Paralegal Specialist, Grade N23

Paralegal Specialist

Montgomery County Council

The Montgomery County Council is seeking an outstanding professional who is dedicated to legal research to join the Council’s professional Central Staff Team!

The Council’s synergy of talent, resources and support makes the Council an ideal employer for individuals who are looking to innovate, work on a diverse range of issues and create blueprints for bold thinking. Council staffers work with elected leaders, community groups, subject-matter experts and residents on a wide range of issues such as budgeting, legislation and land use decisions. Join an organization with a commitment to meeting the dynamic needs of more than one million residents as we govern for today and plan for the future. Montgomery County, which shares a border with Washington, D.C., is one of the largest, most diverse counties in the United States. More than a quarter of its one million residents are foreign-born and speak over 100 languages. As one of the wealthiest counties in the country, it also holds the record for most post-graduate degrees per capita.

About the Position

This position requires the ability to communicate effectively and to establish and maintain effective working relationships. The Paralegal will assist the Legislative Attorneys by providing clerical and research support services, including researching the law in other jurisdictions, researching legislative history, reviewing documents and preparing them for final distribution to Councilmembers and the public, assisting with Public Information Act requests, and drafting contracts for final review by the Executive Director.

The ideal candidate for the Paralegal Specialist would demonstrate the ability to:

• Draft, review, and prepare legal documents, such as contracts and Public Information Act responses, under attorney supervision.
• Conduct thorough legal research to support the work of attorneys.
• Prepare procurement contracts for the Council, under the supervision of the Executive Director.
• Proofread, prepare, and review final staff reports for distribution to Councilmembers and the public.
• Assist with constituent communication, including drafting correspondences.
• Organize and manage electronic files.
• Handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism.

OHR reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position/IRC.

Montgomery County Government is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email to OHR@montgomerycountymd.gov. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

Montgomery County Government also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, please refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for interview.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.

Minimum Qualifications:

We are seeking a candidate with three (3) years of experience as a paralegal and graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.

Preferred Criteria:

The applications of those individuals meeting the minimum qualifications will be reviewed to determine the extent and relevancy of training and experience in the following areas:

• Experience reviewing and preparing legal work product, such as memoranda or contracts, under the supervision of an attorney.
• Experience conducting and assembling legal research, such as researching and compiling legislative history or the laws of other jurisdictions, in a usable format for attorneys.
• Experience using strong legal writing and communication skills.
• Experience collaborating with teams and working independently.
• Experience organizing complex tasks.
• Experience multi-tasking and meeting multiple deadlines.