Bankruptcy Paralegal

Remote – Full-Time
Schedule: Monday – Friday | 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM Eastern Time
Lunch Break: 1 Hour

About the Role

The Bankruptcy Paralegal is responsible for taking ownership of bankruptcy case files across their full lifecycle, beginning when a client is retained and payment terms are confirmed and continuing through petition preparation, filing, and applicable post-filing case management.

The role combines two primary functions:

• Petition Preparation Oversight & Quality Control
• Chapter 13 Post-Filing Case Management

The Paralegal will work from the firm's existing procedure manual and supporting checklists and is expected to become fully independent on standard cases after completing the structured onboarding process.

The objective is to produce filing-ready petitions that require only a brief final attorney review, while maintaining accurate case status, consistent client communication, and timely progression throughout the bankruptcy process.

The attorney retains responsibility for:

• Direct legal counsel to clients.
• Court appearances.

All other standard administrative and paralegal responsibilities throughout the case lifecycle are within the scope of this position.

Key Responsibilities

Case Intake & File Ownership

• Take ownership of each assigned case as soon as:
  • The client is retained.
  • Payment terms are confirmed.
• Review client financial documentation, including:
  • Tax returns
  • Bank statements
  • Intake questionnaires
  • Other required financial documentation
• Organize documentation within the firm's document repository.
• Maintain continuous communication with clients once a case is assigned.
• Maintain detailed case notes regarding:
  • Client cooperation
  • Outstanding documentation
  • Missing information
  • Follow-up history
  • Current case status
• Identify clients who become unresponsive.
• Document all attempts to re-engage unresponsive clients.
• Escalate unresponsive clients appropriately rather than allowing cases to become inactive.

Case Communication & Coordination

• Communicate directly with clients regarding:
  • Case status
  • Required documents
  • Missing information
  • Upcoming requirements
  • Next steps
• Maintain consistent communication throughout the pre-filing period.
• Coordinate with the Client Communications & Payment Follow-Up team regarding handoff timing.
• Accept case handoffs once clients have reached the appropriate payment status.
• Keep the attorney informed regarding cases requiring:
  • Legal judgment
  • Legal advice
  • Client counsel
  • Attorney review
• Maintain clear boundaries between paralegal responsibilities and matters requiring attorney involvement.

Petition Preparation Oversight & Quality Control

• Review bankruptcy petitions assembled by the firm's petition preparers.
• Conduct quality-control review before petitions reach the attorney.
• Verify completeness and accuracy of petition information.
• Identify procedural issues before final attorney review.
• Identify case-sensitive issues that could affect strategy or outcome.
• Review matters such as:
  • Property equity
  • Chapter 7 eligibility
  • Potential need for Chapter 13 conversion
  • Income calculations
  • Expense calculations
  • Means-test qualification
• Identify property equity that could jeopardize Chapter 7 eligibility.
• Flag situations that may require conversion from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13.
• Identify income or expense issues affecting means-test qualification.
• Apply appropriate independent judgment within the position's authorized scope.
• Resolve routine issues when appropriate.
• Escalate matters requiring legal judgment.
• Deliver a filing-ready product requiring only a brief attorney confidence check whenever possible.
• Serve as a working quality lead for petition preparers on assigned cases.
• Coordinate petition-preparation overflow during high-volume periods.

Chapter 13 Post-Filing Case Management

• Manage assigned Chapter 13 cases following filing.
• Prepare clients for their first meeting of creditors (341 Meeting).
• Use the firm's established preparatory questions.
• Ensure clients understand the administrative requirements associated with the upcoming meeting.
• Review confirmed Chapter 13 plan terms, including:
  • Vehicle retention
  • Home retention
  • Priority tax obligations
• Determine the administrative actions required to move cases toward confirmation.
• Identify required motions.
• Coordinate standard agreements associated with statutory filing windows.
• Ensure required filings are completed.
• Ensure matters are properly scheduled for hearing when applicable.
• Monitor cases that fall behind on Chapter 13 plan payments.
• Identify payment-compliance problems promptly.
• Coordinate plan modifications to bring cases current.
• Draft and file routine post-confirmation motions using the firm's established templates.

