Job Description
Legal Office Assistant I/II perform a variety of routine to moderately difficult legal office support duties and activities in County criminal justice departments such as the District Attorney's Office, Probation Department and Sheriff's Office; create and type legal and confidential correspondence, records, documents and forms; proofread typed legal material for accuracy, completeness and correct English usage, grammar, spelling and punctuation; enter, edit and retrieve legal data in computer systems; perform basic arithmetic calculations; collect and consolidate legal material from several sources; create, maintain and purge legal office files; perform routine office support activities such as taking messages from telephone callers and visitors, giving directions and instructions, responding to questions; providing general information, filing, photocopying, distributing mail and ordering supplies; and serve as a back-up for clerical co-workers who are absent from the office. **DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Legal Office Assistant I** is the entry level class of this legal office support series. Initially under close supervision, incumbents learn general and legal office and County procedures. As experience is gained, there is greater independence of action within established guidelines. This class is flexibly staffed with Legal Office Assistant II and incumbents may advance to the higher level after gaining experience and demonstrating proficiency which meet the qualifications of the higher level class. Legal Office Assistant II is the journey level class of this series, fully competent to independently perform a variety of responsible legal office support duties. All positions are characterized by the presence of fairly clear guidelines from which to make decisions and the availability of supervision in non-routine circumstances. Specific duties, including the amount of typing, word processing, use of on-line or personal computers and contact with the public will vary with the organizational unit to which assigned. This class is distinguished from Lead Legal Office Assistant in that the latter assigns, directs and reviews the work of a small legal office support staff. This class is further distinguished from Legal Office Specialist in that the latter performs the most difficult, technical, complex and/or specialized legal office support duties which require a definable body of technical knowledge or skill. The ideal candidate must be able to handle demanding job assignments and several clerical duties simultaneously in legal offices where activities occur at a fast pace; produce considerable amounts of legal correspondence and reports for long periods of time; be detailed, accurate and complete in their work; adapt to frequent interruptions, rapidly changing priorities and different assignments quickly and efficiently; use computers frequently and proficiently; use appropriate initiative, sound judgment and tact to handle sensitive and confidential discussions and interactions with individuals who are irate and hostile; and work well under stress. The recruitment will result in the creation of a hire list that will be active for six months. The list may be extended depending on the needs of the hiring departments. Examples Of Duties Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following: Read and process various legal documents such as court calendars, court orders, booking slips, probation reports, arrest records and other legal information for maintaining records. Verify, code, edit, enter and retrieve legal data and prepare reports from an on-line or personal computer system following established formats; may access confidential state-wide data files. Review legal documents, arrest or incident records, files and cases to identify inaccurate, inconsistent and unclear codes, data and other information; notify appropriate staff and may participate in resolving problem situations; check court and legal documents for proper authorization and obtain missing signatures. Compile data from multiple sources to complete and process legal forms, documents and reports in accordance with established procedures. Type correspondence, reports, forms and specialized documents related to the functions of the organizational unit to which assigned from drafts, notes, dictated tapes, or brief instructions, using a typewriter or word processor; may compose standard correspondence from brief instructions. Proofread and check typed and other materials for accuracy, completeness, compliance with departmental policies, and correct English usage, including grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Establish and maintain office and case files; research and compile information from such files; close and purge files according