Legal Office Professional Senior

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Job location
312 East Cook Street
Santa Maria, CA 93455
United States
Organization information
Organization name: 
Santa Barbara County Public Defender's Office
Street address: 
1100 Anacapa
City: 
Santa Barbara
State: 
California
ZIP: 
93101
Job type: 
Legal - Defender
Position Description: 

ABOUT THE POSITION: Under general direction, the incumbent in this classification is expected to possess considerable expertise in legal procedures and must exercise considerable tact, discretion, and sound independent judgment in the performance of duties with a relatively high consequence of error. Candidate will serve as a central information point within a division to facilitate administrative communication.

LEVEL OF WORK: The incumbent will apply an in-depth or broad understanding of an extensive body of legal rules and procedures concerning legal office protocol and management, processes and rules governing administrative, criminal, and civil proceedings; and technical or specialized program information, regulations, procedures, and policies related to an assigned legal support function. The incumbent will learn to perform expert-level legal support and clerical work found in the work area. The Legal Office Professional Senior is distinguished from classification in the LOP series by its focus on performing specialized, confidential, and highly responsible legal support services. Employees are assigned specific ongoing work assignments and may be assigned to one or more attorneys.

Examples of Duties
Prepare legal documents that require procedural research on questions relating to the assignment
Apply knowledge of California’s legal practice and procedures for specialized law to support an attorney on complex legal processes
Provide an advanced level of support to assigned attorneys on complex legal processes
Provide integration of different software to prepare documents for specific office needs
Retrieve and convert data into graphic form and incorporate that data into the text of a report
Communicate complex and technical information to a wide range of individuals in a manner that fosters understanding
Correct and coach others in oral and written communications
Prepare complex business communications, write clear and concise documentation, edit and proofread legal and other documents
Facilitate effective collaboration with attorneys, co-workers, partners, and customers
Work with problem-solving teams, and develop and implement solutions to current and anticipated processing problems
Interpret policy and legal codes and procedures when making decisions
Work with challenging people in various situations, apply tact, sensitivity and diplomacy in stressful situations
Apply business math concepts including quantitative formulas, ratios, proportions and equations

Requirements: 

Employment Standards
Three years of legal office professional or legal clerical experience, two years of which were at the journey level, or the equivalent, AND mastery of the following job-related LOP I, II, and Senior competencies are required upon entry to this class for successful performance of essential functions and for demonstration of the County’s ACE values.

Legal Office Professional Senior Competency Requirements:

Knowledge of civil litigation, including subject matter, jurisdiction, personal venue, pleadings, parties to litigation, pre-trial, trial, and post-trial
Knowledge of criminal litigation, including Constitutional restraints on investigation stage, Bill of Rights, and overview of a criminal proceeding
Knowledge of criminal and civil court processes and procedures, including differences in calendaring and scheduling
Knowledge of advanced legal terminology and concepts, jargon and abbreviations
Knowledge of California’s legal practice and procedures for specialized law (e.g., criminal law, probate, adoptions, civil litigation, conservatorships and guardianships, workers’ compensation)
Skill to prepare complex and/or uncommon legal forms
Skill to support an attorney through process, investigation, discovery, and trial preparation
Skill to locate and verify citations from legal publications, databases, and court decisions
Skill to recognize changes in codes and procedural requirements that will affect rules and procedures related to legal office practices
Skill to use Microsoft Word to create tables and insert objects into Word documents; format paragraphs, organize pages and create styles; create document references, insert table of contents and index; perform mail merges; create charts, work with worksheets and insert bitmapped graphics into word documents
Skill to use PowerPoint to create a presentation from a template, wizard, or existing slides; make layout changes; work with text boxes and text; import text; work with graphics; create tables; and use bullets, auto numbering, slide transitions, animation, and speaker notes

To apply: 

Applications and job bulletins can be obtained 24 hours a day at www.sbcountyjobs.com.

County of Santa Barbara
1226 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Website: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/sbcounty

Closing Date
8/21/2023 5:00 PM PST

Notes: 
We are accepting applications to fill multiple Legal Office Professional, Senior vacancies in Santa Barbara. The current vacancies are in the District Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office. We are also establishing one employment list to fill future vacancies in multiple locations within the County of Santa Barbara. This job classification is also utilized by the Child Support Services, County Counsel’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, SBC Employees’ Retirement System, and the Sheriff’s Office. Please make sure you select the locations and departments you are willing to accept current and future employment. If you are interested in working with the Sheriff’s Office, you will need to select “All Locations” on the agency-wide and supplemental questionnaire. Statement of Commitment The County of Santa Barbara is dedicated to cultivating and sustaining an environment that exhibits equity and inclusion everywhere, and at all levels of our organization. The County believes equity is a fundamental principle that must be imbedded in policies, institutional practices and systems. The County recognizes the negative impacts of systemic racism and is committed to eliminating the barriers affecting our Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian community members, as well as people of other diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. We envision a world where society and its systems (e.g. education, criminal justice, and health care, housing the economy) are just, fair, and inclusive, enabling all people to participate and reach their full potential. We celebrate community and employee diversity, strive for inclusion and belonging, and promote empowered participation. We aspire to build a workforce that is reflective of these values and the communities we serve. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and will resolutely uphold federal, California state law and/or Santa Barbara County ordinances. We believe equity and inclusion are vital to fulfill the County’s mission and to embody a culture of “One County, One Future.” Expanding the full range of employee talent allows the County to deliver our best to all our community members. We believe in the dignity and humanity of all people. We strive for a healthy and prosperous society that promotes all people having equitable access and opportunity.
Salary range: 
$73,122.25 - $88,915.49 Annually
Submission deadline: 
Monday, August 21, 2023