Legal Secretary; Exempt

Overview

THIS POSTING WILL BE OPEN UNTIL FILLED. Application cut-off dates are the first and third Tuesday of each month. With supervisor approval, incumbents may be eligible for intermittent remote work; however, they must physically reside within the Sacramento region or have the ability to regularly report to a City of Sacramento physical worksite with little notice.

The Legal Secretary position provides comprehensive litigation support, with a primary focus on accurately filing documents in State and Federal courts. Filings in Appellate and Supreme Court matters may occasionally be required. The role includes supporting law and motion practice, discovery, calendaring legal deadlines, and trial preparation from inception through completion.

The ideal candidate will have experience as a civil litigation legal secretary and be comfortable handling civil litigation from inception to conclusion, including post-trial motions and appeals. Experience with Sacramento Superior Court, as well as federal and appellate courts, is highly desired. For the Community Advocacy Public Safety Division, experience in criminal law is preferred but not required; litigation experience is strongly desired.

Under general supervision, Legal Secretary performs confidential and responsible clerical, secretarial, and paraprofessional duties in the City Attorney’s Office; transcribes and processes documents; compiles data and prepares reports; creates and maintains files and maintains the law library. This is a journey-level classification with the full range of complex legal secretarial work; incumbents perform assignments with limited instruction and work is normally reviewed on completion.

• Types a variety of correspondence and legal documents from draft, oral dictation, or tapes, including resolutions, ordinances, legal opinions, contracts, briefs, leases, and agreements.
• Assists attorneys in the preparation of motions, discoveries, intake of new cases, calendaring, scheduling of hearings, trials and depositions; copies and serves pleadings and discovery documents by mail; indexes and files legal documents.
• Assists the Office Administrator with tasks including accounts payable, budget information gathering, requisitions/purchase orders for office supplies, and maintenance of personnel records.
• Coordinates with public agencies and other City departments, agencies, courts, and law offices to facilitate the processing of City code violations; handles inquiries and routes to appropriate attorney, department, or agency.
• Compiles information for statistical and financial reports; maintains records; creates, maintains, and organizes case files; conducts research as necessary concerning litigation cases.
• Maintains law library and updates loose-leaf binders, manuals, and resource materials.

• Knowledge of standard legal references, terminology, forms, and documents used in legal clerical work; municipal legal procedures and filing of legal documents;
  English usage and business letter writing; modern office practices and equipment; criminal and civil procedures; municipal government structures; and California court system.
• Proficiency with computer software (e.g., Excel, Word, Microsoft Word) and familiarity with departmental procedures and precedents.
• Ability to perform complex legal clerical work with initiative and judgment; prepare routine legal documents without attorney assistance; follow state and local codes for timelines and calendar filings; establish and maintain working relationships; comprehend and apply complex legal terms and procedures; read, interpret, and apply laws; type 60 net words per minute; take dictation at 100 net words per minute (may be required);
  
  set priorities in a strict, deadline-driven environment.

• Four years of increasingly responsible complex clerical work, including paralegal or legal clerical experience (preparation of pleadings, motions, discoveries, and calendaring).
• Legal secretarial certificate and/or paralegal certificate highly desirable.

Proof of education such as…