Maria Arceo

Dedicated, dynamic, and proactive paralegal eager to expand knowledge in the legal field. Seasoned written and oral communicator with a proven track record in supporting a wide range of requests. Looking for an opportunity to apply strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills while learning from experienced legal professionals. Bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish.

Corporate Compliance Paralegal at Coast Dental Services (2025-01 – Present)

• Provide support to General Counsel preparing legal correspondence to patients, insurance carriers, administrative agencies, vendors, and landlord/property managers; Draft and review legal documents, including corporate contracts, business associate agreements, settlement agreements, and mutual release agreements.
• Ensure compliance with corporate and regulatory governance; Manage Registered Agent platform (CSC Global); Handle subsidiary management, including formation, maintenance, and dissolution of entities.
• Internal file management, including organization and management of corporate records, legal projects, consumer disputes, company policies, legal correspondence
• Provide litigation and dispute resolution support, including coordinating document holds/collections, organizing discovery materials for counsel's review, and maintaining case calendars and status updates.
• Assist with employment-related legal support items, including H1-B visa applications, Cease and Desist notices, employment termination letters, and employment agreement breach letters.
• Act as corporate representative in small claims and administrative law proceedings; draft and submit pleadings for small claims actions; correspond with the court regarding small claims filings; post-judgment collections
• Serve as the Compliance Committee Secretary: meeting preparation of agendas, resolutions, presentations, and minutes; maintain corporate policies; ensure projects/improvements are completed; assist Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) with various Compliance-related tasks.

Interim Compliance and Legal Assistant at Coast Dental Services

• Assist with compliance-related matters: insurance carrier audits, periodic compliance visits by CCO, medical records management, correcting regulatory inspection failures
• Fulfill medical records requests and subpoenas in accordance with HIPAA Privacy and other related rules and internal policies.
• Act as liaison with state regulatory agencies regarding inspections and permitting for biomedical waste, radiation machines, and other related licensing; renew and apply for local occupational/business tax receipts.
• Generate weekly compliance training completion reports; monitor the progress and ensure timely completion of compliance trainings of staff; identify and resolve compliance training issues at the direction of the CCO.

Legal Intake Specialist at Bay Area Legal Services (2022-04 – 2025-01)

• Conducted specialized legal intake and provided general advice to clients under the supervision of the managing attorney in the areas of: Bankruptcy, Employment Law, Debt Collections, Vehicle Repossessions & Wage Garnishment.
• Provided support to Centralized Telephonic Intake (CTI) managing attorney and screening unit supervisor to ensure compliance with income and other eligibility guidelines.
• Collaborated with CTI Unit managing attorney and operations consultants on improvements to the intake system.

Intake Screener I & II at Bay Area Legal Services (2022-04 – 2025-01)

• Determined client eligibility by Legal Services Corporation (LSC) regulations and other funding criteria, assess applicants' legal concerns, and check for potential conflicts of interest.
• Assisted with onboarding and training of new intake screeners.
• Conducted court records searches in various jurisdictions for applicants who were suspected of domestic violence.
• Supervised the processing of online applications and referrals from the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and other community partners

Interim Screening Unit Supervisor at Bay Area Legal Services (2022-04 – 2025-01)

• Answered questions about eligibility and scheduling guidelines.
• Performed administrative duties related to auditing, reporting, and ensuring adequate coverage of each legal hotline.
• Lead monthly screener meetings to address questions, common screener issues and provide information about changes to eligibility guidelines.

Restaurant Manager at Don Jose Mexican Restaurant (2018-05 – 2019-05)

• Manage a 30-person team in a high-volume Mexican Restaurant, ensuring a continuous increase in customer satisfaction and establishing a pleasant, enjoyable work environment for staff.
• Coordinate all daily non-food related operations, organized daily specials, managed social media pages, and addressed any customer complaints.
• Managed staff scheduling and shift reorganization to suit flexible work hours; Recruited and trained new staff members through spot-training sessions
• Responsible for daily opening and closing shift work: POS system processing, staff payroll, cleaning and maintaining the restaurant to ensure compliance with regulatory and compliance agencies such as OSHA and the Department of Health.

Certificate in Paralegal Studies – St. Petersburg College

Bachelor of Arts in Criminology – University Of South Florida