Legal Office Administrator

The Position The Legal Office Administrator reports directly to the General Counsel and supports the overall functions of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) by providing complex legal secretarial, administrative, budgetary, and office management support. This position will analyze, recommend, and implement improvements in the OGC's work processes, office practices, and administrative policies and procedures. The Legal Office Administrator must be able to lead, supervise, review the work of, and train legal secretarial and paralegal staff; manage special projects; oversee budget administration; and perform advanced legal support functions requiring independent decision‑making. Tasks require specialized knowledge and understanding of legal terms and procedures, including the preparation and processing of a wide variety of confidential information unique to the General Counsel's Office. Considerable latitude of judgment is exercised, under general guidelines, to initiate and complete complex assignments. Major responsibilities require initiative, independent judgment, critical thinking, and maintaining professional interactions with OGC staff, EBMUD personnel, and members of the public. Typical responsibilities may include: Organizing, scheduling, assigning, directing, reviewing, and evaluating the work of lead and journey‑level legal support staff engaged in complex legal and administrative support for the General Counsel's Office. Providing complex legal and administrative support directly to the General Counsel and OGC management, including compiling and preparing materials for meetings, responding independently to information requests from external organizations and EBMUD staff, and coordinating communications between the General Counsel and EBMUD management. Supervising and leading legal support staff; coordinating training; addressing performance deficiencies; assigning staff to attorneys; and ensuring adequate staffing levels for attorney support. Participating in recruitment and selection of legal support staff; reviewing employee performance; and establishing and maintaining work standards. Relieving the General Counsel of certain administrative duties, transmitting information and requests, following up as necessary, advising on pertinent matters, representing OGC on administrative issues as assigned, attending meetings, and assisting with special projects. Analyzing and providing information requiring independent judgment, knowledge, and interpretation of policies; organizing and maintaining administrative and confidential files; preparing records and reports per EBMUD procedures; researching, compiling, and summarizing materials for reports, correspondence, meetings, and presentations. Recommending, developing, and implementing workflow and office procedure improvements; evaluating staff efficiency; implementing office standards; assisting in departmental goals; and enforcing approved policies and procedures. Preparing budget projections, draft appropriation requests, and justifications; managing OGC's budget; monitoring expenditures; reviewing invoices, billing statements, and purchase orders; and overseeing payment processes. Maintaining the General Counsel's calendar; scheduling meetings; coordinating travel, accommodations, and conference registrations; and preparing expense authorizations and reimbursements. Receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls; assisting or directing callers as appropriate; and screening and routing mail with relevant attachments. Preparing correspondence and legal documents, including resolutions, ordinances, legal opinions, contracts, briefs, leases, agreements, confidential memoranda, and procedural manuals. Overseeing and maintaining the legal library; collaborating with the law librarian; assisting with computer research systems; negotiating vendor contracts; and indexing and filing legal documents. Overseeing purchase of office supplies and equipment; requisitioning materials and coordinating maintenance. Operating standard office equipment, legal document management systems, and software, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools to prepare reports, charts, and graphics using MS Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Researching, compiling, and analyzing data for special projects; reviewing departmental and interdepartmental operations; and evaluating administrative issues including policies, procedures, productivity, space planning, organizational structure, and facilities. Performing other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the General Counsel. The Legal Office Administrator must be able to organize and prioritize work effectively under time constraints despite frequent interruptions and be available to work overtime as needed. THE IDEAL CANDIDATE Typical ways of acquiring the required knowledge, skills, and abilities include any combination of education and experience that provides proficiency in the following areas: Business and legal office management practices and procedures, including organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work and balancing administrative support resources with competing needs. Manual and electronic record management and filing systems. Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, legal terminology, phraseology, and standard formatting used in preparing, editing, and proofreading reports, correspondence, and legal documents. Litigation procedures, legal records management methods, and techniques for filing, indexing, and cross‑referencing documents. Proper English usage, business letter writing, and communication practices. Supervision of support staff. Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations. Ability to read written materials and view computer monitors and communicate effectively in writing. Ability to orally communicate effectively in person and by phone. Ability to write and type at a rate of 50 words per minute from printed or rough draft copy, as well as from voice recordings, with accuracy. THE DISTRICT The East Bay Municipal Utility District supplies water and provides wastewater treatment for parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties in the Bay Area. Headquartered in Oakland, our mission is to provide reliable, high‑quality services for our customers, to exercise responsible stewardship over the natural resources with which we are entrusted, and to protect the environment for future generations. Our watershed encompasses a pure source high in the Sierra mountains and a number of local reservoirs offering serene, natural settings for both wildlife and recreation. The OGC values and strives to create a work environment that provides a work‑life balance and embodies the District's values of Respect, Teamwork, Integrity and Stewardship. It supports the implementation of EBMUD's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan. EBMUD offers a generous benefits package, a reasonable telecommuting policy, and the opportunity to participate in EBMUD Affinity Groups, including the Asian Pacific Employees Association, the Black Employee Network, Fuerza Latina, the Raining Pride Committee, the Disability Advocacy and Rights Team and the Women's Employee Resource Opportunity and Collaboration Community. Flexible/hybrid work from home schedule may be available for some positions in this job classification. The salary range is $11,310 per month increasing to $11,876, $12,470, and $13,094 after 6, 18, and 30 months, respectively. EBMUD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender, gender identity (including transgender status), gender expression, marital or registered domestic partnership status, age for individuals age forty or older, national origin, ancestry, disability (mental or physical), medical condition (cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, sexual orientation, military and veterans status, family or medical leave status, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation or related medical condition), pregnancy disability leave status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and other categories protected by federal, state and/or local laws. Requirements Graduation from high school or its equivalent, supplemented by college level coursework; and One (1) year of experience supervising legal support staff and performing law office management duties; or Four (4) years of experience in the Office of General Counsel or an external law office, equivalent to EBMUD's classifications of Legal Assistant II, Litigation Assistant, and/or Paralegal. Must possess the physical characteristics to perform the critical and important duties of the classification, including the ability to sit for extended periods of time and lift office materials weighing up to 30 pounds. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered. To be considered under the "equivalent combination of education and experience" provision, it is your responsibility to include in your application materials written evidence of employment performed at the level of the typical duties of this position and/or coursework in subject areas directly related to this position. For more information, see our FAQ page at #J-18808-Ljbffr