Legal Administrative Assistant I

Legal Administrative Assistant I

Under direction, the Legal Administrative Assistant I performs the more responsible, specialized, and technical office support work requiring advanced knowledge of legal terminology and legal clerical procedures; interprets, explains and implements the more complex rules, policies, and operations related to department records, programs, and services; and performs related work as required.

Incumbents act as lead worker to a group of legal office support staff and/or perform the more specialized and responsible legal office support work that requires detailed subject matter knowledge of legal terminology and procedures.

This position is assigned to the Children & Adult Services Division, Child Welfare Services (CWS) Program; and performs these duties specifically related to juvenile dependency court proceedings, child welfare case management, and compliance with state and federal regulations. The incumbent works closely with Social Workers, Supervisors, County Counsel, Superior Court personnel, law enforcement agencies, and community partners to ensure the timely preparation, filing, processing, and maintenance of legal documents and confidential records.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will have experience working in a legal, court, child welfare, social services, or governmental environment and will demonstrate strong organizational skills, attention to detail, professionalism, and the ability to manage multiple deadlines. Experience supporting dependency court processes and handling confidential records is highly desirable.

The Working Title for this position is Legal Administrative Assistant I; however, the classification being used to fill this position is Legal Clerk III. You will find additional information about this classification in the classification specification. Please click the link here for Class Specifications | Legal Clerk III | Class Spec Detail

DUTIES MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOWING:

• Instructs employees in the policies and procedures for completing and maintaining various legal documents, and in the interpretation and application of laws, regulations, policies, and procedures related to programs of the assigned department.
• Prioritizes and manages workload distribution.
• Acts as a technical resource on the more difficult problems or specialized issues.
• Monitors the quality and timeliness of unit work.
• Provides feedback to a supervisor as requested.
• Processes, maintains, and prepares a variety of legal forms, records, and reports; verifies that information or data is complete, accurate, consistent, and in conformance with prescribed format, procedures, and regulations.
• Researches, gathers, and reviews confidential information from agencies and processes documents related to assignments; communicates with affected parties to gather needed information and explain procedures.
• Determines acceptability of information and proper action to be taken based on established oral or written instructions.
• Contacts various agencies and organizations regarding the status of documents such as releases of liens, case settlements, etc.
• Receives, assembles, and maintains files and other information related to court actions; updates computer information; maintains court calendars by scheduling and reviewing court dates; files information or forwards to staff members.
• Files pleadings, orders, judgments, and a variety of other legal documents in the appropriate court.
• Identifies and corrects deletions or errors in accordance with prescribed format; follows up to secure additional information as needed.
• Produces a variety of legal documents including, but not limited to: Notices of Hearing, Subpoenas, Petitions, Dispositions, Dismissals, Monthly and Special Reviews, Warrants, and Special Orders in addition to letters, reports, and fiscal or statistical reports.
• Types from electronic recording devices; proofs typewritten materials for grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, format, layout, and clarity of language; may verify the consistency, completeness and accuracy of references and other information.
• Provides information based on knowledge and interpretation of policies and procedures; performs follow up on caller requests as needed.
• Logs reports from law enforcement agencies; searches manual and automated systems for prior offenses and other relevant information; receives and processes discovery requests and gathers information.
• Maintains information related to assignments by entering information into a manual or computerized data system; serves as a court liaison regarding assigned work activities and related matters.
• May attend court proceedings to take notes and/or enter narratives into a database; may produce and file documents as a result of court proceedings.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

KNOWLEDGE OF:

• Leadership and staff development techniques and practices.
• Modern office procedures, techniques, and equipment.
• Clerical and department work procedures, practices, specific rules, precedence, and regulations.
• Proper English grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation.
• Knowledge of legal terminology, phraseology, documents, and procedures.
• Business letter writing.
• Filing, indexing, and recording systems and procedures.

ABILITY TO:

• Lead and train subordinate employees effectively.
• Interpret and explain procedures to others.
• Exercise sound judgment when prioritizing, organizing, assigning, and monitoring workload.
• Understand and carry out oral and written instructions.
• Understand, interpret and apply laws, rules, and policies applicable to legal office procedures.
• Exercise independent judgment in determining and selecting the appropriate processes, alternatives, forms, and desired actions within the bounds of established work practices, procedures, and commonly used regulations.
• Prepare and maintain accurate and comprehensive reports and records.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Use discretion in organizing work and carrying out assignments with minimum supervision.

ADDITIONAL DESIRABLE EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

• Knowledge of juvenile dependency court processes and procedures.
• Knowledge of principles of confidentiality related to child welfare records.
• Knowledge of California Welfare and Institutions Code provisions applicable to Child Welfare Services.
• Knowledge of legal filing requirements and court deadlines.
• Knowledge of electronic case management and records systems.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail while working under strict legal deadlines.
• Ability to organize and prioritize multiple court related assignments.
• Ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with judicial officers, court personnel, County Counsel, social workers, and community partners.
• Ability to interpret and apply policies, procedures, and legal requirements related to child welfare operations.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

One (1) year of full-time experience as a Legal Clerk II; OR Three (3) years of full-time experience performing clerical work in a legal office environment.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• A valid driver's license may be required at the time of appointment and employees may also be required to drive their own car, provide proof of car insurance, and a DMV clearance. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to a disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• The San Benito County Health and Human Services Agency requires pre-employment fingerprinting as a part of the background investigation for all positions.
• Government agencies accessing US government information, which include federal tax information must ensure that background investigation requirements for all agency employees and contractors that have access to federal tax information are consistent to the IRS background investigation requirements for access to federal tax information. Background checks are required and must be repeated every 5 years. Background requirements consist of three components which include fingerprinting, citizenship verification and local law enforcement checks.

EXAMINATION INFORMATION

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EXAMINATION WEIGHTED 100% The Training & Experience Examination is designed to elicit a range of specific information regarding each candidate's knowledge, skill, abilities, and potential to effectively perform the duties relative to the classification. Responses to the questionnaire will be assessed based on pre-determined rating criteria. All applicants must complete the entire examination to receive a score. In order to obtain a position on the eligible list, candidates must receive a minimum rating of 70% on the examination. Examination administration and processing time is approximately two weeks after the closing date of the job bulletin.

If conditions warrant, an Experience and Education examination may be conducted in lieu of the Training and Experience examination. EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE EXAMINATION WEIGHTED 100% The Education & Experience