Paralegal 2, Criminal Justice Division, Washington State Office of the Attorney General

Persons requiring reasonable accommodation in the application process or requiring information in an alternative format may contact the recruitment team at HREmployment@atg.wa.gov. Those with a hearing impairment in need of accommodation are encouraged to contact the Washington Relay Service at 1-800-676-3777 or www.washingtonrelay.com.

Position and Salary The Attorney General’s Office is recruiting for 3 permanent full time Paralegal 2 positions in the Criminal Justice Division. These positions are located in Seattle, Washington, and are represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE). 

Paralegal 2 (Range 55) salary range: $58,104 - $78,120

The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the preferred candidate’s job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

The following stipends may apply based on position requirements:

• Incumbents assigned to our Seattle office location receive an additional 5% King County Location Pay stipend.  
• Incumbents assigned to a position designated as requiring dual language skills will receive a 5% Dual Language Requirement Pay stipend. 

Excellent benefits   

Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation, including Medical/Dental/Vision for employees & dependent(s); Vacation, Sick, and Other Leave; 11 Paid Holidays per year; Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) plans; and Life Insurance.  Beyond these traditional benefits, we offer Dependent Care Assistance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver, Deferred Compensation, Employee Recognition Leave, and more. With the goal of employee health and wellness, we also offer flexible schedules and telework options for most positions, a Wellness Program, the Employee Assistance Program, and numerous affinity groups to foster community and connection.

Agency Information

WASHINGTON STATE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL    

Join an agency whose work impacts the lives of every resident of Washington State.  The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) touches the lives of every resident in this state.  We serve more than 230 state agencies, boards, commissions, colleges and universities, as well as the Legislature and the Governor.  The Office is comprised of nearly 700 attorneys and 800 professional staff, all working together to deliver the highest quality professional legal services to Washington state officials, agencies, and entities.  This includes: 

• Economic justice and consumer protections (safeguarding consumers, protecting youth, seniors, and other vulnerable populations)
• Social justice and civil rights (addressing discrimination, environmental protection, and veteran and military resources)
• Criminal justice and public safety (investigative and prosecutorial support, financial crimes)
• And much more!

Our agency also has national reach, representing the State of Washington before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and trial courts in all cases that involve the state’s interest.  If you want to make a difference, we may be the perfect fit for you!   Learn more about the AGO here.  

Commitment to Diversity  

Diversity is critical to the success of the mission of the AGO. This means recognizing, respecting, and appreciating all cultures and backgrounds-- and fostering the inclusion of differences between people.  Appreciating, valuing and implementing principles of diversity permits AGO employees to achieve their fullest potential in an inclusive, respectful environment. One recent measure of the AGO's commitment to diversity can be found in its nomination for Rainbow Alliance and Inclusion Network's "Outstanding Agency Award" in 2019.  Our commitment to employee wellness is reflected in earning the 2021 Zo8 Washington Wellness Award.

 Division Information

The mission of the Criminal Justice Division (CRJ) is to work with and support its partners in the criminal justice community to protect Washington citizens and state agencies from criminal activity and fraud. CRJ is comprised of five units: the Major Economic Crimes Unit (MECU), the Criminal Litigation Unit (CLU), the Sexually Violent Predator Unit (SVP), the Signature Projects Unit (SP) and the Washington State Patrol/Criminal Justice Training Commission Unit (WSP/CJTC). While tasked with distinct responsibilities, these units draw on each other’s expertise and collaborate to combat criminal activity, return stolen funds to state agencies and create safe communities.  

The MECU and CLU investigate and prosecute criminal cases when requested by the Governor or any of the 39 county prosecuting attorneys, including multi-jurisdictional crimes, violent crimes, financial crimes, and crimes involving specialized expertise such complex fraud, criminal conspiracies, corporate corruption, public corruption, organized retail crime and schemes that target state agencies.

The SVP Unit identifies Washington’s most prolific and dangerous sexually violent predators, and works to civilly commit those who continue to pose a serious risk to re-offend.  

The SP unit has three subunits: HITS, SAKI and the Missing, Murdered Indigenous People Cold Case Unit. The HITS Unit assists law enforcement by providing investigative expertise and maintaining a statewide database to analyze data regarding crimes and perpetrators and identify and apprehend serial offenders. The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Team implements measures to ensure that legally-owed DNA is collected and tested so that cold cases, including serial offenders, can be brought to justice.  The newly-created Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Cold Case Unit assists federal, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in investigating unsolved cases involving Indigenous people, who are disproportionately subjected to violent crime.  

The WSP/CJTC unit represents and advises the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

Additionally, the CRJ participates in numerous working groups and task forces, including Organized Retail Theft Task Force, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force, Seattle University Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Commercial Sexually Exploited Children Task Force, Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations (SAFE) Advisory Group, Hate Crimes Working Group, Identify Theft Task Force, and the Catalytic Converter Theft Task Force. 

For more information about CRJ and the cases we handle, please visit our website at https://www.atg.wa.gov/criminal-justice

Position Description

Duties and Essential Functions of a Paralegal 2:

In support of the mission and values of the Attorney General’s Office and under general direction, these positions require the employee to manage all aspects of litigation support functions, from pre-filing consideration to several levels of possible appeal. 

The objective of these positions is to serve as a trial paralegal for the Criminal Justice Division (CRJ) in a litigation intense environment.  

These positions support the mission of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) by providing excellent, independent, and ethical legal services to the State of Washington and protect the rights of its people by journey-level Paralegal support to the Criminal Justice Division (CRJ) and various units by helping the attorneys prepare for trial, including legal research, case analysis, legal strategy, processing discovery, and trial preparation. 

