Legal Assistant II (Contract)

The City of San Luis Obispo has an opening for a contract Legal Assistant II. The assignment is expected to last about 18 months. 

JOB SUMMARY: 

Performs a variety of routine, fiscal, and confidential clerical and administrative duties in support of the City Attorney’s Office; acts as receptionist, responding to requests for information from City elected officials, staff, various governmental agencies, private citizens, and community organizations; arranges appointments, meetings, training and conferences; types and prepares documents from rough drafts; may deliver, retrieve, or file court documents and calculate and calendar court filing deadlines and appearances; performs legal and administrative support work as assigned.

CLASS CHARACTERISTICS: 

Legal Assistant II (Confidential) is the journey-level classification in the Legal Assistant series, capable of performing a wide variety of administrative and legal support duties requiring knowledge of the preparation and processing requirements of legal documents, legal terminology, basic legal principles, civil and criminal procedures, sources of law, and the court system. Responsibilities include performing work independently in day-to-day situations, although supervision is available in difficult or unusual situations. Assignments are more varied and are performed with greater independence than those of the Legal Assistant I and may have technical aspects requiring the interpretation and application of departmental policies and procedures. The class series is distinguished from the Administrative Assistant class series by the knowledge of legal practices and procedures, and skill in exercising independent judgment in reviewing documents and responding to sensitive and critical questions regarding legal issues.

 

SUPERVISION

 

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED:

This class receives general supervision from a Legal Analyst under the legal review of the City Attorney. No direct supervision is provided; however, direction, work instruction, and/or review may be provided to less experienced, part-time, or volunteer/intern staff on a project basis.

 

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

 

EXAMPLE OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

(Any one position may not include all of the duties listed, nor do the listed examples include all tasks that may be found in positions of this class.)

• Performs a variety of routine administrative tasks and confidential secretarial and clerical duties for the City Attorney’s Office.
• Drafts routine legal documents, and types and prepares contracts, documents, reports, and correspondence for attorney review from prior materials, drafts, notes, or brief instructions using computer programs.
• Performs limited legal research under the supervision of an attorney accessing a variety of sources such as statutes, ordinances, court decisions, legal documents, and articles to compile supportive materials for inclusion in documents for attorney review.
• Composes documents at own initiative, and from brief oral and written instructions.
• Reviews legal documents for form and completeness, including proofreading and cite checking.
• Reviews documents, memos, and letters for proper format, grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Processes filing of litigation and other legal forms; compiles exhibits and proofs of service.
• Maintains law library and legal publications, updating existing materials as needed.
• Recognizes and solves simple issues and problems in situations that may require the use of tact, independent judgment, and skill in resolving conflicts; reports issues to supervisor when too complex.
• Completes timely check-ins with supervisor as needed for direction and for disclosure of pertinent, high-profile, or otherwise important information.
• Maintains a calendar and coordinates the appointments, meetings, and conferences of the City Attorney and other department staff, and makes travel arrangements as required.
• Attends to a variety of office administrative details, such as keeping informed of departmental activities, transmitting information, attending meetings, and serving on various task forces and committees.
• Enters, edits, updates, and retrieves data from a variety of narrative reports or spreadsheets and prepares periodic and special reports following established formats and timelines; may create new spreadsheet or narrative reports on a project basis.
• Organizes and maintains various administrative, confidential, reference, and follow-up files; purges files as required.
• Operates standard office equipment, including job-related computer hardware and software applications, or other department-specific equipment.
• Acts as receptionist, receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls, dealing tactfully with the public and responding to complaints and requests for information on regulations or procedures, or directing inquiries to appropriate staff member.
• Provides a high level of customer service to both external and internal customers; responds to requests for information from City staff, other organizations, and the public, requiring the use of judgment and the interpretation of policies, rules, procedures, and ordinances.
• Directs the work of and provides limited training to less experienced, part-time, or volunteer/intern staff on a project basis.
• Acts as a resource to the City Attorney and other department staff.
• Participates in general functions in support of the department’s goals and objectives.
• May deliver, retrieve, or file court documents.
• Performs related duties similar to the above in scope and function as required.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES:

Knowledge of:

• Principles of legal ethics, including but not limited to the attorney-client relationship and communications, work product, privilege, and confidentiality.
• Basic organization and function of public agencies, including the role of an elected City Council and appointed boards, commissions, and committees, and the role of a City Attorney.
• Basic legal concepts, principles, terminology, and procedures.
• General legal reference materials.
• Standard legal office practices and procedures, including legal filing systems and standard office equipment.
• Business letter writing and the standard format for reports and correspondence.
• Computer applications related to the work assigned, including website applications for legal research, and word processing, database management, and spreadsheets
• Records management and filing principles and practices.
• Business arithmetic and basic statistical techniques.
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service to the public, the community, and City staff, in person and over the telephone.
• Digital presentation preparation, utilizing the Microsoft Office suite.

Ability to:

• Understand statutes, court decisions, ordinances, resolutions, and legal documents.
• Exercise independent judgment, tact, and discretion in the completion of varied and responsible office administrative work within established policy and procedural guidelines.
• Analyze and resolve office administrative and procedural problems.
• Compose correspondence and reports independently or from brief instructions.
• Make accurate arithmetic and statistical calculations.
• Communicate effectively in person, over the telephone, and in writing.
• Direct and review the work of temporary staff on a project basis.
• Use specialized software related to legal research, database management, graphics, and publication production.
• Develop effective team relationships with elected and appointed officials and City staff at all levels.
• Organize own work, setting priorities, working independently on a day-to-day basis, meeting critical deadlines, and balancing multiple objectives.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work, including diverse internal and external customers.
• Work in a team atmosphere and participate on a variety of departmental and City-wide committees to enhance the provision of all City services.
• Work with diverse populations and maintain an inclusive environment.
• Work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer.
• Lift and carry twenty pounds.
• Read printed materials and a computer screen.

 

TYPICAL QUALIFICATIONS

 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

Equivalent to graduation from high school and one year of college coursework (30 semester units or 45 quarter units) in law, criminal justice, legal administration, paralegal studies, state or local government, or related field or current enrollment in an accredited paralegal program;

and

Two years of office, administrative or general secretarial experience, in a legal office setting, with at least one year of experience at a level equivalent to the City’s class of Legal Assistant I;

or 

An equivalent combination of education and experience.

An Associate’s degree is preferred.

POSSESSION AND MAINTENANCE OF:

• A valid California class C driver’s license and a satisfactory driving record.

 

THIS POSITION WILL BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING BEFORE A FINAL OFFER IS MADE:

• Livescan Fingerprinting (DOJ & FBI)

 

 

 

Job Opportunities | City of San Luis Obispo (governmentjobs.com)