Law Office Assistant I (PCN 02-1704)

 
Who We are:
The Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) provides legal advocacy and guardianship services to vulnerable Alaskans. With offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Kenai, Palmer, and Bethel, OPA advocates for abused and neglected children in protective proceedings, provides public guardianship for incapacitated adults, advocacy for victims of elder fraud, attorney services for respondents in adult guardianship proceedings, for parents in child in need of aid cases, and conflict criminal cases received from the Public Defender Agency.
 
The Office of Public Advocacy consists of approximately 19 separate office throughout Alaska.  We have offices in Bethel, Juneau, Fairbanks, Kenai, Palmer and Anchorage.  Our goal is to provide the best services and legal representation to all our clients. 

Where you will work:
The OPA Anchorage office is in beautiful downtown Anchorage at 1016 W 6th Ave. Suite 100. We are in walking distance from many great restaurants and coffee shops and we offer free parking.

What you will do:
You will provide legal clerical support for a busy nine-person law office responsible for a wide variety of cases. The types of cases our office handles include criminal defense, child in need of aid, juvenile delinquency, guardianships and appeals. You will be filing, processing mail, calendaring deadlines, answering incoming phone calls, and other responsibilities as needed. 

Who we are looking for:

• Effective Organizational Skills
• Good Verbal and Written Communication Skills especially with clients who may have anger issue, be mentally ill or have developmental disabilities
• Solid Time Management Skills
• Strong Attention to Detail
• Proficiency in Database Entry and the Use of Microsoft Office

One year of experience that includes clerical tasks (such as preparing correspondence or reports, filing, entering data, receiving payments, or maintaining logs) and frequent contacts requiring professionalism (such as with clients, professionals, business representatives, managers, etc.). 

Substitutions:
Post-secondary education from an accredited college may substitute for the required experience (3 semester hours/4 quarter hours equal one month). 

Vocational-Technical Certification in a business support career area (such as administrative office technology, business and marketing management, entrepreneurship, office assistant, etc.) or legal support career area (such as paralegal, legal assistant, legal secretary, criminal justice, etc.) may substitute for the required experience.

Special Note:
Most positions require incumbents to be able to obtain a Notary Public Bond and to be able to pass a criminal background check to meet security requirements for using criminal record networks such as APSIN and NCIC/NLETS. If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement.

Some positions are required to work regular overtime on weekends and/or holidays to provide support to the assigned duty attorney. If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement and in the Position Description.
COVER LETTER
A cover letter is not required for this position. Your complete applicant package, including the supplemental questions will be used to determine which applicants will advance to the interview phase of the recruitment and selection process.

TYPING ASSESSMENT
A typing assessment is required for this recruitment. Candidates must submit a current typing certificate at the time of application. Typing assessments are available, free of charge, at any Job Center. They are also available online at www.typingtest.com. Results should be attached to the application packet.

Additional Required Information:

• College transcripts (if using education to meet the minimum qualifications)
• In order to be granted access to the Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) and Alaska Corrections Offender Management System (ACOMS), the individual who is selected for this position may be required to pass a background investigation and may be fingerprinted.Full disclosure of ALL past criminal convictions (both misdemeanor and felony) at the time of application is required. Convictions may lead to disqualification due to the requirements necessary to access these systems.
• Applicants must also submit a current typing test at the time of application. Typing tests are available online at www.typingtest.com. Results should be attached to the application packet.

INTERVIEW
Applicants invited for an interview will be required to provide the following at the time of interview:

• List of three (3) professional references including current daytime phone numbers.
• Copies of your two (2) most recent performance evaluations or two (2) letters of professional reference.
• College transcripts (if using education to meet the minimum qualifications).  These can also be attached to your application at the time of submission.

RESIDENT REQUIREMENT
This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

EDUCATION
If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education and Training section of the Applicant Profile. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of credit hours earned in the Degrees Obtained field. Copies of transcripts will be required at the time of interview.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the minimum qualifications listed above. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the post-secondary institution.  It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.
 
WORK EXPERIENCE
If using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer name, your job title, dates of employment, and whether full-or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and minimum qualifications are clearly met. If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment.
 
MULTIPLE VACANCIES
This recruitment may be used for more than one (1) vacancy. The applicant pool acquired during this recruitment may be used for future vacancies for up to ninety (90) days after this recruitment closes. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to each recruitment notice to ensure consideration for all vacancies.
 
WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE
Questions regarding application submission (including account creation) or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll free) or 907-465-4095 if you are located in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov.

For applicant password assistance please visit:  https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword

For specific information in reference to the position, please contact the hiring manager listed in the Contact Information section below.

EEO STATEMENT
The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-0430 or (907) 465-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.

APSIN CLEARANCE
Due to the nature of the work of the Public Defender Agency and access to APSIN at the workplace, the individual who is selected for this position will be required to pass a background investigation and may be re-fingerprinted. Full disclosure of ALL past criminal convictions (both misdemeanor and felony including suspended impositions of sentence) at the time of application is required. Convictions may lead to disqualification due to the requirements necessary to access these systems.Brandy Glaudo
Phone: 907-269-3527
Email: brandy.glaudo@alaska.gov