What are the responsibilities and job description for the Legal Assistant position at City of College Station?
Description
Under general supervision the Legal Assistant assists attorneys by performing administrative, clerical duties, legal research, preparing legal documents, managing preparation for land acquisition closings, analyzing and organizing data and information, and managing the legal portion of citywide processes including agenda management, open records and open meetings.
Principal Duties
- Perform a variety of administrative support tasks, to include but not limited to perform office reception and secretarial duties; maintain files, calendars, and office equipment; coordinate and maintain travel and training reservations; and receive, process, and track expenditures and related budget. [This essential duty is particular to the Legal Assistant I which the Legal Assistant II will perform as necessary]
- Perform initial title and survey review for real estate acquisitions, assist attorney with title objections and title curative matters, and assist with other real estate due diligence reviews and reports. [The Legal Assistant I performs this duty under supervision]
- Organize files for real estate closings and assist in reviewing and organizing closing documents.
- Prepare real estate purchase contracts, leases, rights of entry documents, easements, deeds, other contracts, legal opinions, correspondence and other legal documents, and finalize documents for review by the supervising attorney. [The Legal Assistant I performs this duty under supervision]
- Undertake legal research on current case law and prepare summaries for attorney review.
- Communicate regularly with internal and external stakeholders including departmental directors and staff, city secretary’s office, city manager’s office, outside counsel, external engineers, surveyors, title companies, and state agencies.
- Intake, review, organize, distribute and monitor city council agenda items.
- Organize and review requests for public information and prepare correspondence and briefing for review by the supervising attorney.
- Maintain litigation files and manage legal invoices from outside counsel.
- Identify opportunities for assumption of appropriate work from attorneys.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Qualifications Required:
- High School Diploma or G.E.D., and three (3) years legal support experience with paralegal training/experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Paralegal Certification or the ability to obtain within three (3) years from date of hire.
- Previous experience working with real estate projects including knowledge of title examination, easements, deeds, leases, and other legal documents.
- Basic knowledge of legal pleadings.
- Ability to pay close attention to detail when evaluating legal matters and to multitask across different disciplines.
- Ability to create, compose and edit written materials, including ability to proofread materials for contextual, grammatical, typographical or spelling errors.
- Knowledge of the principles and procedures of legal research including experience with online legal research tools.
- Ability to prioritize the volume of various tasks and work independently with minimum supervision but also work cohesively within the Legal Department and with other departments.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
** Additional requirements for Legal Assistant II**
- High School Diploma or G.E.D., and four (4) years legal support experience with paralegal training/experience, including three (3) or more years of real estate experience; or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Paralegal Certification.
Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in related field.
Position open until filled or closing date.
Salary : $21 - $24
