Civil Legal Specialist (County Counsel)

At the County of Marin, our employees overwhelmingly report feeling their work is meaningful, they like the work they do, and they are proud to tell people “I work for the County of Marin.” Discover more about us, our values and our organizational culture on the Department of Human Resources website. Read on to find out more about this opportunity.

County Counsel's Office: The County Counsel's Office provides high quality and timely legal services supporting the County of Marin's governmental functions. Services are provided to County departments, boards and agencies in a manner that is cost-effective, professional and promotes excellence in delivery of government services contributing to the health, safety and welfare of county residents and visitors.There is one (1) full-time, regular hire Civil Legal Specialist vacancy in the County Counsel's Office.

Under the direction of the County Counsel, the Civil Legal Specialist performs a variety of legal tasks and works independently with county departmental staff to maintain child welfare and probate calendars, civil litigation calendars and/or files, under the supervision of attorneys will draft litigation and other routine pleadings, and coordinate review and responses to public record act requests. Duties will also include gathering, analyzing and interpreting information and data from a multitude of sources for public record act requests. 

Hybrid schedule: 
The County Counsel’s Office currently offers hybrid work arrangements that allow some duties of this to be performed remotely, subject to operational needs and management approval. The County’s current telework policy allows specialists to work from home up to two days each week, subject to approval by the County Counsel and modification based on the needs of the Office. Additionally, the successful candidate must be prepared to report to County facilities on short notice for meetings, work assignments, and disaster service work, as needed and deemed appropriate. During the initial probationary period, the candidate may be required to work primarily onsite before a hybrid schedule is considered.Our Highly Qualified Candidate
The ideal candidate for this position will be familiar with and comfortable learning new general procedures of the Welfare and Institutions Code as it relates to juvenile dependency and/or probate matters and familiarity with the California Code of Civil Procedure as it relates to civil discovery and procedure. Further, the ideal candidate will be aware of court rules regarding filings and publication of court orders. Familiarity with legal office filings and Public Records Acts requests is highly desirable. The ideal candidate will be highly skilled in planning, organizing and implementing a variety of projects simultaneously and will be able to assist attorneys with litigation filings and deadlines. The ideal candidate will exhibit strong initiative, be a proven team player, and have successfully demonstrated an ability to develop cooperative working relationships across disciplines which can be leveraged to accomplish desired outcomes. The ideal candidate will be experienced in gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data as well as presenting the information both in written and oral forms. The preferred candidate will have an established reputation as a dedicated employee committed to delivering outstanding customer service and producing excellent work products.

QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge of:

• Applicable codes, law, policies and procedures related to assignment. 
• Legal office terminology and documents related to assignment.
• Legal research methods.
• Business management techniques used in evaluating and preparing complex financial records; office accounting methods and techniques.
• Concepts involved in real and personal property transactions, wills, insurance policies, deeds, and contracts.

Ability to:

• Analyze and apply pertinent provisions of relevant legislative codes, procedures and policies. 
• Gather and analyze factual and evidentiary information and data; accurately prepare legal documents and correspondence. 
• Prepare and understand estate financial accounts and other financial and statistical reports. 
• Plan and organize work to meet statutory requirements and deadlines. 
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with attorneys, conservatees and their families/relatives, members of the public, and various governmental representatives.
• Use discretion and tact in dealing with people in stressful, emergency, or difficult personal situations. 
• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. 
• Keep detailed and accurate records.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS & LICENSES
Any combination of education and experience that would provide the knowledge and abilities listed. Typically, five years of relevant experience in a formal legal office environment. Six months of such experience must be directly related to one of the areas of assignment. Completion of an American bar Association approved paralegal program may be substituted for two years of the required experience.

For any questions concerning this position announcement, please contact Stephen Schoengarth, Human Resources Analyst, at 415-473-6946.

All applicants will receive email notifications regarding their status in the recruitment process. Please be sure to check your spam settings to allow our emails to reach you. You may also log into your GovernmentJobs.com account to view these emails.

Testing and Eligible List: Depending on the number of qualified applications received, the examination may consist of a highly qualified review, application screening, online assessment, written examination, oral examination, performance examination, or any combination to determine which candidates' names will be placed on the eligible list. The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill the current vacancy, and any future vacancies for open, fixed-term, full-time or part-time positions which may occur while the list remains active.

Current Vacancy: There is one (1) full-time, regular hire Civil Legal Specialist vacancy in the County Counsel's Office. However, candidates who meet the requirements for this position may be considered for future vacancies in departments throughout the County while this list remains active. We encourage you to apply now if you are interested in Civil Legal Specialist assignments in any County Department.

Disaster Service Workers: All County of Marin employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: If you have questions regarding equal employment opportunities, please contact Roger Crawford, Equal Employment Opportunity Director, at 415-473-2095.