Legal Assistant I/II

Legal Assistant I: $18.39 - $22.35 /hr.
Legal Assistant II: $20.32 - $24.70 /hr.

Under general supervision, performs a variety of administrative, secretarial, and office support duties of considerable complexity requiring thorough knowledge of a legal department, its procedures, and operational details; provides administrative support to management and departmental staff; composes and prepares correspondence using considerable judgment in content and style; performs skilled word processing, data entry, and typing; provides information to the public and staff requiring knowledge of department services, policies, and procedures; provides assistance for a wide variety of confidential assignments; and performs related work as required.
 
SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED
 
Receives general supervision from assigned managerial or supervisory staff.  Exercises no supervision of staff.  May provide training to less experienced staff.
 
CLASS CHARACTERISTICS
 
Legal Assistant I: This is the entry level in this series.  Initially under close supervision, incumbents learn and perform a variety of support duties related to the preparation, processing and handling of legal cases and related records.  
 
Legal Assistant II: This is the journey-level in the  series   Incumbent will perform the full range of assigned duties to support attorneys and the successful handling of legal cases.  Employees at this level are required to be fully trained in all procedures related to the assigned area(s) of responsibility, working with a high degree of independent judgment, tact, and initiative.  This class is distinguished from other administrative support classes, which may also provide office support in a legal setting, by the criticality and difficulty of the work performed and its impact on the successful handling of cases.
 
The positions in the Legal Assistant class series are flexibly staffed and positions at the II level are normally filled by advancement from the I level requiring two (2) additional years of experience and after gaining the knowledge, skill, and experience which meet the qualifications for and after demonstrating the ability to perform the work of the higher-level class.  (Illustrative Only)
Management reserves the right to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job.
 
Legal Assistant I/II

• Provides administrative support to a legal department by assisting with duties of a complex and confidential nature related to County legal activities; acts as a liaison between the department and other staff or the public, coordinating resolutions when appropriate.
• Screens calls, visitors, and incoming mail; provides information to the public by phone or in person requiring an understanding of department services and County policies and procedures; listens to questions and interprets and applies regulations, policies, procedures, systems, rules, and precedents according to existing guidelines; responds to citizen and staff inquiries and complaints; refers citizens to the appropriate department source; coordinates or resolves problems of a moderate nature when appropriate.
• Tracks and maintains litigation calendars, including recording follow-up trial dates, action dates, and disposition of cases; schedules and confirms dates for preliminary hearings, trials, arraignments and other actions with court calendaring staff; enters calendaring information into central calendar book and notifies involved parties of court dates.
• Verifies and reviews forms and reports for completeness and conformance with established regulations and procedures; applies departmental and program policies and procedures in determining completeness of applications, records, and files.
• Researches case materials, laws / codes / statutes, legal opinions, prior judgments and other resources to obtain information to support assigned legal cases.
• Requests certified copies of legal documents and case records from other jurisdictions.
• Reviews attorney’s notes and determines and implements required actions, such as calendaring.
• Receives requests for information; releases information to the public, attorneys and defendants according to established guidelines; maintains logs of discovery materials provided.
• Provides information on case status to law enforcement agencies as requested.
• Types and may compose, copies, files and/or transmits various documents, which may include but are not limited to subpoenas, affidavits, search warrants, declarations, summonses, complaints, removal orders, petitions, legal motions, pleadings, and other critical legal documents; types attorney’s file memos.
• Receives and screens legal documents for required actions; distributes and retrieves to and from appropriate courts, agencies or individuals; obtains signatures and/or ensures proof of service; ensures that appropriate documents are filed to case files.
• Prepares witness lists, voir dires, jury instructions and verdict forms for jury trials.
• Establishes, maintains, controls and closes out case files; ensures proper sign-out of materials.
• Develops and implements file, index, tracking, and record-keeping systems; maintains law library materials and ordinance code records; researches records within areas of assigned responsibility to prepare reports and provide follow-up information to customer and staff inquiries.
• Prepares billing invoices
• Maintains log of bail forfeiture; prepares and files with court legal documents to obtain monies forfeited; contacts surety companies for payment.
• Obtains fingerprint impressions as required.
• Communicates with other County staff, court personnel, officials, staff of other agencies, and the general public as appropriate to obtain and relay information including maintaining the department website; schedule appointments, and coordinate activities.
• Composes, types, edits, and proofreads a variety of complex documents, including forms, memos, legal documents, agreements, ordinances, real property documents, administrative, statistical, and staff reports, and correspondence for department staff from rough draft, dictation equipment, handwritten copy, verbal instructions, or from other material; inputs and retrieves data and text using a computer terminal; checks draft documents for punctuation, spelling, and grammar; makes or suggests corrections to drafts.
• Attends various meetings and training as required.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:
 
Legal Assistant I/II

• Legal terminology and formats for preparing legal documents.
• Procedures, methods, and practices involved in composing, processing, typing, formatting, and filing a variety of legal documents.
• Techniques and sources for researching legal codes and rulings.
• Basic functional responsibilities of criminal justice agencies. 
• Business letter writing and the standard format for reports and correspondence.
• Principles and practices of data collection and report preparation.
• Business mathematics and basic statistical techniques.
• Record-keeping principles and procedures.
• Modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment and applications related to the work.
• English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation. 
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and County staff.

Ability to:
 
Legal Assistant I/II:

• Maintain confidentiality and be discreet in handling and processing confidential information and data.
• Interpret, apply, explain, and ensure compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Perform responsible administrative and secretarial support work with accuracy, speed, and general supervision.
• Respond to and effectively prioritize multiple phone calls and other requests for service.
• Compose legal documents, correspondence, and reports independently or from brief instructions.
• Make accurate mathematical, financial, and statistical computations.
• Enter and retrieve data from a computer with sufficient speed and accuracy to perform assigned work.
• Establish and maintain a variety of filing, record-keeping, and tracking systems.
• Operate modern office equipment including computer equipment and specialized software applications programs.
• Use English effectively to communicate in person, over the telephone, and in writing.
• Use tact, initiative, prudence, and independent judgment within general policy and legal guidelines in politically sensitive situations.
• Establish, maintain, and foster positive and effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

 
Education and Experience:
Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying.  A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be

Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth (12^th) grade supplemented by specialized coursework in legal terminology and document format
 
Legal Assistant I:  Two years of responsible legal clerical experience.
 
Legal Assistant II:  Four (4) years of responsible legal clerical experience, or two (2) years equivalent to that of a Legal Assistant I in Tuolumne County.
 
Licenses and Certifications:
 

• Must possess a California driver's license and have a satisfactory driving record.

 
Successful candidates in this position will have:

Technical/Hard Skills

• Microsoft Office
• Time Management
• Attention to Detail
• Organizational Aptitude
• Data Entry
• Recordkeeping

Interpersonal/Soft Skills

• Coachability
• Flexibility
• Approachability
• Excellent Communicator
• Self-Directed
• Collaboration

Salary : $38,251 - $51,376