LEGAL ASSISTANT
(An Unclassified, At-Will Position)

Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Under general direction, provides a full range of paralegal and legal secretarial support to the City Attorney’s Office; serves as Liability Claims Adjuster for the City; and serves as a liaison with other City staff, outside agencies, and the general public.

REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

• Independently prepares and composes correspondence, memoranda, and a variety of legal documents including motions, judgments, pleadings, and subpoenas; prepares and summarizes a variety of documents including medical records, depositions, and discovery.
• Attends and reviews the production of documents and other legal materials at various locations.
• Assists in trial preparation; prepares trial notebooks; coordinates and meets with expert witness.
• Organizes and maintains complex filing systems, records, and indexes.
• As necessary, schedules appointments and appearances; calendars depositions, meetings, hearings, training sessions, due dates, and tasks.
• Serves as Liability Claims Adjuster; reviews all liability claims filed against the City; makes preliminary assessments of liability; determines and collects relevant evidence and documentation for the defense of each claim; determines relevant witnesses for each claim; under guidance, negotiates liability claim settlements with insurance companies, plaintiff attorneys, and members of the public.
• Interfaces with other City departments in the investigation of liability claims and for correction of liability exposure and conditions.
• Screens calls, visitors, and mail; responds to requests for information and assistance; provides information and assistance; researches information; responds to and resolves complaints; directs callers to appropriate City department or staff.
• Utilizes various computer applications and software packages; develops, enters data, maintains, and generates reports from a database or network system; utilizes data to develop reports using spreadsheet software.
• Performs related duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

Knowledge of:

• Legal office methods, procedures, terminology, and documents.
• Operational characteristics, services, and activities of assigned functions, programs, and operations.
• Pertinent Federal, State, and local laws, codes, and regulations including discovery statutes and local rules governing discovery.
• Court rules and procedures.
• Standard legal references and their contents.
• Medical terminology and/or sources of definition.
• Government liability claim requirements and procedures.
• Basic public entity liability law.
• Modern office procedures, methods and equipment including computers.
• Computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and statistical databases.
• Principles and procedures of record keeping.
• Principles of business letter writing and report preparation.
• Methods and techniques of public relations.
• Mathematical principles.
• English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Ability to:

• Perform responsible and difficult paralegal and legal secretarial duties involving the use of independent judgment and personal initiative.
• Understand the organization and operation of the City and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
• Understand, interpret, and apply administrative and departmental policies and procedures as well as pertinent laws, regulations, and ordinances.
• Analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, project consequences of proposed actions and implement recommendations in support of goals.
• Research, compile, analyze, and interpret data.
• Locate various legal references including statutes, codes, regulations, and citations.
• Participate in the preparation of a variety of reports and documents.
• Independently prepare correspondence and memoranda.
• Implement and maintain specialized and standard filing systems.
• Type or input data at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
• Operate and use modern office equipment including a computer and various software packages.
• Organize and prioritize work flow.
• Work under steady pressure with frequent interruptions and a high degree of public contact by phone or in person.
• Work independently in the absence of supervision.
• Exercise good judgment and maintain confidentiality in maintaining critical and sensitive information, records, and reports.
• Demonstrate an awareness and appreciation of the cultural diversity of the community.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education and Experience Guidelines - Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education/Training: Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade. Formal education in the form of a certificate of completion of an approved paralegal program or a Bachelor’s degree is desirable.

Experience: Four years of increasingly responsible law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the State Bar of California. Formal education, as described in the preceding paragraph, may substitute for up to three years of experience. Liability claims adjuster experience is desirable.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Standard office setting. Exposure to dust from paperwork. Work schedule is 9/80 with alternating Fridays off in a biweekly period. Work environment is both formal and informal, team- and autonomy-oriented, having variable tasks, pace and pressure.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability to work in an office setting and operate office equipment. CONTINUOUS sitting, upward and downward flexion of neck; fine finger dexterity and light to moderate finger pressure to manipulate keyboard, equipment controls, and other office equipment; pinch grasp to manipulate writing utensils. FREQUENT side-to-side turning of neck, walking, standing, bending and stooping, pushing/pulling, twisting at waist, moderate wrist torque to twist equipment knobs and dials; lifting objects weighing up to 20 lbs. from below waist to above shoulders and transporting distances up to 50 yards. OCCASIONAL squatting, kneeling, reaching above and at shoulder height, moderate grasping to manipulate reference books and manuals; lifting objects weighing 20-3 5 lbs. from below waist to above shoulders and transporting distances up to 50 feet.

Vision: See in the normal visual range with or without correction; vision sufficient to read computer screens and printed documents and to operate equipment.

Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction.

Date: November 2001
Johnson & Associates