What are the responsibilities and job description for the Staff Attorney position at Comal County?
Under general supervision, the Staff Attorney performs duties and responsibilities for all District Judges, including legal research, drafting proposed entries, screening prisoner civil rights complaints and habeas petitions, reviewing motions, assisting in hearings and trials, and providing information to the public, bar, and pro se litigants.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Duties include the following:
- Performs legal research - searches resources and studies legal records/documents to obtain information applicable to the case or issues under consideration.
- Screens prisoner civil rights complaints and habeas petitions.
- Review motions to determine issues involved and bases for relief.
- Analyzes substantive laws, as well as evidentiary and procedural rules, as applied to individual cases.
- Presents facts and relevant case law to the Judges verbally and in writing in case-related matters.
- Communicates with attorneys and parties on behalf of the Court.
- May assist the District Judges during hearings and trials in the preparation of letter rulings, jury charges, Finding of Fact and Conclusions of Law, written orders, correspondence, and memoranda for and on behalf of the court.
- Other duties as assigned.
- Attendance is an essential function of the job.
Note: The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is assigned by the supervisor.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from a four-year College or university and a J.D. (law) degree are required. The individual should possess a working knowledge of child welfare, juvenile, and family law cases in the State of Texas.
Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from a four-year College or university and a J.D. (law) degree are required. The individual should possess a working knowledge of child welfare, juvenile, and family law cases in the State of Texas.
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS
The individual must have a Texas Law license.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
Knowledge of:
- Jurisprudence, criminal and civil law, and procedures, including constitutional and statutory law.
- Federal State, Local, and County applicable laws, rules, regulations, and guidelines.
- Methods and practices of pleading cases and effective techniques for presentation of court cases or to effectively present facts and precedents verbally and in writing in law-related matters.
- Policies, practices, procedures, and legal terminology related to the court system.
- Computer equipment including word processing, spreadsheets, databases, and a variety of software packages.
- Business letter writing, grammar, punctuation, and report preparation.
- Federal and state laws requiring confidential handling of certain health information.
Skill in:
- Problem-solving and decision-making.
- Analyzing and appraising facts, policies, procedures, and legal precedents around the specialty.
- Both verbal and written communication, including presentations.
Ability to:
- Conduct legal research and analysis, both manually and electronically.
- Present facts, precedents, and arguments verbally and in writing and apply negotiation skills.
- Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
- Work independently.
- Manage time well, perform multiple tasks, and organize diverse activities.
- Work under pressure and exercise tact in trying situations.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental clientele, representatives of outside agencies, other county employees and officials, and the public.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret the most complex documents. Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints. Ability to write speeches and articles using original or innovative techniques or styles. Ability to make effective and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.
MATHEMATICAL SKILLS
Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.
REASONING ABILITY
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
This is a sedentary position. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, walk, sit, and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use their hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.This is a sedentary position. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential duties of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to fumes or airborne particles. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Salary : $87,770 - $98,618
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