Legal Assistant I

The Legal Assistant I is responsible for intake, initial review, discovery, and coordination of tasks and deliverables in response to legal inquiries, and is accountable for timely, accurate and complete responses, within required deadlines.  The Legal Assistant I must be professional, well organized, and maintain a high level of confidentiality, while frequently working under short deadlines. The ideal candidate for this position should be one who is flexible with work assignments and thrives in a fast-paced environment. This position requires expert-level written and verbal communication skills, strong decision-making ability, time management skills, computer skills, and attention to detail.

• Receives and examines legal documents to ensure that they meet legal requirements; affixes seals and stamps to endorse, certify or file documents; and makes manual or automated docket entries for all filings
• Assists the public in person, by phone or email; provides information to the public, and federal, state and county agencies regarding status of legal cases; works proactively to ensure that assistance is accurate, responsive, timely and respectful
• Serves as a liaison between prosecutors, public defenders, attorneys, Judges, witnesses, victims, and law enforcement agencies, and other County departments; and responds to and/or resolves inquiries, problems, issues and exceptions
• Schedules witness arrival and departure times for interviews and trials, schedules and monitors assigned cases to ensure cases are processed expeditiously and in accordance with established procedures
• Obtains certified copies of scientific tests, state records and court documents needed for Prosecutor file
• Researches  court databases to determine status of adult and juvenile prosecutions
• Initiates contact with outside agencies to gather evidence and additional material to comply with discovery requirements
• Maintains and ensures that all discovery requests are fulfilled and supplemented as required by law and office procedure
• Regular attendance and timeliness are required

LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMER: The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required for the position.

EDUCATION:

Required:  

• High School Diploma of GED

Preferred:

• Associate's Degree in Paralegal, Legal Assistant, Criminal Justice, or related field
• Paralegal/Legal Assistant certification

 SKILLS ~ EXPERIENCE:

Required:

• 2 years of clerical experience in a legal field
• Must be loyal and able to keep the confidences of the office as required by law
• Knowledge Federal, State and local codes, laws, rules and regulations pertaining to the functions of a District Attorney's Office
• General knowledge of basic hardware and software and uses of a variety of different computer operating systems   such as Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Outlook
• Exceptional skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with County staff, attorneys, investigators, police agencies, and citizens
• Proficient verbal and written skills to communicate information and directions to courts, attorneys, investigators, police agencies, and citizens

Preferred:

• Bilingual proficiency in Spanish

DISCLAIMER: McLennan County will conduct background checks on new hires that will include a criminal background check related to convictions and deferred adjudications in the past seven years and may include credit reports, motor vehicle records, employment records, and educational attainment.   A conviction or deferred adjudication is not an automatic bar to employment.  Each case is considered individually.

All Employees 

o Must be committed to achieving excellence in assigned duties, always in service of the county and community

o Must have ability to earn and keep the trust of fellow employees and the community at large

o Must be approachable and ready to help fellow employees and the general public

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is constantly required to work under time pressures to meet deadlines; the employee must frequently change tasks, perform multiple tasks simultaneously, and work closely with others as part of a team.  The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

PHYSICAL DEMAND REQUIREMENTS: Some light lifting, bending, standing, walking (trial presentations/on-scene investigations/filing) and prolonged sitting. Vision (ability to read police reports, law book, documents on computer screen, and normal printed material), understandable coherent speech and hearing.

HOURS / SPECIAL CONDITIONS:  Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm  

McLennan County will conduct background checks on new hires that will include a criminal background check related to convictions and deferred adjudications in the past seven years and may include credit reports, motor vehicle records, employment records, and educational attainment.   A conviction or deferred adjudication is not an automatic bar to employment.  Each case is considered individually.