Paralegal Office Services

Johnna L. Vitti

** ********* *****, ***** **** CT 06482• 203-***-**** • *.**********@*****.***

Education

Norwalk Community Technical College, Norwalk, CT - ABA Approved Paralegal Certificate Program

Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT BA in Psychology

Skills

·Formation of business entitles, partnerships, corporations, LLCs and the ability to dissolve same

·Negotiate with vendors regarding contracts and statements of work, regarding equipment, software, and services as well as health, liability and 401k benefits

·Specialize in large and complex discovery cases

·Experience in research including use of Lois Law, Westlaw and LexisNexis, Accurate, legal periodicals and other secondary sources; cite checking and blue booking

·Proficient in e-discovery, and legal software including, Relativity, Summation, Concordance, Compulaw/Vision, TimeMatters and Trial Director as well as time tracking software

·Benefits Administration

·Knowledgeable on Pacer and Multi-State Court sites; filing in Federal and State court systems in both NY and CT

·Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, and PDF Professional

Experience

Barnes & Thornburg LLP NewYork, New York

Senior Paralegal May 2021- Current

·Review proposals from vendors regarding new office services

·Assists in preparing legal documents such as legal arguments, motions, contracts and agreements

·Performs legal research; gathering information regarding federal and state statues; ordinance, regulations, court decisions and similar material.

·Prepares for, attends, assists in trials, hearing, arbitrations, and depositions.

·Lead paralegal for various national and international cases

·Conduct legal research and drafting as requested

·Participate in legal strategy discussions and preparation of same

Law Office of Heidi E. Opinsky, LLC Stamford, Connecticut

Senior Paralegal/Firm Administrator January 2019- April 2021

1.Review and negotiate firm contracts relating to office equipment, marketing and software

2.Draft agreements, settlements, stipulations and various Motions and Objections for attorney review and filing; cite check for

standing case law, and organize exhibits for all cases within the firm

3.Draft Discovery requests and responses, work directly with client to obtain documents for discovery, review and draft financial

affidavits; draft various pleadings, motions and memorandum of law related to individual cases; research case law

4.Manage firm case docket assuring deadline are met and staffed appropriately

5.Lead on all trials, hearing and preparation for primarily Family and Matrimonial law in both NY and CT

6.Organize office part-time staff for preparation of trials and filing systems

7.Manage firm calendar regarding court deadlines, depositions, office vendors and deliveries

Kishner Miller Himes P.C., New York, New York August 2018-January 2019

Senior Paralegal, Firm Administrator (Firm’s move and relocation resulted in departure)

1.Responsible for drafting affidavits, retrieved case law for research using Westlaw; prepared table of authorities and table of

contents, cite checked and reviewed major briefs including pre-trial briefs and appellate briefs

2.Assisted attorneys in court during trials, hearings, and arbitrations distributing trial exhibits, locating key documents and

tracking exhibits and testimony for contract litigation and corporate litigation

3.Assisted in preparation and filings of court documents in NY state and federal, research court procedures and changes for

multiple county, state and federal courts including appellate divisions

4.Reviewed subpoenas in preparation for document review and production of documents, assist in procedures for review and

organization of large case discovery

5.Prepared transactional closing documents, assisted in real estate closings, and settlements

North Mill Equipment Finance LLC, Connecticut April 2017-February 2018

Paralegal (After Department Restructured; position eliminated)

6.Coordinated and maintained corporate governance, corporate compliance documents and executed and/or amended licensing agreements

7.Reviewed customer contracts, analyzed interest and past due balances for negotiating payoffs for customer, handled all aspects of secondary recovery including but not limited to skip tracing and investigation of customer financial condition and assets to

determine a feasibility of commercial litigation proceedings

8.Managed a network of 3rd party attorneys responsible for commercial litigation, providing payoffs, discovery responses and

documents as well as chart of accounts and payment history

9.Reviewed new and existing bankruptcy matters, including managing proof of claim, tracking cases via PACER, and managed database for quarterly reporting

10.Managed all liens and potential lien research and responses

11.Transferred and managed all litigation defense matters to insurance companies and was primary contact with all outside counsel

Pastore & Dailey LLC, Stamford, Connecticut and New York, New York July 2012-April 2017

Managing Paralegal & Firm Administrator (Re-joined litigation team from Fox Rothchild)

12.Managed all corporate compliance documentation including drafting and filing of LLC formation paperwork, and registering Foreign LLCs for operating in various states

13.Negotiated firm contracts including but not limited to office equipment, health insurance, liability insurance, 401k as well as

e-discovery, software, marketing and website operations.

