Amy P. Williams

10 Oxford Avenue

Clarendon Hills, Illinois 60514

(312) 371-1322

SUMMARY

Senior Level Paralegal offering fifteen years of experience in both publicly traded companies and private law firm settings. Adept at balancing multiple assignments, managing litigation, troubleshooting and mitigating risk. Accountable, reliable, displays good business acumen and judgment. A detail-oriented professional with great organizational agility who is looking to excel in an environment that will allow opportunity for growth and advancement beyond the scope of traditional Paralegal duties.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Navistar, Inc., Lisle, Illinois            (August 2011 to present)

Senior Paralegal

Hired into a newly created Paralegal position in the Office of the General Counsel and promoted to Senior Level, providing support on matters of international trade and FCPA compliance, OFAC restricted party screening, anti-boycott compliance and money laundering prevention. Position has expanded to include support in the areas of bankruptcy (unsecured creditors), global and domestic distribution and dealer matters and defense/military sales and government contracts.

·   Conduct risk based third party Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and U.K. Bribery Act (UKBA) anti corruption due diligence reviews. Developed and managed due diligence database. Train and consult clients across business segments regarding questions or concerns related to anti-corruption/anti-bribery, import/export controls, anti-boycott and trade regulations/sanctions and related Navistar policy.

·   Assist with the drafting and negotiation of domestic and global distribution contracts, commercial contracts including procurement/vendor/supplier/services agreements, information technology and license agreements, logistics and freight-forwarder agreements and dealer/distribution agreements.

·   Issue spot and troubleshoot compliance concerns and areas of risk.

·   Assist salesperson clients with transaction strategy and ensuring completion of required sales and due diligence documentation.

·   Manage e-discovery. Draft litigation/preservation hold notices, conduct witness interviews, coordinate and execute electronic and hard copy preservation and collection efforts. Work with inside and outside counsel, Company custodians, vendors and IT to respond to Discovery demands and Third Party Subpoenas.

·   Manage unsecured bankruptcy matters. Draft Proofs of Claim for collection opportunities.

 

General Growth Properties, Inc., Chicago, Illinois             (March 2005 to September 2009) Senior Litigation Paralegal, General Practice and Risk Management

·   Managed Company’s e-discovery obligations. Drafted litigation preservation/hold memos and executed electronic and hard copy preservation, retention and collection activities. This included working with inside and outside counsel, Company custodians and IT.

·   Managed insured claims and litigation from notice to resolution. Worked with the Company’s TPA, outside counsel, field personnel and vendors to gather facts, draft Answers to Complaints, conduct interviews and investigations and respond to Discovery demands.

·   Performed liability assessments. Worked with internal and external parties, including the Company’s TPA to negotiate and resolve claims with authority up to $20,000. Directed courses of action and presented strategy recommendations to local counsel.

·   Prepared Company responses to third-party Subpoenas and inquiries relating to corporate and/or property data.     

·   Recommended loss prevention actions to mall properties.

·   Enforced the confidentiality and protection of the Company’s proprietary data.

·   Drafted bi-weekly summary reports of pending litigation for upper management review and to mortgage lenders as needed for refinancing purposes.

·   Reviewed, analyzed and interpreted Company leases, contracts, property legal descriptions and surveys.

 

Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Kraftefer, Chicago, Illinois                             (January 2002 to March 2005)

Paralegal

·   Provided arbitration and litigation support through discovery, pre-trial and trial.

·   Abstracted deposition testimony, medical records and employment records.

·   Managed 501(c)(3), Not-For-Profit Company, tax exemption and workers compensation files.

·   Drafted case status summaries for firm’s workers compensation cases.

·   Assisted with case investigation needs and performed special projects.

·   Performed real estate ownership searches; reviewed titles and surveys and assisted with closings and post-closing matters.

·   Collected, analyzed, organized and maintained information, issues, facts, records and other documents.

·   Maintained and updated client Village Codes.

 

Chicago Magazine, Chicago, Illinois                                                                                         (October to December 2001)

Intern, Classified Advertising Department

·   Responsibilities included working on special advertising sections, client communications and general administrative duties.

·   Proofed mailing lists and monthly ad spaces for accuracy.

·   Assembled and organized media kits.

·   Follow-up with advertisers for payment of ad space.

·   Computer data entry - ACT Program.

 

Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Chicago, Illinois                                       (July 2000 to June 2001)

Legislative Analyst, Workers Compensation/Health Department, (f/k/a Alliance of American Insurers, Downers Grove, Illinois)

·   Analyzed state/federal legislative and regulatory proposals regarding workers compensation, employer liability, managed care, rehabilitation and health information policy to determine potential impacts and advise members and subscribers of such proposals.

·   Wrote bulletins to members and subscribers advising them of enacted laws, adopted regulations, legislative developments and any other appropriate and advisable matters.

·   Updated and maintained department database and subject matter charts.

·   Analyzed legislation and regulations to identify issues affecting Alliance interests.

·   Wrote summaries of reports and recommendations relating to workers compensation, healthcare and insurance related matters.

·   Edit and proofread press releases for the Alliance’s Public Relations Department.

·   Researched developments, problems and trends affecting the workers compensation industry.

 

Baker & McKenzie, Chicago, Illinois                                                                                             (April 1998 to July 2000)

Paralegal, Employment Law, Business Immigration Subgroup

·   Managed 326 employment-based immigration files for companies to ensure foreign nationals maintained proper employment authorization in the United States and abroad.

·   Drafted and proofread immigrant and nonimmigrant (L-1A, L-1B, H-1B, TN and J-1) visa petitions, labor certification applications, outbound work permits and international visa applications.

·   Drafted company descriptions for submission to the U.S. Department of Labor and I.N.S. for consideration         

·   Communicated with clients and foreign nationals to answer procedural questions, address immigration status and processing requests.

·   Researched and analyzed immigration laws and pending federal legislation to determine impact upon active immigration cases.

·   Interviewed applicants and trained newly hired Paralegals.

 

 

EDUCATION

May 1998 Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois

Paralegal Certificate, ABA Approved

 

August 1997 The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

B.A. Political Science, Journalism Minor

 

COMPUTER SKILLS Professional Use: Microsoft Windows (Word, PowerPoint, Access, Excel and Outlook)

Personal Use: Apple Mac and Ipad, and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with Android

 

APPLICATION / PROGRAM SKILLS EMC Discovery Manager (Navistar’s email archive management system), Ecounsel (Navistar’s case management system), Enterprise Vault / Discovery Accelerator (GGP’s email archive management system), Global Corporate Manager (GGP’s legal entity management database), Digital Docs (GGP’s electronic document library), WebClaim (GGP’s proprietary claims management database), WebInc. (GGP’s proprietary incident reporting system), PACER, Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis, SharePoint.

 

REFERENCES Available upon request