Placer County

To provide a variety of highly responsible and specialized secretarial, technical and administrative legal support duties related to litigation and transactional law, including drafting, formatting and filing a variety of legal documents in support of the County Counsel’s Office.

Civil Legal Secretary I

This is the entry level class in the Civil Legal Secretary series.  This class is distinguished from the journey level by the performance of the more routine and less complex tasks and duties assigned to positions within the series.  Employees at this level are not expected to perform with the same independence of direction and judgment on matters allocated to the journey level. This class is typically used as a training class; employees may have only limited directly related work experience. Employees work under immediate supervision while learning to perform the full breadth of job tasks independently.  

Civil Legal Secretary II

This is the full journey level class in the Civil Legal Secretary series. This class is distinguished from the Civil Legal Secretary I level by the assignment of the full range of duties including the more difficult and complex work. Employees at this level receive only occasional instruction or assistance as new or unusual situations arise and are fully aware of the operating procedures and policies within the work unit. Positions in this class are flexibly staffed and are normally filled by advancement from the entry level.

This class is distinguished from the Senior Civil Legal Secretary in that the latter is responsible for performing the more sensitive duties and providing technical and/or functional supervision to others when assigned.

Civil Legal Secretary I

Receives immediate supervision from assigned professional or management staff, receives technical and/or functional supervision from a Senior Civil Legal Secretary.

Civil Legal Secretary II

Receives general supervision from assigned professional or management staff, and may receive technical and/or functional supervision from a Senior Civil Legal Secretary.

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Draft, format, proofread and finalize a variety of legal documents in support of assigned attorneys including, but not limited to, pleadings, briefs, writs, appellate briefs, motions, orders, civil discovery requests and responses, administrative records, warrants, judgments, agenda items and background materials, ordinances, resolutions, contracts, leases, and other civil litigation and legal transactional documents.
• Assist attorneys with trial and hearing preparation; format and prepare exhibit list, witness list, and jury instructions; may support attorneys in court and administrative proceedings, as assigned. Perform a variety of duties in support of document management including receiving, scanning, organizing, filing, and destroying documents in paper and electronic files.
• Perform routine and technical legal research, compile materials and prepare reports and documents.
• Interpret, analyze, and determine compliance or acceptance of information and materials.
• Establish and maintain systems related to assigned technical areas of responsibility; monitor area activities and report progress as required.
• Review contracts and routine legal documents prepared by County departments for accuracy and completeness.
• Draft, prepare and track civil subpoenas; research and locate contact information of involved parties; provide instructions for deposition officer and coordinate production of documents.
• Arrange for the presence of witnesses and make deposition arrangements including coordinating with court reporter.
• Receive and input Public Records Act requests and track timelines associated with such; assist in preparing responses; overseeing production of request.
• Receive, input and track Board of Supervisor agenda items.
• Recommend and assist in the implementation of goals and objectives; establish schedules and methods for office operations; implement office policies and procedures.
• Monitor and control expenditures and process invoices; track a variety of operational statistics.
• May be requested to assist with on-the-job training of newly hired staff regarding policies and procedures.
• Perform a variety of responsible administrative support activities on behalf of attorneys and management including, but not limited to, scheduling and maintaining calendar of appointments, court hearings, and depositions on behalf of attorneys; making meeting arrangements; monitoring and following-up on due dates.
• Serve as first point of contact at front desk, receiving, logging and distributing files, documents and Public Records Requests, answering phones, receiving, opening and processing incoming mail and greeting visitors.
• Respond to complex inquiries and requests for information from the public and County staff.
• Perform electronic and traditional filing in varied state and federal courts and administrative agencies.
• Independently respond to letters and general correspondence of a routine nature.
• Operate standard law office equipment including multi-line telephone, high volume printer, scanner, word processing and other document preparation applications; legal practice and case management software, other standalone computer software programs as related to assigned area.  
• Provide responsible technical assistance and training in areas of expertise to office co-workers and other County employees.
• Organize evidence and documents for effective analysis and presentation by attorney.
• Review and summarize deposition transcripts and other discovery responses.
• Transcribe audio and video recordings.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with co-workers, other County employees and the public using principles of good customer service.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Civil Legal Secretary I

Experience and Training

Civil Legal Secretary I

Knowledge of:                 

• Principles and practices of legal secretarial and legal support including drafting, proofreading and filing a variety of legal documents in state court.
• Computer software, including word processing, data base and spreadsheet applications.
• English usage, spelling, punctuation and grammar; and arithmetic, basic mathematical calculations and statistics and statistical methods.
• Modern office procedures, methods and computer equipment.
• Principles and practices of report writing.
• Business letter writing.
• State court rules and procedures.

Ability to:

• On a continuous basis, sit at desk and/or stand at counter for long periods of time.  Intermittently twist and reach office equipment; write and use keyboard to communicate through written means; perform simple grasping and fine manipulation; lift light weight.
• Intermittently review documents related to department operations; observe, identify and problem solve office operations and procedures; understand, interpret and explain department policies and procedures; explain operations and problem solve office issues for the public and with staff.
• Learn to perform legal research in carrying out technical administrative and legal support duties.
• Work with accuracy and thoroughness under stress.
• Compile and maintain records and prepare reports.
• Learn to analyze situations quickly and objectively to determine proper course of action.
• Use a personal computer and office equipment necessary for successful job performance.
• Type at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Work with various cultural and ethnic groups in a tactful and effective manner.
• Preserve confidentiality of sensitive material routinely encountered as part of work assignments.

Civil Legal Secretary II

In addition to the qualifications of the Civil Legal Secretary I:

Knowledge of:

• Electronic filing of documents in the state and federal courts and with administrative agencies.   
• Principles and practices of routine legal research.
• Federal and Appellate court rules and procedures, Administrative Agency regulations and procedures.
• Forms of agreements, leases, ordinances, resolutions, public record act responses, and administrative records.

Ability to:

• Perform independent legal research in carrying out technical administrative and legal support duties.
• Collect, compile, analyze and present a variety of data in a meaningful way.
• Understand and interpret complex policies, procedures and regulations.
• Compile and maintain complex and extensive records and prepare reports.
• Analyze situations quickly and objectively to determine proper course of action.
• Develop and recommend policies and procedures related to assigned office operations.