Senior Staff Attorney-Facilitators Office Unit

Definition
Under direction, Senior Staff Attorney performs a variety of complex professional legal work, including research and consultation for Court staff and self-represented litigants.  This position provides legal and administrative support related to self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs.  Senior Staff Attorney provides legal assistance and education services to self-represented litigants and assists them in gaining effective access to the legal system.  This position facilitates the effectiveness of, and expedites proceedings by assisting and/or teaching self-represented litigants how to plan and prepare matters for Court hearings.

Distinguishing Characteristics 
This professional level attorney classification is responsible for assisting in the operation of the self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs and for providing day-to-day administrative support and ensuring efficient delivery of program services.  The incumbent is responsible for providing legal assistance to self-represented litigants and for providing lead direction to and training paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff. 

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Plans, develops, recommends and implements operational procedures ensuring maximum utilization of available staff, financial resources and compliance with grant requirements.

2. Reviews court files, documents and related materials to assess cases; drafts legal correspondence and/or documents necessary to effectuate legal resolutions.

3. Researches legal authorities and statutory and case law; examines legal documents for compliance with legal and procedural requirements.

4. Advises self-represented litigants on the status of cases; provides legal and procedural information, answers inquiries and explains processes; assists individuals in locating materials and information.

5. Meets with self-represented litigants and provides assistance in the preparation of forms, complex orders and judgments; reviews paperwork and examines documents to ensure cases are prepared for Court.

6. Holds pre-hearing conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues; assists parties to develop a shared understanding of the conflict and to work toward building a practical and lasting resolution; offers multiple and flexible possibilities for resolving a dispute.

7. Coordinates the activities of the program with related court programs and other community resources.

8. Develops, updates and maintains educational and instructional materials; provides legal information on specific areas of the law through workshops, clinics and educational material.

9. Provides procedural instructions, legal information and referrals to other court-based services, legal service providers and community agencies.

10. Establishes and maintains quality working relations with community agencies and resources that provide services for parties involved.

11. Reviews the work completed by paralegals.

12. Provides lead direction and trains paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff.

13. Performs administrative functions including tracking and collecting daily, monthly and yearly statistics on services provided.

14. Performs related duties as assigned. 

A typical way of obtaining the required knowledge and abilities is equivalent to:

Education:  Graduation from an accredited school of law.

-And-

Experience:  One (1) year of full-time equivalent experience as a licensed attorney.

-And-

Active membership in the State Bar of California.

Knowledge of:

Civil procedures; rules of evidence; scope and role of local court rules and procedures; specialized legal knowledge in the area of work to be performed; legal terminology; conduct of proceedings in trial courts; legal ethics; the California judicial system, and local court operations and procedures; principles and practices relating to providing legal self-help services; research methods and principles of program evaluation; resources and community agencies providing services relevant to program clientele; principles and techniques of preparing effective oral presentations and written reports; problem solving, mediation and other conflict resolution methods and techniques; principles of interviewing and interpersonal communication.

Ability to:

Analyze problems and legal issues and identify solutions; research statutes and case law; conduct independent research of legal issues; apply legal principles to case facts; advise self-represented litigants, paralegals, interns, volunteers and Court staff on procedural and substantive legal issues; handle sensitive matters with tact and discretion; conduct mediations in an impartial manner; empathetically assist individuals who are in stressful situations; establish and maintain professional working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work; listen to arguments/discussions and understand underlying problems/questions; apply problem solving and conflict resolution methods and techniques; recognize and respect limit of authority and responsibility; work in an environment with conflicting priorities; use computer for legal research, word processing, spreadsheets, forms completion and communication.

Must be able to pass a criminal history information background check.