IntroductionPlacer County is comprised of over 1,400 square miles of beautiful and diverse geography, ranging from the residential and commercial areas of South Placer, through the historic foothill areas of Auburn, Foresthill, and Colfax, and to the County's jewel of the North Lake Tahoe basin. Placer is a great place to live, work, play, and learn! For more information about Placer County, please visit www.placer.ca.gov.
POSITION INFORMATIONThis position performs a variety of computer-based tasks to provide administrative and clerical support to Deputy District Attorneys throughout the life of criminal cases. The bulk of the work involves working within the District Attorney Office’s electronic case management systems, along with computer applications such as Adobe and Microsoft Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Word. No legal background is required, but expect to learn legal terminology, as well as how court proceedings work, filing methods, CLETS (CA Law Enforcement Telecommunications System), etc.
These are fully on-site positions working in an office setting.
Click
here to learn more about our District Attorney's Office.
BENEFITSPlacer County offers a comprehensive benefits package to employees. The following information represents benefits currently available to permanent Placer County employees and may be subject to change. Applicants should inquire as to the most current benefit package during hiring interviews or by contacting the Human Resources Department.
Click here to view Placer Public Employees Organization (PPEO) benefits.
For more information regarding the benefits Placer County has to offer, please visit Placer County's
Human Resources website.DEFINITIONTo perform specialized, confidential, and diversified legal secretarial work; to assist in the scheduling and handling of office details; and to relieve legal staff of administrative detail.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICSThis is the entry-level class in the Legal Secretary series. Positions in this class typically have little directly related work experience and work under immediate supervision while learning job tasks. The Legal Secretary - Entry class is distinguished from the journey- level by the performance of less than the full range of duties assigned to the journey-level. Incumbents work under immediate supervision while learning job tasks, progressing to general supervision as procedures and processes of assigned area of responsibility are learned.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISEDReceives immediate supervision from management or supervisory staff and may receive technical and functional supervision from professional staff.
EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL DUTIESDuties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Perform general and legal secretarial duties related to assigned unit.
- Type, edit and format legal documents including pleadings, briefs, opinions, correspondence, and other legal matters.
- Process routine departmental correspondence independently, and maintain files of correspondence, pleadings, discovery, legal opinions and other records and documents.
- Assist staff by performing duties related to unit assignments or projects including researching and compiling information.
- Provide information in person or over the telephone relative to departmental procedures, policies records, court rules and case files.
- Collect information from a variety of sources pertinent to assigned unit; compile data as necessary.
- Schedule a variety of court events.
- Maintain and monitor records and files; follow-up on due dates; perform other monitoring functions to ensure timely completion of work.
- Operate standard office equipment including word processing applications as assigned; operate computer software program(s) as related to assigned area.
- Enter and retrieve data into and from local, state and national computer systems; conduct record searches in a centralized database.
- Provide information to law enforcement agencies, courts, attorneys, parties related to cases, and the public in accordance with legal requirements.
- Build and maintain positive working relationships with co-workers, other County employees, and the public using principles of good customer service.
- Perform related duties as assigned.
WORKING CONDITIONSWork is typically performed in an indoor office environment with controlled temperature conditions. Positions may require travel to and from locations in a variety of outdoor weather conditions.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS It is the responsibility of applicants to identify in their application materials how they meet the minimum qualifications listed below. Experience and Training
Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:
Experience: Two (2) years of responsible clerical and/or secretarial experience.
Training: Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade.
Required License or Certificate:
May need to possess a valid driver’s license as required by the position. Proof of adequate vehicle insurance and medical clearance may also be required.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIESKnowledge of: - Principles and practices of court legal processes and timelines.
- English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
- Office practices, methods, procedures, and equipment including filing and computer systems.
- Principles of customer service.
- Organization procedures and operating details of an office.
- Basic record keeping principles and procedures.
Ability to: - Intermittently review documents related to department operations; understand, identify, interpret, explain, and problem solve department policies, procedures, and operations; recall and utilize a variety of information; work under time pressure and complete a high volume of tasks with frequent interruptions; focus on a single task for long periods of time.
