Senior Legal Assistant - Hourly

Performs legal administrative and secretarial work; may assist community service coordinator; Performs other duties as assigned.

1. Ensures that all cases are assigned trial and hearing dates;
2. Ensures that all rescheduled cases comply with the statutory-time requirement;
3. Coordinates and assigns the States Attorney’s files with the appropriate case number;
4. Tracks the movement of each case through all court actions;
5. Drafts orders, pleadings, and other legal documents and obtains relevant signatures;
6. May interview and meet with witnesses, victims, custodial parents, etc., to determine what court action is necessary and drafts the appropriate pleading; 
7. Tracks and reviews cases with attorney(s);
8. Performs other duties as assigned.

1. Ability to gain thorough knowledge of St. Mary’s County Government policies and procedures;
2. Ability to effectively communicate with other staff, attorneys, victims, witnesses, custodial parents, and the public in a courteous manner;
3. Ability to make decisions in accordance with established laws, and Federal Guidelines, and to apply departmental policies to daily work problems;
4. Ability to understand and follow complex oral and written instructions;
5. Ability to work independently on tasks and maintain records;
6. Ability to plan, organize, and execute continuing assignments accurately, with minimum instruction or review;
7. Effective business English, grammar, legal terminology, and math skills.

1. Associates degree;
2. Three years or more of related experience;
3. Or equivalent technical training, education, and/or experience.

Additional Requirements:

1. Must successfully pass background investigation with favorable results;
2. Must pass a pre-employment drug test.

Physical and Environmental Conditions:  Work requires no unusual demand for physical effort. Work environment involves high risks with exposure to potentially dangerous situations, which require a range of safety and other precautions, e.g., aggressive human behavior, or similar situations where conditions cannot be controlled.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job