Legal Assistant II-Public Defender

MARQUETTE COUNTY - To apply please complete the application available on our website: www.co.marquette.mi.us

POSITION: LEGAL ASSISTANT II

DEPARTMENT: Public Defender

PAY RANGE: $21.12 - $24.50

REPORTS TO: Chief Public Defender

UNION: AFSCME 2914

General Summary

Under the supervision of the Chief Public Defender and/or Office Manager, assists legal staff in dealing with clients including preparation of documents, assistance to attorneys with file management and client relations, scheduling, filing, data entry, and related legal secretarial tasks.

Essential Functions:

1. Informs clients, by letter, email, and telephone, of court dates. Ensures that statutory requirements regarding notice are fulfilled each step during defense of the case.

2. Assist clients in preparing for court and provides support by answering questions about case status.

3. Supports attorneys by scheduling hearings, preparing court notices, preparing and filing pleadings, and creating files and documents as required by office policy.

4. Manages attorney workflow and divides new cases to office attorneys pursuant to office policy. Determines conflict cases through the Defender Data software and will facilitate reassignment of them to the alternate court appointment attorney list when necessary.

5. Files all appearances for new cases with the court and opens a physical file for the assigned attorney. Adds all new files to case management (Defender Data) database. Prints reports, notices, and other pleadings pertaining to the case and mails or e-mails as necessary.

6. Assist all attorneys in preparation for all court sessions including arraignments, motions, hearings, pleas and trials.

7. Review files upon attorneys’ return from court and assists attorneys to prepare necessary case follow-up to ensure accurate and timely processing of case components.

8. Maintains a strong familiarity with office/court technology. Keeps current with changes to the case management software as needed. Creates templates, provides input to work groups to maintain and to improve the Defender Data software product.

9. Assist with the collection and maintenance of statistical records of the office and assists in the preparation of monthly and annual reports as directed by the Office Manager and Chief Public Defender.

10. Prepares correspondence to citizens, attorneys, county and State officials, and others. Responds to telephone calls, schedules appointments, arranges meetings, aids in filing and clerical duties.

11. Assist with training of new Legal Assistant hires. This includes training on office processes, case management software, method for receiving client phone calls, client/attorney scheduling, GroupWise software, scanning of all notices and how to save and retrieve them, use of network drives and how to save and retrieve the documents in word processing and case management software.

12. Assists in daily questions and answers as needed.

13. Responsible for updating, printing, and providing the weekly bench warrant report for social media posting.

14. Assist with inventory and maintenance of supplies within the office.

15. Performs other duties as assigned.

Other Functions:

1. Must adhere to departmental standards in regard to HIPAA and other privacy issues.

2. Must adhere to all other County policies and procedures.

This list may not be inclusive of the total scope of job functions to be performed. Duties and responsibilities may be added, deleted, or modified at any time.

Employment Qualifications:

Education: High school graduation or equivalent. Prefer some college or advanced coursework in word processing, data entry, and other legal secretarial areas.

Experience: Two years of experience in a legal setting providing familiarity with the judicial system through court clerk and/or legal office or equivalent experience. (This qualification may be waived with other valuable work experience or a degree in a legal field)

Other Requirements:

· Ability to work in a fast-paced office setting

· Ability to multi-task

· Ability to complete assignments under various time constraints

· Proficient in typing/keyboarding

The qualifications listed above are intended to represent the minimum skills and experience levels associated with performing the duties and responsibilities contained in this job description. The qualifications should not be viewed as expressing absolute employment or promotional standards, but as general guidelines that should be considered along with other job-related selection or promotional criteria.

Physical Requirements:

· Ability to access filing systems.

· Ability to enter and retrieve information from computer system.

· Ability to generate various documents from computer system.

· Ability to sit for prolonged periods at computer.

This job requires the ability to perform the essential functions contained in this description. These include, but are not limited to, the above requirements. Reasonable accommodations will be made for otherwise qualified applicants unable to fulfill one or more of these requirements.

Working Conditions:

· Works in fast-paced office setting.

· Exposure to individuals charged and/or convicted of a variety of criminal offenses.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $21.12 per hour

Expected hours: 40 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• AD&D insurance
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Free parking
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid sick time
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday
• No weekends

Work Location: In person

Salary : $21 - $25