14.Lead manager for firm-related financials, including monthly client invoices, A/P and A/R, managing firm bank accounts and

client accounts, interacting with banks to set up such accounts, and coordinating with the firm’s accountants

15.Managed firm trials, arbitrations and hearings relating to various types of litigation including but not limited to Corporate, IP,

Transactional, Employment, SEC and FINRA investigations and contracts, filed court documents in various state and federal

courts, and prepared, organized, and filed corporate filings in various states

16.Lead paralegal on all electronical discovery including gathering information from the client, managing outside vendors, loading

of potential discovery into Summation or Relativity, instrumental in document reviews on large case discovery projects as well

as production of documents, redacting and maintaining privileged and discovery logs

17.Monitored case flow within the firm to ensure deadlines were met and cases were properly staffed

Zeisler & Zeisler, P.C., Connecticut and New York December 2010-August 2012

Managing/Senior Paralegal

·Lead Paralegal for trials and hearings, assisting with preparation of witnesses, organizing war rooms, maintaining important case discovery and trial exhibits relating to Bankruptcy, fraudulent transfers and Ponzi schemes

·Communicated with document management vendors regarding trial preparation, electronic discovery and database content

·Drafted motions and memorandums of law, retrieved case law for research using LexisNexis; prepared table of authorities and table of contents, cite checked and reviewed major briefs including pre-trial briefs and post-trial briefs

·Assisted experts to produce accurate numbers for damages schedules and provided back up for expert reports and potential litigation

·Provided litigation support, configuring and troubleshooting of Summation databases, including reutilization of document

boundaries, loading TIFF images, loading transcripts, running queries, executing data overlays, and database maintenance

·Prepared filings for state and federal appeals in various circuits

·Trained attorneys and legal assistants on Summation to use software for maintaining files and increasing work productivity

·Researched various document retention management systems and software to increase work productivity and for trial usage

·Responsible for e-filing preparation in both federal and state courts, tracking cases on PACER, with a particular focus on the

Connecticut and New York Bankruptcy Court Systems

Fox Rothschild LLP, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey April 2008-December 2010

Senior Paralegal (merger with Pastore Osterberg, LLC)

·Lead Paralegal on arbitrations, trials and hearings preparing discovery as well as assisting with preparation of witnesses,

organizing war rooms and trial binders

·Formation of business entitles, including partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies, as well (took out language here) dissolving entities

·Conducted research using Westlaw, various other internet options and legal periodicals with respect to motions practice

·Organized legal files and discovery for both electronic and paper productions, utilizing Concordance, Trial Director and LiveNote

·Drafted letters to clients and opposing counsel regarding various matters within the case, drafted appearances for attorneys and prepared subpoenas in both Federal and State matters

·Worked in various paralegal departments within the firm including IP, Family Law, Corporate, Commercial Litigation, Trust and Estates as well as Bankruptcy Litigation; tracked case deadlines through PACER or state court dockets

·Main contact with IT and litigation support vendors for the transfer of case files, Concordance Database files, and all other electronic file databases as a result of a firm merger

Dreier LLP/Pastore Osterberg LLC, Connecticut and New York May 2005-May 2008

Paralegal (firm merger)

8.Lead Paralegal on preparation for trials and arbitrations relating to Corporate, IP, Transactional, Employment, SEC and FINRA

investigations

9.Assisted legal administrators in areas of law including corporate transactions, trust and estates, real estate, and litigation

10.Provided paralegal training on discovery software including Summation, Concordance and Trial Director

11.Conducted research using Westlaw, various websites, as well as law periodicals with respect to motions, briefs, and

complaints; proofread and cite checked pre-trial and post-trial briefs

12.Organized legal files and discovery both electronically and print, utilizing Summation and Concordance

13.Drafted letters to clients and opposing counsel regarding various matters within the case, appearances for attorneys, and

prepared subpoenas in both federal and state actions

14.Prepared and electronically filed in both federal and state courts, SEC actions, FINRA actions, and various appeals courts

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