Litigation Docket & Court Services Specialist

Overview

This role involves providing expert day-to-day support in litigation docketing, court rules, case research, and legal procedures within a law firm's Managing Clerk's Office. The Litigation Docket & Court Services Specialist is responsible for executing compliant electronic filings across various state and federal court systems, with a focus on the Philadelphia state and federal courts, including the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and the U.S. District Courts of Pennsylvania.

As a senior-level individual contributor, the specialist acts as a primary procedural authority, applying rigorous quality control and risk management to all court filings and docket entries while maintaining strict confidentiality.

Responsibilities

• Execute electronic filing of pleadings, motions, and complex legal documents in federal, state, and appellate courts nationwide.
• Serve as the expert on filing logistics, local procedures, and protocols specific to Philadelphia courts and Pennsylvania state and federal courts.
• Advise attorneys and paralegals on complex local court rules, judges' individual practices, and filing requirements.
• Manage and resolve electronic filing rejections, docketing discrepancies, and technical court platform issues.
• Maintain knowledge of State, Federal, and Pro Hac Vice bar admissions processes to support case teams.
• Perform final quality control audits on pleadings and documents to ensure compliance with court formatting, redaction, signature, and exhibit requirements.
• Audit and verify docket entries to ensure accurate calculation of dates, deadlines, and events according to rules of civil procedure.
• Interpret and apply Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Pennsylvania Rules, local Philadelphia rules, and other guidelines to calculate and input litigation deadlines.
• Review incoming litigation documents for critical dates and enter deadlines, discovery schedules, and event reminders into docketing software.
• Alert attorneys and paralegals of urgent upcoming deadlines and maintain communication regarding document receipts and filing confirmations.
• Conduct routine docket sweeps and audits to identify obsolete deadlines, capture non-deadline events, and reconcile case statuses.
• Retrieve information on litigants, court cases, dockets, and judicial profiles using online databases such as PACER, Westlaw, Bloomberg Law, DocketBird, and CourtLink.
• Prepare and distribute customized docket reports detailing upcoming deadlines to legal teams across multiple offices.

Qualifications

Core Competencies

• Deep understanding of court structures, litigation lifecycles, and civil procedure, with specialized knowledge of Philadelphia state and federal court rules.
• Meticulous attention to detail in reviewing legal documents and calculating statutory deadlines.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple urgent filings under tight deadlines in a high-volume litigation environment.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to explain complex procedural rules clearly and tactfully.

Technical Skills & Experience

• Minimum 5 years of recent litigation docketing and court filing experience in a mid-to-large law firm.
• Well-rounded national experience with a strong emphasis on Pennsylvania county, state, and federal courts.
• Expert proficiency in rules-based docketing systems (Milana and/or CompuLaw preferred).
• Extensive hands-on experience with court e-filing databases such as PACER/ECF, PA-eFile, and Odyssey.
• Proficient in document management systems like iManage or similar, Adobe Acrobat Professional for document manipulation and redaction, and Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook).
• Familiarity with State, Federal, and Pro Hac Vice bar admissions processes and willingness to assist in training junior personnel.

Working Conditions

• Normal law office environment with minimal exposure to noise, dust, or temperature extremes.
• This is a non-exempt position.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The employer is committed to equal employment opportunity and will recruit, hire, train, promote, compensate, and provide benefits without regard to ancestry, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, medical condition, military or veteran status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other protected status under applicable laws. This policy applies to all employment practices including recruiting, hiring, promotions, layoffs, compensation, benefits, and terminations.