnesses and opposing counsel and insurance companies.
• Work closely with Case Managers on the cases.
• Assist on any matters the owner or other attorneys as needed or requested.

Who We are Looking For:

We want to hire the best candidate we can find.  Since we are a small firm, making sure that this hire is the correct hire is of the utmost importance.  Here are some of our guidelines:

• Two years’ experience handling personal injury cases, including cases from motor vehicle collisions (either Plaintiff or Defense side is fine)
• Strong people and telephone skills.
• Pleasant to be around.
• High personal standards for written work
• Licensed to practice in South Carolina.
• Able to work with minimal supervision.
• Desire to help people.

Other bonuses but not required:  Spanish fluency; Bar admissions in other states; Willingness to take the Georgia Bar Exam (which would be paid for by the Firm).

Compensation:

The lawyer who fills this position will at first be compensated on a salary basis, but after a full caseload is established, compensation will be a mix of salary + bonus for cases resolved.  The firm understands that during the first year, this lawyer will not have built up a full caseload, which is why a salary is more appropriate to start.

How to apply:

Send a resume and cover letter to hiring(At)scinjuryattorney.com.   If you have writing samples, those are welcome as well.  We understand that if you are currently employed that sending a resume to another law firm can be scary.  Any submissions will be strictly confidential and only go to one person at the firm.  We will not reach out to anyone in the community asking about you until you give us permission to do so.  We plan on collecting resumes for the first few weeks before we set up interviews, so we will let you know that your resume was received and reach out at a later time for next steps.