Legal Secretary - Legal Defender

Job Type: Classified

The Pima County Legal Defender’s Office is seeking a qualified and dedicated Legal Secretary to join its team of professionals representing adult clients charged with felony offenses. Our legal secretaries are an integral part of the defense team who provide administrative and clerical support to two or more attorneys. In this role, you will effectively communicate with attorneys, colleagues, and clients; is responsible for maintaining case files; filing legal documents with the Courts, preparing correspondence, and performing general office tasks.

In direct support of legal functions, the legal secretary performs a variety of specialized legal secretarial tasks, which require distinct knowledge of legal procedures, documentation and legal time constraints. This classification makes independent decisions regarding the processing of legal documents and has primary responsibility for completion of assigned tasks and functions by an attorney or paralegal.

For more information on the Pima County Public Defense Services Department and the offices in this department, please visit their website at: www.pima.gov/pds 

Essential Functions:

As defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, this classification may include any of the following tasks, knowledge, skills, and other characteristics. This list is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by incumbents of this class. Work assignments may vary depending on the department’s need and will be communicated to the applicant or incumbent by the supervisor.

• Gathers information, prepares legal documents, completes legal forms, correspondence, documents such as briefs, opinions, complaints, warrants, affidavits, depositions and monitors to ensure legal requirements and deadlines are met;

• Reviews new cases and sets up interviews between clients, law enforcement personnel and attorneys;

• Reviews materials received, sets up files and initiates paperwork;

• Takes and/or transcribes from electronic dictation, prepares legal reports, correspondence, forms such as petitions, jury instructions and disclosures;

• Determines prioritization of trials, sets up and maintains calendars of hearings, trials, depositions and response times to pending litigation;

• Compiles statistical data concerning unit operations, at the direction of the attorney and/or paralegal, prepares periodic and special reports;

• Prepares motions for continuance, suspension or dismissal through the court system;

• Coordinates work activities with trial teams and/or divisions;

• Acts as liaison for attorney and/or paralegal regarding case preparation, discovery and prepares appropriate legal documents as required;

• Communicates with clients or witnesses to obtain or verify legal information for cases;

• Word processes a variety of technical and confidential documents, contracts, ordinances, case dispositions and privileged attorney client information;

• Reviews, sorts and proofreads legal documents for attorney and/or paralegal;

• Files and indexes legal documents produced and received in the case files;

• Edits legal documents for appropriateness of legal or technical terminology, grammar, punctuation and spelling;

• Operates a variety of office equipment.

Minimum Qualifications:

Successful completion of course work in legal terminology or legal office procedures from an accredited school AND one year of legal clerical experience involving the preparation and processing of legal documents or providing legal clerical support to an attorney.

(An Associate’s degree or a certificate of completion from an accredited college or technical school as a legal secretary may substitute for one year of experience.)

OR:

One year with Pima County in a Legal Processing Support or closely-related position as determined by the department head at the time of recruitment.

(Relevant experience and/or education from an accredited college or university may be substituted.)

Qualifying education and experience must be clearly documented in the "Education" and “Work Experience" sections of the application. Do not substitute a resume for your application or write "see resume" on your application.

Preferred Qualifications: (Be specific in describing your experience in your application. Ensure the descriptions provided illustrate your competencies, specifically addressing the required and preferred qualifications.): 

• Minimum five (5) years of legal clerical experience involving the preparation and processing of legal documents or providing legal clerical support to an attorney.

Selection Procedure: 

Pima County Human Resources Department reserves the right to admit to the selection process only those candidates that meet the minimum qualifications. All applications will be assessed based on an evaluation of the listed education and experience. Candidates meeting the minimum qualifications may be further evaluated/scored against any advertised Preferred Qualifications. The hiring authority will interview and select the successful candidate from a referral list provided by Human Resources. Additional assessments/testing may be required as part of the selection process.     

Supplemental Information:

Licenses and Certificates: Some positions require a valid Arizona Class D driver license at the time of application or appointment. Failure to obtain / maintain the required licensure shall be grounds for termination.

Special Notice Items: Some positions may require satisfactory completion of a personal background investigation by the court or law enforcement agencies, due to the need for access to County Attorney and Court facilities, records, and communication systems. The County requires pre-employment background checks. Successful candidates will receive a post-offer, pre-employment background screening to include verification of work history, education, and criminal conviction history. A prior criminal conviction will not automatically disqualify a candidate from employment with the County. 

Physical/Sensory Requirements: This position requires the ability to: frequently operate a computer and other office equipment, frequently observe details at close range, frequently remain in a stationary position, frequently move about inside an office, occasionally must lift and carry items, and regularly works in a professional office setting. This position also requires the ability to frequently speak to clients, witnesses, and other case involved parties, such as law enforcement agencies, in-person and/or on the phone. Additional physical and sensory abilities will be determined by position.

Working Conditions: Working conditions for this position includes regular, daily attendance is an essential function for this position; and the Legal Secretary regularly receives and responds to telephone calls and emails. Additional working conditions will be determined by position.

EEO Information: Pima County Government is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to an inclusive and diverse workforce and will not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, kinship, political interest, or any other characteristic protected by law.