Legal Secretary Jobs

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

Bilingual Candidates are Highly Encouraged to Apply: Qualified bilingual persons who speak English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Korean, Mien, Tagalog, Amharic, Farsi, Dari, Tigrigna, Russian, Romanian, or sign language are especially encouraged to apply. There is an additional biweekly compensation for persons in positions designated bilingual. Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.

Special Typing Requirement / Typing Certificate:
A typing certificate demonstrating your ability to type a net typing speed of 60 words per minute from a temporary agency, employment agency, or community college, printed on letterhead with the address and phone number of the agency or college, must be uploaded (under the resume tab) of your online application. You must submit, by the filing deadline, an application, supplemental questionnaire, and typing certificate demonstrating your ability to type 60 net words per minute. The typing certification must be obtained from a temporary agency, employment agency, or community college. The certificate must be printed on the letterhead of the agency or college and must have been obtained within six (6) months of the filing deadline, June 19, 2023.

You may wish to contact the East Bay Works – Career Centers. Click on the following link and go to the ‘locations’ tab to locate a center near you. www.eastbayworks.com/

Additional typing test resource information is available HERE.

THE POSITION
Under general supervision, Legal Secretaries independently perform a variety of legal clerical support duties for a team comprised of attorneys, investigators, social workers, paralegals and/or child support specialists in a criminal defense practice or child support department setting; to prepare legal documents, abstract information; to handle confidential/sensitive information; and to do other related work as required.

For more information about the job classification, visit: Legal Secretary (#1240).

THE DEPARTMENTS
Department of Child Support Services:
The Alameda County Department of Child Support Services provides quality child support services to parents for the care and well-being of their children. We establish parentage, locate absent parents, establish and enforce orders for child and medical support, and collect payments. When parents can rely on monthly child support payments, positive outcomes for children increase. We believe the best way to achieve this is to establish partnerships with parents and communities to encourage responsible parenting, family self-sufficiency and child well-being. We value and promote integrity, service excellence, open communication, growth and development, collaboration and innovation. We are seeking employees who want to part of a dynamic organization, who are committed to our organizational purpose, values and carrying out our mission.

For additional info, please visit: http://www.acdcss.org/

Public Defender's Office:
The Alameda County Public Defender's Office provides the highest quality of indigent criminal defense by vigorously advocating for the rights of individuals facing criminal charges in adult and juvenile court. Our mission is to zealously protect and defend the rights of clients through compassionate and inspired legal representation of the highest quality, in pursuit of a fair and unbiased system of justice for all. The Alameda County Public Defender's Office is one of the oldest public defender’s offices in the nation, chartered in 1927 by Earl Warren who later became Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Today, our team of more than 100 attorneys, 19 investigators and 40 support staff handle approximately 35,000 cases per year providing innovative, holistic defense services for Alameda County residents. In 2012, the office was named the "Best Law Firm" in the East Bay by the Alameda County Bar Association.

For additional info, please visit: http://www.acgov.org/defender/

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

• Driven to explore and develop understanding of the work of the Public Defender’s Office and the Department of Child Support Services.
• Demonstrate proficiency with and stay current on Microsoft Office products, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint;
• Ability to accurately transcribe and/or translate dictation, phone calls, interviews, videos, and other forms of audio recordings;
• Excellent interpersonal and oral and written communication skills;
• Provide the highest level of customer service to all types of callers, clients, and employees, and ensure that needs are thoroughly identified, properly addressed, and handled in a fair and equitable manner;
• Ability to relate well to people from varied backgrounds and in different situations; show understanding, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness;
• Effectively and tactfully handle highly confidential and/or sensitive issues; and
• Effectively manage one's own time to ensure that work is completed efficiently; effectively manage and prioritize multiple projects and deadlines;
• Proactively seek to identify and solve problems, using logic, judgment, and data to recommend solutions;

EITHER I

Experience:

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in the class of Specialist Clerk II or an equivalent or higher classification, working with legal documents and supporting a team of managers in the Alameda County classified service.

OR II

The equivalent of three years of full-time experience in the class of Specialist Clerk I, or an equivalent or higher-level clerical classification, working with legal documents and supporting a team of managers in the Alameda County classified service.

OR III

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience performing complex or responsible legal, clerical or administrative, support work in a legal environment.

Substitution:

The equivalent of an associate degree from an accredited college or university may be substituted for six months of the required experience in either pattern I, II, or III.

The equivalent of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one year of the required experience in either pattern I, II, or III.

Special Requirement:

Must be able to type at a minimum of 60 net words per minute from clear copy.

For positions located in DCSS:

Possession of a valid California Driver's License is required.

Ability and willingness to drive/travel to, and work from, any assigned Alameda County Superior Court location on a regular basis and as needed basis.

A thorough pre-employment background investigation, including fingerprinting, will be conducted of all candidates who have accepted a conditional offer of employment to ensure they are suitable for child support related work.

The examination will consist of the following steps:

1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.

2) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN:

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website: www.acgov.org/hrs.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being. These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Basic Life Insurance
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Share the Savings
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• County Allowance Credit
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance

For your Financial Future

• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)
• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Floating Holidays
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• 11 paid holidays
• Child Care Resources
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Pet Insurance
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• 1st United Services Credit Union
• Vacation purchase program

• Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement. This provides a brief summary of the