Paralegal 3

Job Description What You Will Be Doing This position provides paralegal support to attorneys in the Agency’s Civil section of the Anchorage office and supervises the support staff two paralegals and one law office assistant. Our attorneys in this section represent individuals in all phases of litigation in child in need of aid and commitment cases; this section also handles other case types with significant mental health issues. This position is responsible for assisting attorneys in organizing and managing cases, providing direct client assistance, and utilizing the internal case management system to draft letters and pleadings among other duties. Our Organization, Mission, and Culture The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel in many types of cases and the Public Defender Agency is appointed by the Court to represent people who are unable to afford counsel on their own. Paralegals are an integral part of providing that representation and protecting our clients' rights. They work closely with attorneys and other Agency staff to complete conflict of interest analysis to ensure that Agency representation of individual clients is and remains conflict-free. They will make recommendations to withdraw from representation where they determine a conflict of interest exists. This position is essential to the success of the division by providing advanced legal analysis and managing the success of the team. The Benefits of Joining Our Team Support staff at the Public Defender Agency have the opportunity to learn about the legal system and hone their administrative skills to further their career development in the legal field. Most importantly, they get to do this while working as a team to provide meaningful contributions to Alaska, as the work we do impacts people’s lives and protects the constitutional rights of all Alaskans. This important work helps improve case outcomes for individuals charged with crimes, helps re‑unify families, and provides the foundation for successful re-entry into communities. Many paralegals use the skills and experience they gain to transition to investigative and administrative management positions within the Agency, the State of Alaska, or the private sector. Your first 12 months in the Agency are probationary and considered a training period, with formal and on-the-job training with your supervisor and your colleagues. The Working Environment You Can Expect The office is located in downtown Anchorage near the Nesbett and Boney courthouses, with parking provided. The hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM with an hour lunch at noon. The position interacts closely with attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and law office assistants across the state, and court system staff. Minimum Qualifications This job class uses competency-based minimum qualifications. Competency Description The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations instead of specific tasks and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to meet the competency successfully, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation. Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in: Law: Knowledge of State and federal laws, including legal and court procedures, regulations, guidelines, precedents, admissibility of evidence, case preparation, and/or settlements for applicable areas of law practiced or supported. Leadership : Influences, motivates, and challenges others; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations. Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process. Reasoning: Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions. Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues. Equivalent to those typically gained by: Post‑secondary and/or vocational education in a legal, paralegal, criminal justice, or similar legal support area and/or progressively responsible experience providing a variety of paraprofessional legal support in either the legal, law enforcement, or social service field. Special Note (All Levels): Positions may require incumbents to be able to obtain a Notary Public upon hire, and to be able to pass a criminal background check to meet security requirements for using criminal record networks such as Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) and National Crime Enforcement Information Center/National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NCIC/NLETS). If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement. Some positions are required to work regular overtime during the standard workweek, on weekends, and/or holidays to provide support to the assigned duty attorney. If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement. “Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation. “Paraprofessional” work is typically associated with and supportive of a professional field. It involves extensive practical knowledge gained through experience and/or specific formal or on‑the‑job training. Work in these occupations may involve substantial elements of the work of the professional or administrative field, but requires less than full knowledge of the field involved. “Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility. “Technical” means performing tasks, methods, procedures and computations that are covered by established precedents or guidelines and often require a high degree of skill, care, and precision. “Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on‑line, self‑study, and on‑the‑job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long‑duration (such as a post‑secondary degree) and short‑duration (such as a seminar) programs. “Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job. Additional Required Information #J-18808-Ljbffr