Legal Assistant or Trainee; NY HELPS - Charities; Trusts & Estates - NYC

Position: Legal Assistant 1 or Trainee (NY HELPS) - Charities (Trusts & Estates) - NYC
Duties Description In close association with an attorney or attorneys, Legal Assistants perform a variety of paralegal activities that require formal education and experience. Incumbents compile and organize files and documentation; prepare and assist in the preparation of legal documents and forms; catalog information; update databases or spreadsheets; and prepare correspondence.

This Legal Assistant 1 position is in the Trusts and Estates Section of the Charities Bureau (NYC), and the incumbents perform the following duties:

• Sorting and distributing mail received by the Section.

• Processing estate and trust registrations, including preparing coding sheets and correspondence and ensuring proper filing fees are received.

• Processing charitable trusts and estates' final reports, informal accountings, and trust terminations.

• Working with the Charities Bureau Registration Section on estate and trust registration matters.

• Maintaining data in NYMatters and File Net (OAG's case and intake management programs).

• Opening and closing files.

• Responding to telephone inquiries.

• Monitoring the Section's email account and responding to inquiries.

• Preparing and serving notices of appearance, notices of no objection, and other legal documents and correspondence as requested.

• Filing documents in Surrogate's and Supreme Courts, as necessary.

• Assisting attorneys in all aspects of litigation including investigations, discovery, motion practice, trial preparation, and trials.

• Other work as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications NY HELPS:

This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS).

For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply.

At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

NON-COMPETITIVE QUALIFICATIONS

Legal Assistant 1 (CSEA, SG 14; Hiring Rate: $56,506*, Job Rate: $58,630*):

Candidates must have:

A minimum of two years of full-time experience as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant (see "Definition" below).
OR

An associate degree (or higher) in Paralegal/Legal Assistant/Legal Studies or a certificate in a Paralegal/Legal Assistant program where the degree was granted from a regionally accredited college or university or one approved by the American Bar Association (ABA).

OR

An associate degree in any field where the degree was granted from a regionally accredited college or university or one approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) AND one year of full-time experience as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant (see "Definition" below).

Substitution:
Graduation from an accredited (ABA approved) law school with a degree required for NYS Bar will be accepted as meeting the educational and experience requirements for this title.

Definition: A Paralegal/Legal Assistant is someone who applies knowledge of the law and legal procedures in rendering direct assistance to lawyers, clients, and courts; prepares and interprets legal documents and forms; researches, compiles, and uses information from legal materials to provide both written and verbal comments on their findings; and analyzes and handles routine procedural problems independently with minimal attorney oversight.

Non-qualifying experience includes receptionist, records clerk, bookkeeper, and office manager.

Legal Assistant Trainee 1 (CSEA, NS ~ equated to SG 11, Hiring Rate: $47,695*, Job Rate: $58,447*):

Candidates must have:

High school or high school equivalency diploma AND one year of clerical, administrative, or paraprofessional experience.

OR

An associate degree (or higher) in any field, where the degree was…