Legal Executive Assistant

Description

DEFINITION
To perform a variety of specialized and technical duties using highly responsible, independent decision making and good judgment in assisting with the planning, organizing, and coordinating of the day-to-day activities and operations of an assigned department and to represent the department at the department head’s direction at county government related activities. To serve as the department’s office manager and as the department head’s confidential secretary; to assist the department with highly responsible and complex administrative and budgetary support; to perform a variety of routine-to-moderately complex technical duties of a legal department at the paralegal level, and oversee routine assignments. To ensure effective and efficient daily operations and to perform related duties and responsibilities as required.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
Legal Executive Assistant is the highest level administrative support classification in a County legal department. The class reports directly to a department head attorney and is expected to become knowledgeable of and perform some of the moderately complex department-specific technical legal functions. Some other department’s main administrative support positions perform the more routine work of the department and would be more properly classified as a lower level administrative support class such as Senior Administrative Assistant. The department-specific technical work of the Legal Executive Assistant, on the other hand, entails the more complex and highly responsible work at a higher difficulty level at the paralegal level.

Legal Executive Assistant differs from Executive Assistant in that the former is assigned to a legal office, reports to an attorney department head, and requires technical work at a paralegal level. There is only one Executive Assistant or Legal Executive Assistant in a department and none can be located in an organizational level below a department.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED
Receives direction from an attorney department head or higher.

Some positions may be assigned either direct or indirect supervisory responsibility over lower level staff.

Examples of Duties

EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
Depending upon assignment, duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Provides highly responsible administrative, department-specific technical legal and clerical support to an attorney department head and other professional staff and serves as the primary contact person for the office in the absence or unavailability of the department head.

Reviews contracts, agreements, correspondence, grants, interdepartmental agreements, and other documents/special projects.

Conducts research, provides supporting data for Board and other reports, and locates applicable ordinances, resolutions, regulations, statutes, relevant case citations, and other required information and data.

Collects and maintains statistical data and prepares and submits statistical reports.

Plans, organizes, and supervises daily activities in the department head’s office; handles the department head’s daily calendar, schedules appearances, appointments, meetings, and acts as the liaison with the department and other departments/agencies.

Understands and complies with all laws, rules, and policies related to the specific department assignment.

Reviews all department purchase orders and contracts for services and supplies for conformance with adopted policies before the department head’s review/approval.

Serves as a liaison to county departments and state offices that deal with each specific department assignment; coordinates and monitors assigned multi-departmental operations, assisting department personnel to ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and regulations.

Follows up on all legal documents and appearances required for each department-specific assignment.

Prepares ordinances and resolutions for the assigned department and/or for a variety of departments, and drafts contracts for review by the department head.

If assigned supervisory responsibility, selects, assigns, trains, evaluates, and disciplines staff; if not assigned specific and/or direct supervisory responsibility, may participate in the selection and training of other staff as needed.

Maintains and updates the department’s research resources such as a law…