Legal Secretary II

Legal Secretary II

This is a limited continuous filing exam. Next filing cut-offs are at 5:00 pm on: 5/12/2026, 6/3/2026, 6/17/2026 (Final)

Under general supervision, a Legal Secretary II performs a wide variety of complex legal clerical work requiring independent judgment and discretion and is subject to minimal work direction and instruction. Positions allocated to this class frequently provide lead direction to other clerical staff. The range of duties typically involves performing work in multiple, unrelated areas of law and for several attorneys, and/or other staff. Incumbents may be required to use shorthand to perform some work assignments.

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
• Basic procedures of the court system regarding processing of legal documents and filing deadlines
• Basic structure of the civil and criminal court system
• General clerical office practices and procedures
• Basic organization of a law library
• Basic references for legal clerical work

Ability to:

• Perform difficult, complex legal clerical work with minimal supervision and instruction
• Independently and efficiently maintain records and files
• Operate standard office machines and equipment, such as typewriters, word processors, computer terminals, printers, tape recorders, copiers, and multi-line telephones
• Understand and apply oral and written rules, directions and instructions
• Provide lead direction to clerical staff
• Compose complex correspondence and legal documents from brief instructions and by extracting information from a variety of sources
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, other agency personnel and the public
• Communicate clearly and concisely orally and in writing

Minimum Qualifications:

Either:

1. One year of experience in Sacramento County service in the class of Legal Secretary I.

Or:

2. Two 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 semester 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.

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.

Probationary Period: The probationary period for this classification is six (6) months.