These positions assist in the litigation of cases before all 39 counties in Washington State, all 3 Divisions of the Washington State Court of Appeals, the Washington State Supreme Court, and in all state and federal courts. This requires the paralegal to understand all internal AGO policies and procedures and all case calendaring protocols (CEC). The employee must also understand and apply the rules governing criminal and civil discovery, local, state and federal court rules and the rules of evidence. The Paralegal must also comply with the Rule of Professional Responsibility, rules governing medical and psychological records and maintain confidentiality.

Position #1 - focus on Labor and Industries

The objective of this position is to assist attorneys at all stages of criminal prosecution from investigation through appeal on primarily white-collar financial crime cases and as assigned, general prosecution cases. 

• Assist in researching and drafting documents and prepare and organize investigative materials.
• Gather, analyze, review, organize, and summarize documents for production in discovery and/or use by staff attorneys. Prepare, organize and produce discovery and ensure compliance with discovery rules. Draft responses to discovery requests and review for completeness. 
• Assist attorneys in preparing for witness interviews, assist at interviews and prepare summaries of the interview. Performs legal research and draft memoranda of case law, legal opinions, statutes, and court rules. 
• Assist in trial preparation and, as needed, at trial including creating witness list; contacting and scheduling witnesses; creating trial notebooks; displaying exhibits; and performing other tasks as needed. 
• Use computer databases to create, maintain, and track case-related matters, and create tracking sheets to better organize complex litigation.

 Position #2 - focus on Public Records 

 The objective of this position is Paralegal support to the Criminal Litigation Unit (CLU), the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Unit, and various subunits, with a focus on Labor & Industries criminal cases. This position also requires the employee to manage all aspects of Public Record Requests for the Criminal Justice Division statewide. 

• Directs and coordinates distribution of requests, performs appropriate searches of the division drives, ACE, CMS, and emails, and completes timely production of reviewed and redacted responsive documents in compliance with agency policies and procedures. 
• Assists with the review and redaction of responsive documents and assertion of appropriate exemptions when required. 
• Maintains the division Public Records Request Manual, provides assistance, guidance and training to Criminal Justice Division staff. 
• Pursuant to AGO Policy, III.15, this position will be responsible for responding to all public records requests in a timely manner. 
• This shall be done in accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the Public Records Act, RCW 42.56 and related statures related to the disclosure of public records. 
• Records retention is governed by Chapter 40.14 RCW Preservation and Destruction of Public Records.

 Position #3 - focus on Organized Retail Crime 

The objective of this position is Paralegal support to new Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Team in a litigation intense environment with the energy and vision to help round out the skills of the new ORC Team. 

 Organized Retail Crime involves sophisticated operations in which organized groups of individuals repeatedly steal from retailers and utilize evolving tactics to evade detection and capture. These crimes often endanger employees and the public and cause significant economic harm to our state. In order to address the substantial, widespread and far–reaching impact of these crimes on the public and Washington’s economy, the Legislature recently funded a new unit within the Criminal Justice Division to investigate and prosecute these criminal enterprises.

This position will be part of the ORC Team to include a supervisory assistant attorney general/prosecutor, an assistant attorney general/prosecutor, four criminal senior investigators, three paralegals and a data consultant. 

This recruitment announcement may be used to fill multiple open positions for the same classification, in addition to the position(s) listed in this announcement.

Desired Qualifications

Research suggests that women and people of color are less likely to apply unless they are confident they meet 100% of the listed qualifications. We strongly encourage all interested individuals to apply, and allow us to evaluate your combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities demonstrated using an intentional equity lens.  

Combination of four years of experience through paralegal certification, two-year paralegal degree, and/or paraprofessional experience in support of an attorney. 

OR

Three years’ experience as a Paralegal 1 in Washington State Service.

You may have gained applicable paraprofessional experience through previous Paralegal or Legal Assistant work.

Conditions of Employment

A background check consisting of employment history, professional references and educational verification (e.g., degree, license, or official transcript) may be conducted. Prior to any offer, the applicant selected will be required to submit to and pass a fingerprint-based criminal background check conducted by the Washington State Patrol, Criminal Records Division. The incumbent will submit to additional background checks as a condition of employment every five (5) years thereafter.

Supplemental Information

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: 

In addition to completing the online application, applicants must attach the following documents to their profile in order to be considered for this position: 

• A letter of interest, describing your specific qualifications for the position;
• A current resume detailing experience and education.

READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMPLETELY:

• Carefully review your application for accuracy, spelling and grammar before submitting.
• You may not reapply to this posting for 30 days.
• The initial screening of applications will be solely based on the contents and completeness of the “work experience” and “education” sections of your application in www.careers.wa.gov, completeness of the application material submitted, and responses to the supplemental questionnaire.
• A resume will not substitute for completing the “work experience” section of the application.
• All information may be verified and documentation may be required.

 Honoring diversity, equity and inclusion means that as an agency, and as individuals, we are committed to ensuring that all employees and volunteers enjoy a respectful, safe and supportive working environment. Only by fostering the inclusion of people from all backgrounds, cultures and attributes, can AGO employees and volunteers achieve their fullest potential and best advance the goals and mission of the AGO.

The AGO is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation/gender identity, age, disability, honorably discharged veteran or military status, retaliation or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. Persons requiring reasonable accommodation in the application process or requiring information in an alternative format may contact the recruitment team at HREmployment@atg.wa.gov. Those with a hearing impairment in need of accommodation are encouraged to contact the Washington Relay Service at 1-800-676-3777 or www.washingtonrelay.com.

 For questions regarding this recruitment or assistance with the application process, please contact Jenny Wilding @ (360) 753-6216 or Jenny.Wilding@atg.wa.gov.

 If you are having technical difficulties creating, accessing or completing your application, please call NEOGOV toll-free at (855) 524-5627 or support@neogov.com.