Legal Assistant

The City Attorney's Office is accepting applications for an experienced, organized, and detailed-oriented Legal Assistant to proactively perform a wide variety of specialized administrative and procedural legal duties that support the work of the City Attorney's Office (which includes four full-time attorneys), City-wide boards, committees, and commissions, and City-wide programs and initiatives.

The Legal Assistant is expected to apply extensive knowledge and abilities in coordinating day-to-day legal services operations, conducting legal research and preparing legal documents, overseeing specific programs or projects assigned by the City Attorney, and ensuring the timely, efficient, and effective delivery of comprehensive legal services. The position coordinates and directly handles the approval and execution process for all contracts and legal and property record documents, utilizing the DocuSign program; and has extensive contact with a wide variety of people that makes customer service within and outside the organization a top priority for this small, team-oriented division.

The successful candidate must be a master multi-tasker who can take ownership of responsibilities from beginning through timely completion and has the ability to manage competing priorities with minimal guidance and meet firm deadlines. The position requires amazing attention to detail; superior customer service, research, analytical, interpersonal, communication (verbal and written), and time/resource management skills; and excellent proactive and collaborative instincts for how best to be of help in a rapidly-changing environment. Good judgment, common sense, customer focus, objectivity, and integrity are essential. Paralegal certification is required.
 
Starting salary for this position is negotiable within the anticipated target hiring range ($78,000 - $88,000) and will be offered at a level consistent with the relevant experience and qualifications of the candidate. We provide comprehensive insurance benefits (medical, dental, vision, long-term care, life), paid time off, generous retirement contributions, health and wellness programs, tools to assist with paying down student loan debt and managing student loans, training and professional growth opportunities, and excellent work/life balance.

What you will do with us:

• Coordinate assigned day-to-day legal services operations.
• Coordinate and directly handle the contract approval and execution process.
• Coordinate and directly handle the approval and execution process for all legal and property record documents and handle the Circuit Court Clerk recording process for land and official records.
• Administer and coordinate the City Attorney's Office database.
• Coordinate the collection of all City regulations, orders, directives, and other documents to maintain a database accessible to all City staff.
• Oversee and annually prepare and coordinate the annual budget for the City Attorney's Office; oversee purchasing for the division, order supplies; prepare and process invoices and purchase orders.
• Oversee and coordinate special projects and programs, including regulatory compliance and the whistleblower hotline.
• Organize, develop, obtain, monitor, and evaluate training programs provided by or for legal services.
• Manage information governance for legal services.
• Conduct legal research and write, prepare, review, and edit a variety of legal documents.
• Administer the City Attorney's Office records management program.
• Develop, streamline, and optimize internal processes, systems and procedures.
• Assist as needed in the municipal infraction program and court docket, collection of debt program, and forfeiture program.
• Conduct real estate title research and examination and review/prepare real estate closing documents.
• Receive and screen telephone calls, emails, and other correspondence; respond to general inquiries, complaints, and requests and provide assistance or information regarding a variety of legal services issues and other City services and/or procedures.
• Update law books, manuals, codes, administrative procedures, etc.
• Provide guidance and assistance to other legal services staff and general administrative support to the City Attorney and other attorneys in the Division.

Key job responsibilities are highlighted above; please click here to view the complete classification description for the Legal Assistant position. The classification description indicates the full salary range established for this position to provide for growth and development (Grade 110 in the City's FY 2025 Schedule of Salary Ranges).

Interested applicants must submit the following to be considered:

Review of applications will begin immediately, so prompt application is highly encouraged. The position will remain open until filled; recruitment will close without notice when a sufficient number of qualified applications are received or all hiring decisions have been made.

This is a full-time position, requiring 40 hours of work per week, Monday through Friday; a core work schedule will be determined upon hire. This is a non--exempt position, which means an individual in this position is eligible for overtime compensation under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the City's personnel regulations. Direct deposit of paychecks is a condition of employment for all City of Gaithersburg employees.

The successful candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation. The City has established an alcohol-free, drug-free, and smoke-free workplace which applies to any person employed by, conducting business with, or applying for a position with the City. Each employee, as a condition of their employment, may be required to participate in pre-employment and reasonable suspicion testing. Employees classified as safety sensitive are also subject to immediate post-accident and random testing.

For more information about this position, contact City Attorney Frank Johnson at Frank.Johnson@gaithersburgmd.gov or 240.805.1086. Questions regarding the online application process may be directed to the Department of Human Resources at hr@gaithersburgmd.gov or 301.258.6327.

This recruitment will establish an eligibility list which will be used to fill the current vacancy and may be used to fill other openings in this classification which occur in the next 12 months.