Supervising Legal Secretary

The Position This is a continuous filing exam. Next filing cut-offs are at 5:00 pm on 7/8/26, 7/22/26 (final). The Supervising Legal Secretary performs a wide variety of specialized legal clerical and general clerical work which includes composing and typing legal documents and correspondence, processing of legal documents, and maintenance of legal case records; and may require the use of shorthand. Supervising Legal Secretary is characterized by supervisory responsibility for a clerical staff performing legal and general clerical work; supervision is exercised directly or though subordinate lead workers. This class is comparable to other clerical supervisory classes in the exercise of independent judgment and responsibility, but is differentiated from them by the requirement for a high level of skill in and knowledge of legal processes and procedures. A position in this class may also require the ability to perform Word Processing Control Operator duties. Examples of Knowledge and Abilities Knowledge of: Purpose, format and processing procedures of a wide variety of legal forms and documents Legal terminology, spelling and usage English grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage with emphasis on composition of both general business and legal correspondence Principles and practices of supervision and training Basic personnel policies and procedures of Sacramento County Procedures of the Superior, Municipal and other courts regarding processing of legal documents and filing deadlines Structure of the civil and criminal court system Standard resource material for legal clerical work General clerical office practices and procedures Basic organization of a law library. Ability to: Plan, organize and direct the work of others Train clerical staff, and participate in intra-and inter-department training Analyze situations accurately and implement an effective course of action with minimal direction Perform and direct the performance of a wide variety of difficult, complex legal clerical work independently and with minimum direction Understand, interpret and apply oral and written rules, directions and instructions Operate standard office machines and equipment, such as typewriters, word processors, computer terminals, printers, tape recorders, copiers, and multi-line telephones Train subordinate staff in the office-clerical applications of word processing and computer-related equipment Communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing Establish and maintain efficient and effective office procedures for recordkeeping, file systems, processing of legal documents, and other work performed by staff Establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers and other agency personnel, and the public. Employment Qualifications Minimum Qualifications Either: 1. One year of experience in Sacramento County service in the class of Legal Secretary II. OR 2. Two years of experience in Sacramento County service in the class of Legal Secretary I. OR 3. Three years of clerical experience involving the preparation and processing of legal documents for court action such as those described in the Examples of Duties. Education or training from an accredited college, business school, or training school that is directly related to the Knowledge and abilities specified for this class may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required experience (30 semesters units or 45 quarter units equal one year of experience.) Note: If the word "experience" is referenced in the minimum qualifications, it means full-time paid experience unless the minimum qualification states that volunteer experience is acceptable. Part-time paid experience may be accumulated and pro-rated to meet the total experience requirements. Note: If the minimum qualifications include an educational or certificate/license requirement, applicants must submit proof of requirements with the application. Failure to submit proof of requirements may result in disqualification from the examination. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. For guidelines on submitting acceptable proof of educational requirements, please click here (Download PDF reader) or speak to someone in our office before the cut-off date listed in this notice. Special Requirements 1. All positions in these classes require the ability to type from clear copy at the rate of 50 net words per minute. 2. Some positions in these classes may require taking oral dictation involving legal terminology. To be eligible for appointment to a "short-hand-required" position, the applicant must have the ability to take oral dictation, using any speedwriting method, at the rate of 100 words per minute and transcribe at the rate of 30 net words per minute. Where the oral dictation skill is required, it is used in performing the typical duties of the class as shown in the "Examples of Duties" above. The Civil Service Commission approved the use of selective certification for this special skill on March 7, 1985. WORD PROCESSING CONTROL OPERATOR CLAUSE: Some positions in this class require specific knowledge and abilities to perform the responsibilities of a Word Processing Control Operator for a large number of word processing users within and outside of their department. These include knowledge of word processing concepts and terminology; the ability to understand and apply the knowledge unique to the operating department; and communicate with users who have no technical word processing background. The Word Processing Control Operator differs from the responsibility of the monitoring of single user work areas by its level of independence and control of the word processing operating system and the fact that this responsibility comprises a significant part of the entire work assignment. The Word Processing Control Operator designation must be approved by the Department of Personnel Management from a classification and testing perspective on a position by position basis. Where required, these special skills may be used in performing such tasks as the following: 1. Assigned workspace, security conventions, print queues as needed. 2. Backs-up work spaces, archiving when appropriate. 3. Disables and enables work stations. 4. Diagnoses and corrects looping problems. 5. Acts as the resource for solution of day-to-day word processing operational problems with a wide variety of users. 6. Coordinates the training of new users or new product enhancements. 7. The Civil Service Commission approved the use of selective certification for the above special skills for Supervising Legal Secretary on August 22, 1985. Probationary Period The probationary period for this classification is six (6) months.