Legal Secretary I (#BH2 )

$31.20-$36.46 hourly / $5,407.90-$6,319.61 monthly / $64,896.00-$75,836.80 yearly

Legal Secretary II (#BH3 )

$34.22-$40.05 hourly / $5,931.35-$6,941.87 monthly / $71,177.60-$83,304.00 yearly

• Prepares a wide variety of legal documents including briefs, orders, motions, warrants, citations, jury instructions, complaints, points and authorities, subpoenas, interrogatories, petitions, pleadings, resolutions, ordinances, opinions, tables of authority, reports and correspondence from handwritten, typed or recorded drafts;
• Determines format, distribution and priority;
• Processes legal documents, records and reports within the department, through the courts or with other agencies;
• Obtains a variety of records and reports required for cases, i.e. drug and alcohol analyses, DMV reports, criminal history;
• Prepares files for attorneys, pulls files for cases scheduled for court and ensures required documents are included;
• Records court events and disposition on the case file and in computerized case tracking system;
• Schedules appointments and meetings for attorneys;
• Makes travel arrangements;
• Answers routine requests for information;
• Screens telephone calls and mail, provides information requested, takes messages, refers inquiry or request to appropriate staff or other agency, and resolves matters which do not require legal advice;
• Researches State Codes, other legal reference books, brief banks, and opinion files to assist attorneys;
• Maintains automated and manual files and record-keeping systems;
• Compiles statistical and narrated reports;
• Orders and maintains supplies;
• Designs or revises forms to conform to legislative changes;
• May process personnel and payroll transactions;
• May calculate attorney fees and back-up data for grants and other programs;
• May conduct new employee orientation and provide training for new employees;
• May compute and prepare probate conservatorship accountings;
• May process conservatorship cases;
• May update brief banks and opinion files;
• Operates word processing equipment and computer terminals to input, access and print data.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
Knowledge:

Legal Secretary I

• Thorough knowledge of office procedures and practices, including preparation of correspondence and reports and filing.
• Thorough knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
• Thorough knowledge of standard typewriter set-ups and formats for business correspondence and reports.
• Some knowledge of legal terminology forms documents and procedures.

Legal Secretary II
The above plus:

• Working knowledge of legal terminology forms, documents and procedures.
• Working knowledge of the forms and formatting for legal documents.
• Some knowledge of the organization, services, programs and functions of the legal system.

Ability to:

Legal Secretary I

• Perform a wide variety of legal clerical work requiring independent judgment, accuracy and speed.
• Prepare final legal documents in accepted formats from brief instructions, handwritten, typed or recorded drafts.
• Understand, interpret, explain and apply laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Understand and follow oral and written directives.
• Make arithmetic computations.
• Maintain records and prepare reports.
• Adjust to workload changes and meet deadlines under pressure of legal deadlines.
• Screen and prioritize correspondence and phone calls.
• Exercise independent judgment and discretion, safeguard the confidentiality of information, and demonstrate tact and diplomacy.
• Operate word processing equipment and computer terminals to input and access data.
• Operate standard office equipment.

Legal Secretary II

The above, plus:

• Work independently.
• Orient and train new employees.
• Learn to perform routine legal research.
• Process a wide variety of legal documents;.
• Compose letters, written responses to inquiries and routine portions of reports.

Training and Experience: Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain these knowledge and abilities would be:
Legal Secretary I

Two years of clerical experience including some experience processing legal documents that demonstrates application or possession of the required knowledge and abilities.

Legal Secretary II

One year of experience comparable to a Legal Secretary I in Santa Cruz County or other experience which demonstrates possession of the knowledge and abilities listed above.

Formal secretarial, legal secretarial or general office clerical training may be substituted for up to one year of the required experience on an hour for hour basis.

Performance: Pass a performance test, which demonstrates keyboard proficiency.

EST: 4/76 REV: 10/88, 2/82 Analyst: JAD