Legal Assistant

This position provides responsible, confidential and complex legal secretarial support to the Municipal Court staff, and performs related work as assigned. The incumbent works according to some procedures but decides how or when to do things; work is reviewed regularly by supervisor.

The work is considered sedentary in nature and involves walking or standing some of the time and involves exerting up to 10 pounds of force on a recurring basis, and routine keyboard operations. The work requires the following physical abilities to perform the essential job functions: climbing, fingering, hearing, mental acuity, reaching, repetitive motion, speaking, standing, talking, visual acuity, and walking.

Work environment involves exposure to no known environmental hazards; and is relatively safe, secure, and stable.

• Prepares basic and/or standard legal documents and pleadings for review;
• Transcribes dictation and prepares documents such as legal briefs, deposition notices, motions, orders, complaints, answers to complaints, affidavits, worker’s compensation forms and pre-hearing briefs, discovery, leases, routine and complex letters, and other legal instruments;
• Prepares and maintains various legal notebooks and indexes;
• Prepares appeal transcripts, proofread, submit all paperwork to Circuit Court;
• Schedules and confirms office appointments, court appearances, meetings, conferences, depositions and related functions;
• Attends meetings; prepares and distributes meeting minutes;
• Performs routine bookkeeping duties, including preparing purchase requisitions, processing accounts payable and receivable, etc.;
• Communicates with other City staff, court personnel, officials, staff of other agencies, and the general public as appropriate to obtain and relay information;
• Answers the telephone, provides information and assistance to callers or forwards calls to appropriate staff person;;
• Performs other routine clerical work as required, which may include but is not limited to copying and filing documents, establishing and maintaining files, entering computer data, processing mail, sending and receiving faxes, ordering office supplies and materials, running errands, etc.;
• Receives and responds to inquiries, requests for assistance and/or complaints from City employees, outside agencies, and the public;
• Attends training, meetings, seminars and/or workshops to enhance job knowledge and skills; and
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO PERFORM WORK: 

• High school diploma or GED;
• Three (3) years of relevant prior experience;
• Valid South Carolina Class “D” Driver’s License; 
• Notary Public for South Carolina.

• Knowledge of addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and/or calculating ratios, rates and percentages;
• Knowledge of personal computer equipment with skill in doing data entry and in the use of Microsoft Office preferred, utilizing Outlook and word processing and spreadsheet software programs;
• Ability to summarize, tabulate or format data or information in accordance with a prescribed schema or plan to facilitate the identification and extraction of useful information;
• Ability to provide information, guidance or assistance to people to directly facilitate task accomplishment; may give directions or assignments to helpers or assistants;
• Ability to handle or use, tools or equipment requiring brief instruction or experience, such as computers for data entry, fax machines, copiers, telephones or similar equipment; may service office machines, including adding paper and changing toner;
• Ability to perform skilled work involving rules/systems with almost constant problem-solving;
• Ability to read technical instructions, procedures, manuals and charts to solve practical problems; composing routine reports and specialized reports, forms and business letters with proper format; speaking compound sentences using normal grammar and word form;
• Ability to perform clerical, manual or technical tasks requiring a wide range of procedures and requiring intensive understanding of a restricted field or complete familiarity with the functions of a unit or small division of an operating agency; requires normal attention with short periods of concentration for accurate results or occasional exposure to unusual pressure; and
• Ability to guide others, requiring frequent decisions affecting co-workers and others who depend on the service or product; works in a somewhat fluid environment with rules and procedures but with many variations from the routine.