Legal Secretary I/II

Legal Secretary I/II

Perform complex legal secretarial and clerical duties in support of attorneys which involve active and extensive public interests and contact with other public agencies; and perform related work as required.

The ideal candidate will have a calm, positive, and professional demeanor while providing exceptional customer service simultaneously to a diverse group of attorneys, co-workers, and the public. A high level of attention to detail, accelerated multi-tasking abilities and organizational skills including the ability to manage competing priorities are essential to this position. This individual must be comfortable in a fast-paced legal environment with high stress deadlines.

Examples Of Essential Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Legal Secretary I: Learns and performs the less complex legal secretarial and clerical duties; may perform routine administrative duties; composes routine memoranda, contracts, resolutions, ordinances and letters; maintains Law Library; prepares legal forms necessary for filing cases before court, including briefs, motions and orders, warrants, citations, complaints, subpoenas, petitions and resolutions; answers correspondence; maintains calendar and schedules appointments for the attorneys to which they are assigned; answers the telephone and interviews callers, exercises considerable judgment in giving out information and referring to the proper person; makes travel arrangements; installs and maintains filing systems; opens, sorts and distributes mail; operates a variety of modern office appliances; prepares conference rooms for meetings; may be called to court to assist attorneys in trial; may be called to assist in secretarial and/or clerical positions within the office; perform other legal secretarial and clerical duties as assigned.

Legal Secretary II: Performs more complex legal secretarial and clerical duties; may perform routine administrative duties; composes routine memoranda, contracts, resolutions, ordinances and letters; maintains Law Library; exercises independence in preparation of legal forms necessary for filing cases before court, including briefs, motions and orders, warrants, citations, complaints, subpoenas, petitions and resolutions; answers correspondence independently; maintains calendar and schedules appointments for the attorneys to which they are assigned; answers the telephone and interviews callers, exercising considerable judgment in giving out information and referring to the proper person; makes travel arrangements; installs and maintains filing systems; prepares a variety of bills and invoices; opens, sorts and distributes mail; operates a variety of modern office appliances and orders office supplies as necessary; prepares conference rooms for meetings; may act as lead worker and provide direction, training and support to other clerical staff; may be called to court to assist attorneys in trial; may be called to assist in secretarial and/or clerical positions within the office; perform other legal secretarial and clerical duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Any combination of education and experience sufficient to directly demonstrate possession and application of the following:

Legal Secretary I: Knowledge of office practices and procedures; style/format of business correspondence, punctuation, spelling, and general English usage; modern office practices, procedures, and equipment; filing and recordkeeping methods; and modern office equipment. Ability to perform legal secretarial and clerical duties; learn civil, criminal, juvenile, domestic, probate, family, and other statutes governing the District Attorney, Public Defender and Health and Human Services Agency; learn the operations and procedures of the District Attorney, Public Defender and Health and Human Services Agency; learn the legal terminology, forms and formatting used in the District Attorney, Public Defender and Health and Human Services Agency; organize work effectively to meet critical administrative deadlines; determine office priorities; meet deadlines and respond to office emergencies; interpret and apply specific policies and procedures; compose correspondence; and establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Legal Secretary II: Knowledge of civil, criminal, juvenile, domestic, probate, family, and other statutes governing the District Attorney, Public Defender and Health and Human Services Agency; operations and procedures of the District Attorney, Public Defender and Health and Human Services Agency; legal terminology, forms and formatting used in the District Attorney, Public Defender and Health and Human Services Agency; office practices and procedures; style/format of business correspondence, punctuation, spelling, and general English usage; modern office practices, procedures, and equipment; filing and recordkeeping methods; and modern office equipment. Ability to perform complex legal secretarial and clerical duties; organize work effectively to meet critical administrative deadlines; determine office priorities; meet deadlines and respond to office emergencies; interpret and apply specific policies and procedures; compose correspondence independently; act as a lead worker and provide direction, training and feedback to other clerical staff; and establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Minimum Qualifications It is the responsibility of applicants to identify in their application materials how they meet the minimum qualifications listed below.

Legal Secretary I: One (1) year of clerical experience preparing a wide variety of legal documents; OR Three (3) years of responsible clerical experience in an office environment.

Legal Secretary II: Two (2) years of full-time experience comparable to that of Legal Secretary I with Shasta County.

Supplemental Questions Responses to the following must be submitted with a completed application.

1. Do you possess one (1) year of clerical experience preparing a wide variety of legal documents? Yes / No If "Yes," please provide details including, but not limited to, employers, dates of employment, and job duties. If "No," type N/A.
2. Do you possess three (3) years of responsible clerical experience in an office environment? Yes / No If "Yes," please provide details including, but not limited to, employers, dates of employment, and job duties. If "No," type N/A.
3. Do you possess two (2) years of full-time experience comparable to that of a Legal Secretary I with Shasta County? Yes / No If "Yes," please provide details including, but not limited to, employers, dates of employment, and job duties. If "No," type N/A.
4. This position is in an office that works closely with attorneys assigned to handle criminal matters. Do you understand that some tasks required in this role may involve reading police reports, hearing stories about criminal acts, exposure to graphic materials, and speaking with defendants, witnesses, and victims on the phone or in person? Yes / No

Physical Demands And Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Other Considerations

• All new employees are required to have their paycheck directly deposited to a bank account.
• Some positions may require a valid California driver's license and acceptable driving record according to County policy.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made for those persons who are disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act to perform the essential functions of the position.
• As part of the selection process, all individuals provided with a preliminary offer of employment with Shasta County will be subject to a background investigation, including a criminal history check (primarily completed through the taking of fingerprints). An image of your fingerprints will be captured and sent to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The resulting report of your conviction history, (if any), will be evaluated along with the other information received in connection with your application. Except as otherwise required by law, a criminal conviction will not necessarily disqualify you from the position. The nature of the offense, the date of the offense, the surrounding circumstances, and the relevance of the offense to the position applied for may, however, be considered.
• Based on the results of the background investigation and criminal history check, applicants may then be provided with an offer of employment conditioned on the results of a medical examination, which includes drug/alcohol testing.

• Shasta County participates in E-Verify. For more information visit DOJ Right to Work Poster (Download PDF reader). If you do not have internet access, contact Personnel at View phone number on click.appcast.io to request a flyer.

• In accordance with Government Code Section 3100, County employees, in the event of a disaster are considered disaster workers and may be asked to respond accordingly.