Attorney - Reference Services Supervisor

Job Summary

The Travis County Law Library seeks an attorney with legal aid experience to improve access to justice for Travis County residents. This position supervises the Law Library Reference Services Program and reference librarians while providing direct legal information to the public. Our patrons are primarily self-represented individuals from lower-income households who come to us needing clear, practical legal information. This role is best suited to an attorney grounded in public service law who can translate civil legal information and procedures into plain, actionable steps

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS:

This is the third in a series of seven attorney-related job classifications within the Attorneys job family. This classification handles cases and matters that are the least complex and may result in the least serious consequences without supervision and handles cases and matters that are moderately complex and may result in moderately severe consequences with supervision.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Provides direct supervision to reference librarians and ensures that staff are properly trained to perform their duties.
• As part of the reference team, provides excellent customer service and legal reference to patrons in person and via phone and email. Assists patrons with legal research databases and other Law Library resources.
• Performs legal research. Searches resources and studies legal records and documents to obtain information applicable to case or issue under consideration.
• Presents programs, creates research guides and other helpful resources for patrons and Law Library staff, and conducts training on Law Library resources and services.
• Explains court procedures, filing requirements, deadlines, and next steps in plain language appropriate to patrons with varying literacy levels.
• Responsible for acquiring new skills and communicating knowledge with staff and patrons. Provides legal information and procedural guidance in high-demand practice areas, including landlord-tenant law (evictions, repairs, deposits), divorce, and family law matters such as custody, child support, and parental rights (SAPCR, termination, modification).
• Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with coworkers, courts, legal aid providers and community organizations.
• Collaborates effectively with other programs within the Law Library and with stakeholders to build relationships and resources that improve Reference Services and promote the Law Library.
• Plans and conducts legal clinics, workshops, and community outreach events in coordination with legal aid organizations, the courts, and community partners.
• Cultivates a welcoming, respectful atmosphere for patrons and a collegial, collaborative environment for staff.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Requirements

Education and Experience:
J.D./LL.B. from an accredited law school AND three (3) years licensed attorney work experience.

Licenses, Registrations, Certifications, or Special Requirements:
Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas.

Preferred:
Spanish Fluency
Legal aid, legal services, or public interest law experience

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Jurisprudence, criminal and civil law and procedures, including constitutional and statutory law.
• Federal, State, Local and County applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines.
• Methods and practices of pleading cases and of effective techniques for presentation of cases in court or to effectively present facts and precedents verbally and in writing in law related matters.
• Policies, practices, procedures and legal terminology related to court system.
• Computer equipment to include word processing, spreadsheets, databases and a variety of software packages.
• Business letter writing, grammar and punctuation, and report preparation.

• Problem-solving and decision-making.
• Analyzing and appraising facts, policies, procedures and legal precedents in area of specialty.
• Both verbal and written communication, including presentations.

• Conduct legal research and analysis, both manually and electronically.
• Present facts, precedents and arguments verbally and in writing and apply negotiation skills.
• Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Work independently.
• Manage time well and perform multiple tasks, and organize diverse activities.
• Work well under pressure and exercise tact in trying situations.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental clientele, representatives of outside agencies, other County employees and officials, and the general public.

Work Environment & Other Information

Physical requirements include the ability to lift/carry up to 25 pounds occasionally, visual acuity, speech and hearing, hand and eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate a computer and office equipment. Subject to standing, walking, sitting, repetitive motion, reaching, climbing stairs, bending, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, pushing, pulling, balancing, client/customer contact, squatting to perform the essential functions.

Travis County employees play an important role in business continuity. As such, employees can be assigned to business continuity efforts outside of normal job functions.

Work Hours: Monday - Friday 8 am - 5 pm

Department: Community Legal Services

Location: Travis County Law Library, 1700 Guadalupe street, Austin, TX 78701

Criminal Background Check Required.

For updates or questions about this posting, contact: lisa.rush@traviscountytx.gov

This job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The essential duties, functions and responsibilities and overtime eligibility may vary based on the specific tasks assigned to the position.