Routine post-confirmation matters may include:

• Early payoff requests.
• Vehicle purchase approval.
• Other standard post-confirmation relief.

Chapter 7 Post-Filing Support

• Prepare standard Chapter 7 post-filing documentation.
• Prepare reaffirmation agreements when required.
• Coordinate applicable post-filing administrative requirements.
• Escalate matters requiring attorney judgment or legal advice.

Workflow Optimization & Execution

• Follow the firm's documented procedure manual.
• Apply established checklists consistently across assigned cases.
• Maintain adherence to established case-processing standards.
• Identify recurring problems within the petition-preparation process.
• Identify patterns that generate unnecessary rework.
• Provide feedback to petition preparers.
• Help improve petition quality over time.
• Recommend refinements to procedures and checklists once fully trained.
• Proactively identify process bottlenecks.
• Flag cases repeatedly missing target timelines.
• Identify workflow problems before they create significant backlog.
• Contribute to improving case-processing efficiency.

Reporting & Case Visibility

• Maintain accurate case-stage information for every assigned file.
• Maintain current case status in the firm's CRM.
• Ensure leadership has real-time visibility into the caseload.
• Maintain sufficient documentation so the attorney does not need to request routine status updates verbally.
• Track cases approaching or exceeding standard turnaround times.
• Report cases that exceed established turnaround targets.
• Provide a brief explanation when a case exceeds its expected timeline.
• Maintain accurate documentation regarding:
  • Current stage
  • Outstanding requirements
  • Client responsiveness
  • Next action
  • Attorney involvement required

Additional Responsibilities

• Serve as a working point of contact for petition preparers regarding quality questions.
• Support petition preparers during high-volume periods.
• Potentially transition into a more formal supervisory role as the team grows.
• Prepare standard Chapter 7 post-filing documentation.
• Support preparation of reaffirmation agreements.
• Contribute to formalizing the firm's procedure manual.
• Help convert existing procedures into a documented Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
• Support training of future:
  • Petition preparers
  • Paralegals
  • Related legal-support hires
• Help maintain consistent quality standards as the team scales.

Qualifications

Required

• Previous experience as a:
  • Bankruptcy Paralegal
  • Legal Assistant
  • Similar bankruptcy legal-support professional
• Working knowledge of bankruptcy petition preparation.
• Understanding of means testing.
• Understanding of bankruptcy case progression.
• Strong written English communication skills.
• Strong verbal English communication skills.
• High attention to detail.
• Strong independent judgment.
• Ability to identify case-sensitive issues.
• Ability to manage a full caseload.
• Ability to prioritize cases according to deadlines and case stage.
• Comfortable operating with minimal day-to-day supervision after training.
• Ability to remain accountable to established timelines.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Ability to maintain accurate case notes and CRM information.
• Comfortable using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot to:
  • Review documents
  • Summarize information
  • Accelerate routine administrative work

Preferred

• Direct experience with both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.
• Experience reviewing bankruptcy petitions.
• Familiarity with Chapter 13 plan confirmation.
• Familiarity with post-filing Chapter 13 case management.
• Experience with:
  • Means testing
  • 341 meeting preparation
  • Plan modifications
  • Reaffirmation agreements
  • Routine bankruptcy motions
• Experience with legal case-management software.
• Experience with CRM or case-pipeline systems.
• Bilingual English/Spanish.

Firm-specific training will be provided for the organization's established procedures and systems.

Core Competencies

The ideal Bankruptcy Paralegal demonstrates strength in:

• Bankruptcy Case Management
• Chapter 7 Case Support
• Chapter 13 Case Management
• Petition Review & Quality Control
• Means-Test Review
• Client Communication
• Financial Document Review
• Case Pipeline Management
• Legal Documentation
• Deadline Management
• Case Prioritization
• Quality Assurance
• Independent Judgment
• Attention to Detail
• Process Compliance
• Problem Solving
• Client Follow-Up
• Team Coordination
• SOP Development
• Accountability

Typical Workday

A typical workday may include:

Case Pipeline Review

• Review the assigned case pipeline.
• Identify files approaching target timelines.
• Prioritize urgent or aging cases.
• Identify cases requiring immediate action.

