Supervising Judicial Staff Counsel

1. Organizes, assigns, schedules, supervises and evaluates the work of assigned staff; with staff, devel­ops, implements and monitors work plans to achieve assigned unit objectives; provides input to the annual department budget; makes purchases and other expenditures in accordance with court procedures;; participates in developing, implementing and evaluating plans, processes and procedures to achieve established goals and objectives in accordance with depart­ment standards; prepares and maintains a variety of records and reports.
2. Interviews and participates in selecting new department staff; supervises and evaluates staff performance; establishes performance requirements and personal development targets; regularly monitors perform­ance and provides training, coaching and mentoring for performance improvement; recommends performance recognition when warranted; with management concurrence, implements the progres­sive discipline process to address performance deficiencies in accordance with court Personnel Plan policies and labor contract agreements.
3. Provides day-to-day leadership and works with staff to ensure a high-performance, customer service-oriented work environment that supports achieving the Court's mission, objec­tives and values regarding teamwork, mutual trust and respect; applies best practices and quality assurance processes to assigned areas of responsibility; enforces the maintenance of safe working conditions and ensures safe work practices are followed by staff.
4. Supervises the day-to-day operations of assigned Judicial Staff Counsels; sets and adjusts short-term priorities; provides advice and counsels or instructs subordinates on assignments and administrative matters; ensures that work is distributed and completed in a timely manner.
5. Performs advanced legal research; advises judiciary and management on areas of law; conducts research on special projects requested by judicial officers or court management; maintains liaison with staff, judges, management, and other departments or agencies.
6. Conducts caseload analyses; develops and implements procedures to improve efficiency; monitors court calendars for workload and volume.
7. Prepares and coordinates a variety of work reports and records; attends meetings; schedules and maintains mandatory training records for section staff; represents the section/department with other divisions, departments and vendors.
8. May be required to act on behalf of the Managing Attorney in that individual's absence, make critical decisions, act as primary point of contract, address issues that arise and ensuring they are resolved efficiently, including approval of payroll timesheets in the Managing Attorney’s absence.
9. Other duties as assigned.

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, active membership in good standing in the State Bar of California, and six (6) years of experience in the practice of law includ­ing three (3) years of experience in litigation, performing legal research and drafting legal opinions and/or briefs; or an equivalent combination of educa­tion, training and experience.
 
Licenses; Certificates; Special Requirements:
A California Class C driver's license will be reviewed on a position basis in accordance with ADA regu­lations.
 

Ability to:

• Plan, supervise, assign, review and evaluate the work of employees engaged in legal research and analysis;
• Perform advanced legal research, analyze problems, evalu­ate alternatives and develop sound expert conclusions and recommendations;
• Present statements of fact, law and argument clearly, logically and persuasively orally and in writing;
• Define issues, analyze problems, evaluate alternatives and develop sound, independent conclusions and recommendations in accordance with laws, regulations, rules and policies;
• Organize, set priorities and exercise sound independent judgment within areas of responsibility;
• Understand, interpret, explain and apply applicable laws, codes and ordinances;
• Represent the court effectively in dealings with other employees, state and county agencies, court appointees and the public;
• Prepare and present legal analyses both orally and in writing, ensuring clarity and precision.
• Operate a computer and use standard business software and a variety of complex computer software programs and databases related to area of assignment;
• Use tact and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive and complex issues, situations and concerned people;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with all those encountered in the course of work.

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by employees to successfully perform the essential functions of this class. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 
Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, walk and stand; talk and hear; use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; and perform repetitive movements of hands or wrists. The employee is frequently required to lift up to ten (10) pounds unaided.
  
Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
 
Mental Demands
While performing the duties of this class, an employee uses written and oral communication skills; reads and interprets data, information and documents; analyzes and solves problems; uses math and mathemat­ical reasoning; observes and interprets people and situations; learns and applies new information and skills; performs highly detailed work; deals with changing deadlines, constant interrup­tions and multiple concurrent tasks; and interacts with others encountered in the course of work.
 
Work Environment
The employee works in an office environment where the noise level is usually quiet to moderate.