Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Legal Secretary

Recruitment #19-1240-01

Introduction

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.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

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.

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

 

Qualified bilingual persons who speak English and are also fluent in: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Korean, Mien, Tagalog, Amharic, Farsi, Dari, Tigrigna, Russian, Romanian or Sign Languages are especially encouraged to apply. There is an additional bi-weekly compensation for persons in positions designated bilingual. Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.

 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: TYPING CERTIFICATE

* If you have a typing certificate with a typing speed of at least 60 net 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, please upload it to your online application (under the resume tab) by 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing. The typing certificate must be dated within six (6) months of the filing deadline.

* If you do not submit a typing certificate by the last day for filing, you will be scheduled for a typing test.

* To obtain a typing certificate, you may wish to contact 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.

DESCRIPTION

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.

Click here to view the full Job Description.

 

THE DEPARTMENTS

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/ 

 

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/

 

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:

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

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

PATTERN 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

 

PATTERN II

Experience:

The equivalent to 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 

 

PATTERN III

Experience:

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.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:
  • Legal terminology, general legal forms and documents.
  • Business English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and punctuation.
  • Modern and law office practices, procedures, and equipment.
  • Alphabetical and numerical sequences used in filing.
  • Proper telephone etiquette and procedures.
  • Functions of the Office of the Public Defender or Department of Child Support Services as applicable.
  • Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
  • Applicable practice terminology, statutes, and court rules.
Ability to:
  • Identify and correct Basic English usage errors in documents.
  • Prepare legal documents from general instructions.
  • Organize and maintain legal files and records.
  • Plan and organize.
  • Make decisions and use good judgement.
  • Analyze and problem solve.
  • Work independently in the absence of specific instructions. 
  • Demonstrate interpersonal sensitivity.
  • Communicate effectively orally and in writing.
  • Compose correspondence independently.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

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. A pass/fail typing and computer performance assessment. Those candidates who pass the typing and computer performance assessment will move on to the next step in the examination process,  
  3. An oral examination, which will be weighed as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral examination 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

Selection Plan

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

Deadline for Filing:    

*5:00PM, Friday, June 12, 2020

5:00PM, Friday, May 29, 2020

Review of Minimum Qualifications:

*by June 30, 2020

by June 10, 2020

Typing Performance/Computer Assessment Test:    

*Week of September 8, 2020

July 13, 2020

Civil Service Oral Examination:

*Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Week of August 10, 2020

  *updated as of 9/25/2020

*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 statues.  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 statues.

BENEFITS

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

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

For your Financial Future

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

For your Work/Life Balance

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

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

 

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

 

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about recruitments for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

 

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

 

Angelica Cuevas, HR Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 271-5154 or email Angelica.Cuevas@acgov.org

www.acgov.org/hrs 

 

 

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.