Petition Review

• Review newly completed petitions from petition preparers.
• Check petitions for:
  • Accuracy
  • Completeness
  • Procedural issues
  • Potential case concerns
• Resolve routine issues.
• Flag matters requiring attorney review.

Client Follow-Up

• Contact clients regarding outstanding documents.
• Request missing information.
• Follow up on case requirements.
• Document client communication.

Chapter 13 Case Management

Advance post-filing Chapter 13 cases toward their next required action, including:

• 341 meeting preparation.
• Required motions.
• Agreements.
• Plan-confirmation requirements.
• Payment-compliance issues.
• Plan modifications.

Case Documentation

• Update case notes.
• Update CRM status.
• Update case stage.
• Record outstanding requirements.
• Ensure every case touched reflects its current status.

Attorney Escalation

• Identify matters requiring attorney input.
• Flag cases requiring legal judgment.
• Prepare filing-ready cases for final attorney review.

Typical Workweek

Throughout the week, the Bankruptcy Paralegal will:

• Move newly retained and paid-in-full cases from handoff toward a filing-ready petition.
• Maintain progress within the firm's established turnaround window.
• Carry a full caseload of post-filing Chapter 13 matters.
• Advance Chapter 13 cases toward:
  • 341 meetings
  • Plan confirmation
  • Ongoing plan compliance
• Coordinate with petition preparers regarding:
  • Quality issues
  • Overflow capacity
  • Recurring errors
• Participate in a weekly case-status check-in.
• Review:
  • Blockers
  • Aging cases
  • Upcoming deadlines
  • Cases requiring attorney involvement
• Contribute to improvements in the firm's procedure manual and checklists.

Performance Evaluation & Accountability

Performance is primarily measured based on case-stage turnaround time.

The firm's current operational challenge is not simply case volume, but cases remaining in queue longer than necessary.

The Bankruptcy Paralegal is therefore expected to actively move cases through each stage while maintaining quality and accuracy.

Performance will evaluate both:

• Speed of case progression
• Quality of the filing-ready work product

The objective is not simply to process more cases, but to move cases efficiently without creating rework for the attorney.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Paid-in-Full to Filing-Ready Turnaround

• Target: 7–10 business days from paid-in-full status to delivery of a filing-ready petition to the attorney for cooperative clients.
• Any case exceeding 14 days must be flagged.
• Cases exceeding 14 days must include a documented reason for the delay.

Petition Quality

• Maximize the percentage of petitions delivered to the attorney requiring only a brief final review.
• Minimize petitions requiring major attorney rework.
• Identify and resolve routine quality issues before attorney review.

Chapter 13 Plan Confirmation

• Move Chapter 13 post-filing cases toward plan confirmation within the standard 60-day window.

Chapter 13 Payment Compliance

• Identify cases falling behind on plan payments.
• Track time from identification of the issue to filing of the appropriate modification.

CRM & Case Status Accuracy

• Maintain 100% current and accurate stage status across all assigned cases.
• No case should remain untouched beyond its target timeline without a documented reason.

The firm's existing case-pipeline system serves as the system of record for:

• Case status.
• Case stage.
• Turnaround time.
• KPI visibility.

Reporting Structure

The Bankruptcy Paralegal reports directly to the Attorney.

The position works closely with:

• Attorney
• Petition Preparers
• Client Communications & Payment Follow-Up Team
• Other Paralegals and Legal Support Staff

The Paralegal is expected to maintain sufficient case documentation so leadership has a self-service view of caseload status without requiring constant verbal updates.

The position may also develop into a more formal quality or supervisory role as the petition-preparation team grows.

