Legal Secretary

JOB SUMMARY
This position is responsible for providing administrative support to the City Attorney and Deputy City Attorney while maintaining the day-to-day functions of the City's Legal Department. The Legal Secretary is the main point of contact for the department and regularly interacts with members of the public, litigants, attorneys, judges, and public safety personnel. With consideration of the duties assigned to this position, the Legal Secretary must be capable of maintaining strict confidentiality of privileged documents and information as well as compliance with privacy laws and regulations. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
Examples listed below are representative of assignments performed by this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.

• Manage the department's support and activities for the City's Vehicle Impound and Forfeiture program. Involves communicating with the City staff; entering vehicle and driver information into databases; filing and tracking civil complaints with the court; calculating fees due for vehicle release; communicating and interacting with vehicle owners, insurance companies, and others; supporting vehicle inventory tracking; and helping to prepare paperwork in support of periodic vehicle auctions.
• Professionally communicate in-person, via email and mail, and over the phone with members of the public and others who conduct business with the City Attorney's Office. Communication includes contacting and interviewing witnesses and coordinating witnesses for civil and criminal trials. Involves significant contact with police departments and court system.
• Prepare purchase orders for the department, engage with contractors and others for services in support of departmental activities (ex. arranging service of legal documents, arranging and coordinating IT and work orders, maintaining library resources and subscription services), track spending and assist the City Attorney in departmental budget activities.
• In preparation for filing, review pleadings, stipulations, motions, memoranda, orders, opinions, and related material involving technical and legal terminology. Prepare routine legal forms necessary for filing cases in state and federal court; at the direction of the City Attorney, use official electronic filing systems to file case documents with the court.
• Maintain files, documents, and records for criminal prosecutions, civil cases, and other department business in an acceptable manner. Assist in record retrieval for research, public record requests, and to support other departmental needs. Assist in record archiving and proper destruction. This job function includes both paper and electronic records management. Activities involve confidential records requiring secure record management.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
These factors will be the basis for selecting qualified candidates to be interviewed. Candidates hired must satisfactorily demonstrate these factors during a prescribed probationary period for continued employment:

• Knowledge of modern general and secretarial office procedures, as well as specialized legal secretarial skills necessary for the performance of duties within the office of an attorney.
• Ability to operate general office equipment including personal computers, multi-line phone systems, and copying machines.
• Familiarity with legal terminology, legal formatting, and routine legal forms.
• Ability to perform typing and accounting at an acceptable level as required by the position.
• Ability to set up and maintain effective filing systems.
• Ability to work independently in accordance with established procedures on routine assignments with minimal oversight.
• Ability to interact with the public (including both victims of crime and criminal defendants) in a pleasant, tactful, and courteous manner.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with supervisors, co-workers, public and private officials, and the general public.
• Proficiency in use of Windows Operating System and Microsoft Office products including Word, Outlook, and Excel.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality of privileged documents and information as well as compliance with privacy laws and regulations.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Persons applying for this position must meet the following criteria:

• Three years secretarial experience, including a minimum of one year as a Legal Secretary.
• Proficiency in English language business-level language requirements. Applicants will be required to take a City issued language proficiency test as part of the hiring process.
• Proficiency in the use of general office equipment.
• A minimum typing speed of 40 words per minute with a maximum of 5 errors. Applicants will be required to take a City issued typing test as part of the hiring process.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Ability to lift 20 pounds and transport 20 feet.
• Ability to make and receive phone calls.
• Visual stamina and acuity adequate to review alpha/numeric data and spend long periods looking at computer screen.
• Ability to operate basic office machines such as copy machine, computer, calculator, and fax machine etc.
• Hand and eye coordination adequate to input computer data and operate various office equipment.
• Ability to sit and be attentive for extended periods of time.
• Work is performed in a comfortable office environment, which is appropriately lighted, heated and cooled. The work environment contains no significant hazards.

Employment Type: Full-time