Legal Secretary 2 (OPEN & PROMOTIONAL)

Job Summary

This position will be scheduled to work 37.5 hours per week at the Spokane County Prosecutor's office.

The position allocated to this classification performs responsible and varied technical legal support activities for attorneys, judges and court commissioners. Positions are generally responsible for word processing of complex legal documents, public contact involving communicating legal information and responding to questions, reading correspondence and independently composing responses and other technical clerical support work in a legal office environment. Performance of duties requires considerable knowledge of legal terminology, and the process and procedures of the assigned department/division. This class is distinguished from the Legal Secretary 1 classification by a greater variety and complexity of duties, with an emphasis on the technical aspects of procedural law, department policy, court procedures and status of cases in progress. The Legal Secretary 2 exercises a higher level of initiative, independence, discretion and judgment in applying general guidelines to work situations, and/or determining detailed procedures for carrying out assignments and/or the flow and completion of assigned work within a section or unit. Supervision provided to this class is of a general nature, allowing considerable latitude for completing assignments. This class is distinguished from the Administrative Support Specialist series by the performance of technical legal clerical support work in a legal office environment and is distinguished from the Paralegal classification by focusing on procedural or administrative support work versus the Paralegal’s emphasis on research, analysis and/or direct involvement with case and trial preparation.

Examples of Duties

• Researches, establishes, maintains, codes, modifies, tracks and/or retrieves information and compiles data that may require information searches through legal files, contracts, records, microfilm or computer files including customized database applications; enters, obtains and/or verifies information obtained from legal documents following established clearly defined methods and court rules.
• Enters and retrieves case information using appropriate computer based data system; prepares reports requiring the extraction of database information.
• Performs counter and/or phone work providing information to the public; advising attorneys and other interested parties regarding the status of cases and legal procedures while maintaining security and confidentiality.
• Maintains legal files and case controls; extracts information from files; prepares legal forms and papers, prepares and reviews files; encodes or enters information into database for court dates and/or attorney records; processes and distributes court case files; provides electronic discovery reports and electronic media to opposing attorneys in a timely manner
• Researches, prepares and generates complex legal documents such as office forms, filings, briefs, motions, subpoenas, pleadings, sentencing paperwork, summons, arraignment letters, warrants, jury instructions, correspondence, reports and memorandum from minimal instructions and in support of assigned attorneys or judges; secures appropriate signatures, cause numbers and authorizations and mails or routes as designated.
• May prepare transcripts for higher level courts.
• Reviews files, case documents, and affidavits to detect completeness, timeliness and errors and provides information to attorneys; may research case files and prepare proposed court orders, including bond forfeiture orders; prepares jury instructions from drafts or research into similar cases.
• Enters and retrieves case information using appropriate computer based data system; prepares reports requiring the extraction of database information.
• May obtain and provide standardized information to/from parties; monitor and review status of cases; maintain contact with parties, attorneys and other individual and agencies concerned with specific cases.
• Assists attorneys in obtaining photos and/or evidence required for trial.
• Researches and calculates the number of probation violations/orders a defendant has had in order to determine the amount of sanction time.
• Prepare orders to include sanction days, violations and credit for time served.
• Prepares and/or files legal documents with clerks of the court or electronically as authorized; obtains required signatures and authorizations; where applicable, copies and/or delivers documents to the appropriate party(ies); maintains case files and records dates on which subsequent actions must occur.
• Maintains up to date calendaring information on individual cases to assist the attorneys in maintaining an accurate calendar of court hearings, witness interviews, client appointments, etc. Keeps the department database current with upcoming information on individual cases to assist the attorneys in maintaining an accurate court calendar.
• Performs other related duties as required/assigned.

Counsel for Defense (in addition to the general job functions listed above)

• Assists in preparation of department’s annual budget, assists with bi-weekly payroll entries, and accounts payable.

Prosecutor’s Office- Family Law Division (in addition to the general job functions listed above)

• Schedules and administers paternity testing, including generating and ensuring completion of all associated documents, performing swab tests, submitting tests to lab, tracking outcomes and taking appropriate action based upon results. Includes testing individuals incarcerated in County detention facilities, and coordinating activities involved in the testing of deceased parties.
• Maintains and archives office files, taking appropriate steps to properly manage Federal Tax Information (FTI) in the archival process. Labels and logs file location; coordinates with offsite storage vendor for pick up and delivery of stored files.

Minimum Requirements

• High School Diploma or GED equivalent.
• Three (3) years of administrative support experience, including one (1) year of legal support work in a law office or legal environment.
• A comparable amount of related coursework may be substituted for the required work experience.

Selection Factors

• Knowledge of legal terminology, legal and regulatory requirements, procedures and standard content of documents (including document formatting per court rules) and records as required by the position.
• Knowledge of general legal office practices and procedures.
• Knowledge of business English, grammar, punctuation, and spelling; word processing, database and presentation applications, including the knowledge of macros.
• Knowledge of the operation of general office equipment such as copiers, faxes, telephones, personal computers.
• Skilled in communicating effectively both orally and in writing, sufficient to exchange or convey information and to give and receive work direction.
• Skilled in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with co-workers, public officials, and the general public.
• Skilled in the use of personal computers and software needed to perform the job assignments.
• Skilled in digital document storage and transfer.
• Ability to accurately keyboard a minimum of 50 words per minute.
• Ability to deal appropriately with sensitive and/or potentially volatile situations.
• Ability to resolve conflict and problem solve using confidentiality, discretion, patience, empathy and professionalism.
• Ability to understand and apply legal guidelines and regulations to varied operational requirements.
• Ability to prepare complex legal documents and correspondence using appropriate formatting, terminology and references.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to accurately complete work within established timeframes.
• Ability to adhere to prescribed office routines, policies, procedures and directions.
• Ability to maintain a professional personal appearance and courteous attitude toward the public and fellow employees.