Software & Tools

• Best Case – Bankruptcy case management and petition preparation.
• SharePoint – Document repository and file management.
• Lawmatics – CRM and case-pipeline management.
• Microsoft Copilot – AI-assisted document review, summarization, and productivity.
• Firm Communication & Phone Tools – Client and internal communication.

Training & Onboarding

The Bankruptcy Paralegal will complete a structured onboarding process using the firm's existing procedures, manuals, and checklists.

Initial Training

Initial training will cover:

• Firm-specific bankruptcy procedures.
• Existing petition-preparation manual.
• Petition-preparation checklists.
• Case-stage expectations.
• Case-management systems.
• CRM requirements.
• Client communication standards.
• Attorney escalation procedures.
• Chapter 7 workflows.
• Chapter 13 workflows.

Structured Ramp & Shadowing

The Paralegal will:

• Shadow live bankruptcy cases.
• Review completed petitions.
• Observe existing quality-control procedures.
• Learn the firm's established case timelines.
• Work through cases with guidance before assuming full independence.
• Become familiar with the firm's specific standards for filing-ready petitions.

Independent Case Ownership

Following the structured ramp period, the Paralegal is expected to achieve full independence on standard cases.

Independent ownership includes:

• Client communication.
• Document review.
• Petition quality control.
• Case-stage management.
• Chapter 13 post-filing management.
• CRM maintenance.
• Deadline management.
• Appropriate attorney escalation.

SOP Development

After becoming familiar with the firm's workflow, the Paralegal will contribute to converting the existing procedure manual into a permanent, documented Standard Operating Procedure for the role.

The SOP should support:

• Consistent case handling.
• Future training.
• Quality control.
• Team scalability.

Work Environment

• Fully remote position.
• Monday – Friday | 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM Eastern Time.
• 1-hour lunch break.
• Reliable high-speed internet connection required.
• Dedicated, distraction-free remote workspace.
• Comfortable independently managing a full caseload.
• Ability to consistently meet firm-mandated timelines.
• Professional environment appropriate for confidential client communication.
• Eligible for 10 days of paid time off (PTO) after completing one year in the role.

About the Company

Our client is a growing U.S.-based consumer bankruptcy law practice managing a steady pipeline of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings.

The firm is increasing its intake volume and operates using established case-management software, documented procedures, and checklist-driven petition-preparation workflows.

The organization is building a scalable operational structure in which clearly defined processes allow experienced legal professionals to manage cases independently while maintaining quality and accountability.

The Bankruptcy Paralegal plays a critical role in this structure by taking ownership of case production and post-filing management, reducing unnecessary attorney involvement in routine case administration.

The firm's objective is for the Paralegal to deliver accurate, filing-ready petitions requiring only brief final attorney review, while ensuring Chapter 13 cases continue progressing appropriately after filing.

Final Notes

The Bankruptcy Paralegal is expected to become the operational owner of assigned bankruptcy cases from post-retention handoff through filing and applicable post-filing case management.

Success in this position means:

• Newly assigned cases begin progressing immediately after handoff.
• Client financial documentation is accurately reviewed and organized.
• Clients receive consistent communication regarding outstanding requirements and next steps.
• Unresponsive clients are identified and escalated rather than allowed to go cold.
• Petition preparers receive effective quality-control support.
• Filing-ready petitions require minimal attorney rework.
• Potential issues affecting Chapter 7 eligibility or means-test qualification are identified before final review.
• Chapter 13 clients are properly prepared for 341 meetings.
• Chapter 13 cases progress toward plan confirmation within expected timelines.
• Payment-compliance issues are identified promptly.
• Routine post-confirmation motions are handled efficiently using established templates.
• Every assigned case maintains accurate stage and status information.
• Cases exceeding expected timelines are flagged with documented reasons.
• Cooperative paid-in-full cases reach filing-ready status within the 7–10 business-day target.
• The attorney is able to focus primarily on legal counsel, legal judgment, and court appearances rather than routine case administration.
• The Paralegal contributes to improving procedures, reducing rework, and creating a scalable bankruptcy case-management operation.