Attorney II (JO#6121)

JOB TITLE: Attorney II

LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO/SACRAMENTO

JOB OPENING #: 6121

OVERVIEW
The Center for Families, Children & the Courts (CFCC) is a division within the Judicial Council that is dedicated to improving the quality of justice and services to meet the diverse needs of children, youth, and families. CFCC is accepting applications for the position of Attorney II in its Court Assistance, Resources, and Education Unit, with an emphasis on adult civil mental health and probate proceedings.

The Attorney supports the Judicial Council, the courts, and the public to enhance the administration of justice in probate and civil mental health proceedings and to support the judicial branch in providing meaningful access to justice in these areas. This position (1) provides legal counsel to Judicial Council advisory bodies, analyzing legal issues and developing for these bodies proposals for rules, standards, forms, and Judicial Council–sponsored legislation; (2) analyzes pending legislation for Judicial Council advisory bodies and other Judicial Council offices; (3) serves as legal subject matter expert on court administration, practice, and procedure, conducting legal research and analysis, and preparing and delivering oral and written legal advice and information on these topics; and (4) supports Judicial Council dialogue with the legislative and executive branches, justice partners, and stakeholders regarding the work of the Judicial Council and advisory bodies on court administration, practice, and procedure.

This position is responsible for the implementation of legislation and judicial branch policy through the development of Judicial Council rules of court and court forms, and for making court processes more accessible to the public through the development of user-friendly forms and supporting materials. The position is responsible for regular project updates and briefings to the Office Director and other executive leadership.

As part of a new User-Friendly Rules and Forms project established through the 2023 Budget Act, the Attorney II leads other attorneys, analysts, and administrative staff in the complex process of drafting, seeking public comment, and presenting to advisory committees a range of complex rules and forms proposals each year. This includes establishing and maintaining high standards of legal quality in the drafting, editing, and review of final proposals.
The Judicial Council strives for work-life balance and includes substantial vacation and holiday time. In addition, we offer an excellent benefits package including pension, medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending, up to $130 reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs, and retirement savings plans.

The successful candidate will be expected to work in the Judicial Council’s San Francisco or Sacramento office; hybrid work options for employees who live in areas surrounding these locations may be considered. In San Francisco, the office is only a 7-minute walk from the Civic Center BART station. In Sacramento, the office is located minutes from downtown, just north of Discovery Park.

RESPONSIBILITIES
• Serves as legal counsel to Judicial Council advisory bodies, analyzes legal issues, and develops for these bodies proposals for rules of court, standards, court forms, and Judicial Council-sponsored legislation to support courts in implementing legal responsibilities and providing access to the courts for litigants in probate and civil mental health law related cases:
 Reviews statutory and case law mandates to determine which requirements need to be implemented in new or revised rules and forms.
 Develops and drafts new or revised rules of court and forms to address changes in the law and invitations to comment on the proposals that set forth the authority and reasoning for the proposal as well as specific issues upon which comments are invited to ensure that the proposals meet the needs of the courts and the public.
 Presents proposed rules and forms and proposed revisions based on public comments to both the subject matter advisory committees (Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee, Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee, Tribal Court–State Court Forum, Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee, Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness) and the Judicial Council Rules Committee, and seeks their feedback on the proposal.
 Reviews the comments submitted during the public comment period, and researches and develops responses to the comments and drafts revisions to address issues warranting changes to the proposal.
• Leads the process of rules and forms proposal development, comment, revisions, and approvals for proposals in the probate and civil mental health subject matter areas. Updates Office Director on project including progress, challenges, process, and outcomes:
 Meets regularly with Principal Managing Attorneys and Supervising Attorney to review the rules and forms proposal work plans.
 Meets with attorneys, analysts, and administrative staff to assess the status of proposals and work plan.
 Provides secondary level of legal review and editing after advisory committee staff attorneys in each phase of proposal development.
• Provides legal subject matter expertise and legal writing and analysis to the team engaged in user-experience research and development of user-friendly court forms:
 Participates in development of user-experience research protocols for user-friendly court form design.
 Participates in user-experience and design sessions to gather public and stakeholder input on forms design.
 Collaborates with forms design analyst on drafting language for forms, including instructions, that is legally accurate and user-friendly.
 Participates in iterative process of testing drafts and revising based on feedback.
• Leads testing of programmed forms for legal accuracy and meeting standards for user-friendly forms:
 Reviews programmed forms work plans and assesses the progress of user-friendly forms proposals.
 Participates in intensive training for legal accuracy and user-understanding.
 Provides secondary level of legal review on all programmed forms in subject matter area.
• Provides legal support for Judicial Council communications with the legislative and executive branches, justice partners, and stakeholders regarding the work of CFCC advisory bodies on court administration, practice, and procedure:
 Responds to questions, conducts legal research and analysis, prepares written materials, and participates in meetings or other collaborative efforts.