Senior Paralegal

About The Kennedy Center

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.” – President John F. Kennedy

The Kennedy Center is the nation’s cultural center and living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. Located on the banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the Center presents performances across all genres, and is also home to artistic affiliates Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra. 

At the Kennedy Center, we strive to foster belonging and empowerment at work. We are able to advance our mission because of our committed and passionate employees. We are fortunate to be able to leverage their diverse perspectives, life experiences and skills to inform how our workplace can be a safe, transparent, and replenishing community. The Kennedy Center is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law. 

Mission Statement: As the nation's performing arts center, and a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, we are a leader for the arts across America and around the world, reaching and connecting with artists, inspiring and educating communities. We welcome all to create, experience, learn about, and engage with the arts. 

Why Join Us

We offer a total rewards package to all full-time employees to include: 

• Staff offers for discount tickets
• Retirement plan with organization matching (after 1 year of employment)
• Qualifying employer for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• Commuter programs including pre-tax options for discounted parking and SmartBenefits (WMATA)
• Annual Leave, Sick Leave, and Personal Days available immediately upon hire
• 11 paid holidays per year 
• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits with FSA and HSA options, and paid FMLA
• We like to have fun! Check out the Kennedy Center National Dance Day 2024 staff video!

Pay Details

The Kennedy Center strives to design equitable compensation programs. The projected salary range for this position is $105,000 - $112,000, commensurate with experience, and includes a comprehensive benefits package. This is the targeted range of possible compensation for this role at the time of posting. This range may be modified in the future. Base pay within the range is ultimately determined by a candidate’s skills, expertise, and experience as it relates to the position qualifications and responsibilities.

Job Description

The Office of General Counsel (OGC), which is part of the Office of the President within the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (the Kennedy Center), is a dynamic and fast-paced office that handles legal, policy, compliance, and regulatory matters and is consulted on programming, operational, and governance/organizational matters for the Kennedy Center, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO), Washington National Opera (WNO), and their respective affiliated entities. OGC works cross-departmentally and is in the business of client service. OGC engages with its client offices collaboratively, proactively and with solutions-oriented mindset.

The purpose of the Senior Paralegal position is to provide the OGC, the Kennedy Center’s principal legal advisor, with expert paralegal support and provide overarching office management to OGC.

The Senior Paralegal will support OGC in fulfilling its responsibilities through a broad range of duties such as legal research support, records retention, programmatic reporting and other compliance matters, ethics, litigation support, contract administration support, leading the visa processing, insurance coverage validation, and assisting with governance-related matters for the Kennedy Center, the NSO, and the WNO.

The Senior Paralegal will approach their work independently, proactively and with a high degree of emotional intelligence. The Senior Paralegal will work with multiple departments, frequently "shift gears" rapidly with little notice while simultaneously meeting multiple and competing deadlines.

Key Responsibilities

• Research legal issues and draft memoranda of law, legal letters and agreements as directed by and supervised by the Acting General Counsel.
• Provide litigation support, involving such activities as developing and maintaining files and reports; routing complaints to appropriate insurers/outside counsel; drafting/coordinating responses to interrogatories, requests for admission/search/produce documents, fact investigations and discovery responses, interviews, document reviews/gatherings/productions/indexing; investigates facts, attends trials/depositions, takes notes, and prepares reports; hires and may supervise temporary workers.
• Manage Federal Tort Claims Act process at administrative level, interfacing with Center Security and other internal teams as well as claimants and supporting the FTCA Officer  
• Perform contract administration support: develops and maintains procedures for tracking contracts; drafts standard non-disclosure agreements and prepares applicable reports.
• Lead processing visa applications for foreign artists appearing at the Kennedy Center, working in conjunction with programming personnel; primary responsibilities include assisting in the preparation and filing of nonimmigrant, Employment-based immigrant petitions, and other applications for submission to the INS, Department of Labor, and other government agencies.
• Perform corporate records retention and maintenance duties, such as establishing records retention schedules, overseeing and authorizing document destruction; serves as legal interface with other departments to ensure that appropriate documents are indexed, archived, and properly stored.
• Maintain all insurance policies ensuring timely renewal and prompt premium payment, processing insurance requests for special events, obtaining Certificates of Insurance and reporting and monitoring all claims.
• Ensure all agreements and other legal documents are properly executed and/or distributed and maintain proper files on all agreements; bill outside users for their use and ensure receipt of prompt payment; ensure royalties are received as contracted between the Kennedy Center and outside entities.
• Support the OGC with administrative tasks, as assigned such as scheduling.
• Maintain expense records for outside legal services and other budget items to ensure that billing is in accordance with services received, and provide timely vouchers to all bills and expenses for prompt payment.
• Establish and maintain a filing system for all documents generated and received by the Office.
• Administer portions of the Kennedy Center’s ethics program, as assigned.
• Ensure the timely and accurate reporting and payment to performing rights organizations and other outside entities
• Prepare and file documentation necessary to support Center’s 501(c)(3) activities, including but not limited to state registrations for non-profits
• Oversee internship onboarding and project management
• Other duties as assigned.

Key Qualifications

• This position requires an undergraduate degree or equivalent.
• This position requires a minimum of four to six years’ experience as a paralegal.
• This position requires critical command of English vocabulary and grammar for business writing, editing, and proof-reading.
• This position requires a familiarity with legal issues, legal research, and practices
• This position requires a proficiency in computer skills.
• Candidate must be local or willing to relocate to the DMV area. Relocation assistance is not provided. 
• Candidate must be willing to work onsite.