Legal Assistant

Under general supervision of the Public Defender, the Legal Assistant provides a wide variety of legal administrative and secretarial support for the Program. Achieves results through coordination of services and activities with other Office staff, Pueblo Court programs, and Pueblo offices. Consistently applies the Pueblo’s Core Values in support of Workforce Excellence. Maintains confidentiality of all privileged information.

This list of duties and responsibilities is illustrative only of the tasks performed by this position and is not all-inclusive.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

· Screens incoming calls and visitors; routes to program staff as required; may respond to inquiries independently based on nature of contact.

· Exercises/exhibits professional etiquette and demeanor in personal and/or telephone contacts.

· Logs incoming and outgoing correspondence/documents in the Pueblo’s Mail Log tracking system. Distributes incoming correspondence/documents as required.

· Provides administrative support to other Program attorneys based on established schedule.

· Develops drafts and final versions of correspondence, pleadings, motions, court decisions, and other legal documents, reviews and edits for correct grammar, punctuation, formatting, spelling, and consistency with Program’s standard operating procedures.

· Processes daily intake for new civil case clients.

· Enters into/updates CLIO data program civil and criminal activity.

· Attends Court hearings; assists Attorney in preparing post-hearing pleadings or other relevant documents.

· Monitors evidence gathering; summarizes cases and prepares reports.

· Prepares and files documents with courts, treatment facilities, and other relevant entities.

· Assists client families in obtaining required documents for treatment admission and navigating through admission process for both inpatient and outpatient recovery.

· Assists in the management of schedules, calendars, deadlines, and appointments; records and monitors court appearance dates, deadlines for pleadings and filing requirements.

· Ensures required notification of all parties for interviews, meetings, court appearances, outcome of hearings, and other legal proceedings.

· Provides Notary Public services.

· Uploads body camera images to electronic files; reviews files; reports noted visual conflicts to Attorney.

· Develops and maintains comprehensive hard copy and electronic files in accordance with established policies and procedures.

· Develops required narrative and statistical reports.

· Ensures the protection of confidential files and information in accordance with established policies and procedures.

· Completes and ensures the processing of personnel action forms, travel authorizations and travel arrangements, purchase requests, and other administrative documents including contract attorney invoices.

· Maintains schedule of required attorney license renewals; sends reminder(s) for renewals to appropriate personnel.

· Assists in preparing annual budget and budget modifications; conducts research and analysis of the cost of office operations; prepares reports and supporting data for the annual budget; maintains program budgets, utilizes cuff accounts, and works accordingly with the accounting office.

· Schedules timely Budget and Finance meetings on a quarterly basis.

· Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending relevant training and workshops and establishing networks with like programs.

· Contributes to a team effort to accomplish tasks and achieve results.

· Performs other duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications:

Associates degree in Paralegal or Pre-Law studies field required. Five (5) years of Legal Assistant or Legal Secretary work experience required. Legal Assistant or Paralegal Certification from ABA accredited program required. Bachelor’s degree in Paralegal or Pre-Law preferred. Fluency in the Laguna language preferred. A combination of relevant education and related work experience may be considered.

Background Investigation Requirements:

The Pueblo of Laguna has a Suitability Policy for background investigation processes. Every position in the government operation is reviewed and designated at one of three risk levels. The determination is commensurate with public trust responsibilities and attributes of the position which includes job duties. The Legal Assistant is designated as a Moderate Risk Trust (MRPT) position.

Type of Background Check

Required

Pre-Employment Drug Screening

X

Background Investigation (Criminal Check, Sex Offender Check, Social Security Trace, Driving Record, Civil Court Check – if applicable, Tribal Criminal Check – if applicable)

X

Employment Verification, Education / License Verification, Personal Reference Verification

X

Fingerprint Verification

X

Must Be Able to Drive a Pueblo Issued Vehicle

X

Other

Knowledge, Abilities, Skills, and Certifications:

· Knowledge of standard legal practices, procedures, and processes of judicial systems sufficient to carry out essential duties.

· Knowledge of courtroom protocol.

· Knowledge of correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and math skills sufficient to carry out essential duties.

· Knowledge of legal terminology sufficient to carry out essential duties.

· Knowledge of records management in a legal setting and basic accounting procedures.

· Knowledge of and skill in use of case management software.

· Knowledge of research processes in legal field.

· Knowledge of and skill in use of relevant search engines for research work.

· Ability to communicate professionally and effectively both verbally and in writing.

· Ability to learn and adapt to new technologies as they become relevant to or incorporated into the workplace; Zoom for remote work, etc.

· Ability to interact and maintain good working relationships with individuals of varying social and cultural backgrounds.

· Ability to maintain strict confidentiality, to demonstrate high moral character and self-responsibility.

· Ability to analyze situations and adopt appropriate courses of action.

· Ability to work with minimal supervision, to handle multiple tasks and meet deadlines.

· Skill in analyzing police reports and other legal documents to help build cases.

· Skill and ability in attention to detail; to recognize inconsistencies or missing information in documents and files.

· Skill in budget preparation and administration; in development of narrative and statistical reports.

· Skill in maintenance of statistical data.

· Skill in preparing, reviewing, and analyzing operational and financial reports.

· Skill in document management, filing, and recordkeeping in a legal setting.

Skill in computer use including Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, and software unique to program.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $34,258.00 - $51,397.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person

Salary : $34,258 - $51,397