- On a continuous basis, sit at a desk for long periods of time; intermittently walk, stand, bend, climb, squat, kneel, twist, and reach while retrieving or returning files and while accessing office equipment; speak, use telephone, and write or use keyboard to communicate; perform simple and power grasping and fine manipulation; see and hear with sufficient visual acuity to perform essential job functions; lift light weight.
- Perform routine legal clerical work including maintenance of records, files, verifying files and data.
- Learn to perform legal secretarial duties.
- Use computer word processing, spread sheet, database and customized applications.
- Analyze situations carefully and adopt an effective course of action.
- Work with accuracy and thoroughness under stress.
- Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
- Work with various cultural and ethnic groups in a tactful and effective manner.
- Prioritize and coordinate tasks to meet deadlines.
SELECTION PROCEDUREOnline Examination (100%) - Tentatively scheduled for the week of November 4, 2024After the posted filing deadline, qualified candidates will receive a notification via email when the examination is available. The online examination may include multiple choice, true/false, fill-in, matching, and/or essay type questions directly related to the required knowledge and abilities for this classification.
Note: Candidates will have approximately three (3) calendar days from the date of notification to complete the online examination. Only one attempt will be permitted.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATIONLength of Probation: All permanent appointments to this classification shall serve a probationary period of twelve (12) calendar months or two thousand (2,080) hours, whichever is more.
Bargaining Unit: General
FSLA Status: Non-Exempt
CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENTPrior to the date of hire, applicants must undergo a fingerprint test by the Department of Justice, pass a medical examination (which may include a drug screening and possibly a psychological evaluation), sign a constitutional oath, and submit proof of U.S. citizenship or legal right to remain and work in the U.S. For some positions, applicants may also be required to submit proof of age, undergo a background investigation (which may include a voice stress analysis and/or a polygraph), and/or be bonded. Additionally, positions in law enforcement classifications and those supporting law enforcement functions will be required to complete a conviction history questionnaire prior to or during the interview process. Applicants for positions with access to Medi-Cal billing software or who are licensed providers must clear the Federal Exclusion List, credentialing, and social security verification. Failure to clear these requirements may result in an employment offer being withdrawn.
SUBSTITUTE LISTSThe eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be certified as a substitute list for a substantially similar classification. For this purpose, a substantially similar classification is one at a lower level in the same classification (example: entry level vs. journey level) and/or a similar classification (similar work performed, similar training and experience qualifications required). If you are contacted for an interview by a County department, you will be informed of the classification and other relevant information. If you choose not to interview for a substantially similar classification, you will remain on the eligible list for which you originally applied.
EMPLOYEES OF OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIESPlacer County offers an expedited process for qualifying certain applicants for interviews. Candidates currently employed, or employed within the last year, by a public agency operating under a personnel civil service or merit system may be eligible to be placed on a Public Agency Eligible List and certified as eligible for appointment to a similar job assignment without going through the examination process. For more information on the Public Agency Eligible List, to download forms, or to apply, please click
here.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERThank you for your interest in employment with Placer County. Placer County is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to an active nondiscrimination program. It is the stated policy of Placer County that harassment, discrimination, and retaliation are prohibited and that all employees, applicants, agents, contractors, and interns/volunteers shall receive equal consideration and treatment. All terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, transfer, and promotion will be based on the qualifications of the individual for the positions being filled regardless of gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists), color, ancestry, religion (including creed and belief), national origin, citizenship, physical disability (including HIV and AIDS), mental disability, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics/information), age (40 or over), marital status, military and/or veteran status, sex (including parental status, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), reproductive health decision making, political orientation, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Please contact the Human Resources Department at least 5 working days before a scheduled examination if you require accommodation in the examination process. Medical disability verification may be required prior to accommodation.
Selection PlanFor questions regarding this recruitment, please contact Preciosa Ayala-Burkhardt, Administrative Technician, at payala@placer.ca.gov or (530) 886-4637.
Closing Date/Time: 10/22/2024 5:00:00 PM
