Under direction, performs a variety of responsible and complex legal secretarial and clerical duties in support of an assigned division within the City Attorney's Office; prepares and processes a variety of correspondence and legal documents; organizes and maintains confidential documents and evidence; and researches information relevant to cases or projects assigned.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
This is the advanced journey level class in the Legal Secretary series. Positions at this level are distinguished from other classes within the series by the level of responsibility assumed and the complexity of duties assigned. Employees perform the most difficult and responsible types of duties assigned to classes within this series including independently performing the full range of legal secretarial duties in support of the Civil Division and serving in a lead supervisory capacity. Employees at this level are required to be fully trained in all procedures related to assigned area of responsibility.

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

Independently prepare and process a variety of correspondence and legal documents including complaints, notices, resolutions, motions, ordinances, summonses, contracts, briefs, judgments, real estate transaction documents (including deeds, easements, leases, and purchase and sale agreements), other agreements, and collections and bankruptcy documents; may take and transcribe correspondence.

Perform a wide variety of legal secretarial and clerical duties in support of assigned Civil Division Deputy City Attorney's cases including those concerned with City staff, City policies, fraudulent activities, non-labor contractual negotiations, ethics laws, open meeting laws, and proposed legislation.

Perform legal and factual research as required including that pertaining to litigation, human resources, labor relations, and labor negotiations issues and topics; locate and obtain information from courts and administrative office locally and nationwide; determine applicability and prepare summary of results.

Gather, organize, and maintain confidential litigation and arbitration documents and evidence including compiling the official record for the court; prepare and maintain assignment logs, calendars, and open and closed files; record follow-up dates and deadlines; schedule meetings, hearings, arbitrations, and depositions.

Draft a variety of legal documents under the supervision of an attorney; prepare litigation discovery responses and requests; prepare initial pleadings for attorney review.

Assist attorney in trial preparation including summarizing depositions, locating and interviewing witnesses and other parties involved in the case, preparing exhibits, maintaining logs, and preparing documentation to comply with the rules of various courts; attend and assist attorney at trial.

Prepare a variety of early case conference, employment, and litigation arbitration and administrative hearing documents, ordinances, resolutions, and transactional documents.

Coordinate with Mayor's Office, City Council Offices, City Manager's Office, City Clerk's Office, and department management and staff to locate, gather, and compile case documents and evidence.

Assist attorneys with a variety of assignments; compile information or documents for City Council Agenda.

Calendar appointments, meetings, and deadlines using various types of standard and legal applications.

Index and file legal documents, correspondence, and reports; compile and assemble various legal materials from files and other sources for use by legal staff.

Provide training to and review the work of new legal support staff; assume supervisory duties in the absence of the office manger in order to direct the flow of work load according to priority of assignments.

Operate a variety of office equipment including transcription machines, copiers, facsimile machine, scanners, computers, and printers.

Providing information and assistance to the public; screen telephone calls and requests for information; route calls and requests to appropriate staff member, department, or agency.

Maintain a variety of statistics for assigned area.

Coordinate the serving and filing of documents including through the use of messenger services.

Prepare travel arrangements for assigned staff.

Process incoming and outgoing mail.

As assigned, assist with a variety of special events and projects in support of assigned operations.

Perform related duties as required.

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

Knowledge of:
Advanced legal terminology, procedures, forms, and documents.
Advanced procedures and practices involved in composing, processing, and filing a variety of legal documents for all courts within City jurisdiction including e-filing system for the Federal Courts.
Standard legal references and their contents.
Operations and procedures of the court system.
Rules of Procedure, both Nevada and Federal, as well as the Second Judicial District Court Rules, Local Rules of Federal Procedures, and Appellate Rules of Civil Procedure.
Methods and techniques of trial and arbitration procedure and document preparation.
Basic methods and techniques of legal research.
Attorney-client confidentiality rules and regulations.
English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Principles of business letter writing and basic report preparation.
Principles and procedures of legal record keeping and reporting.
Pertinent federal, state, and local codes, laws, and regulations.
Basic Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
Principles and practices used to establish and maintain files and information retrieval systems.
Office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.

Ability to:
Independently perform responsible legal secretarial work involving the use of significant independent judgment and personal initiative.
Provide lead supervision and training to assigned staff.
Understand the organization and operation of the City and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
Independently prepare routine legal documents, correspondence, and memoranda.
Understand information available in legal databases in order to determine its applicability to case being researched; perform on-line legal research.
Operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
Calendar meetings and deadlines using various types of standard and legal computer applications.
Type or enter data at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
Take and transcribe dictation, if required by the position, at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
Maintain accurate and complete legal files and cases.
Respond to requests and inquiries from the general public.
Work independently with other City departments, City officials, and outside agencies.
Plan and organize work to meet changing priorities and deadlines.
Work in a team based environment to achieve common goals.
Coordinate multiple projects and complex tasks simultaneously.
Meet the physical requirements to safely and effectively perform the assigned duties.
Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education and Experience Guidelines - Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education/Training:
Equivalent to completion of the twelfth grade supplemented by college level and/or specialized legal secretarial training.

Experience:
Three years of increasingly responsible legal secretarial experience.

License or Certificate:
Possession of, or ability to obtain, Notary Public Certification may be required for some positions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in a standard office setting.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information.

Confidential
C23
Last Update: 1/4/19
JD 11/2018