Sacramento Superior Court
Senior Staff Attorney-Facilitators Office Unit
Sacramento Superior Court, Ridgway, CO
Salary: $3,623.71 - $3,995.15 Biweekly
Location : William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, CA
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 2024-11676B
Department: Court Wide
Opening Date: 09/23/2024
Closing Date: 10/20/2024 11:59 PM Pacific
Description
Definition
Under direction, Senior Staff Attorney performs a variety of complex professional legal work, including research and consultation for Court staff and self-represented litigants. This position provides legal and administrative support related to self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs. Senior Staff Attorney provides legal assistance and education services to self-represented litigants and assists them in gaining effective access to the legal system. This position facilitates the effectiveness of, and expedites proceedings by assisting and/or teaching self-represented litigants how to plan and prepare matters for Court hearings.
Distinguishing Characteristics
This professional level attorney classification is responsible for assisting in the operation of the self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs and for providing day-to-day administrative support and ensuring efficient delivery of program services. The incumbent is responsible for providing legal assistance to self-represented litigants and for providing lead direction to and training paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff.
Examples of Duties
Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Plans, develops, recommends and implements operational procedures ensuring maximum utilization of available staff, financial resources and compliance with grant requirements.
2. Reviews court files, documents and related materials to assess cases; drafts legal correspondence and/or documents necessary to effectuate legal resolutions.
3. Researches legal authorities and statutory and case law; examines legal documents for compliance with legal and procedural requirements.
4. Advises self-represented litigants on the status of cases; provides legal and procedural information, answers inquiries and explains processes; assists individuals in locating materials and information.
5. Meets with self-represented litigants and provides assistance in the preparation of forms, complex orders and judgments; reviews paperwork and examines documents to ensure cases are prepared for Court.
6. Holds pre-hearing conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues; assists parties to develop a shared understanding of the conflict and to work toward building a practical and lasting resolution; offers multiple and flexible possibilities for resolving a dispute.
7. Coordinates the activities of the program with related court programs and other community resources.
8. Develops, updates and maintains educational and instructional materials; provides legal information on specific areas of the law through workshops, clinics and educational material.
9. Provides procedural instructions, legal information and referrals to other court-based services, legal service providers and community agencies.
10. Establishes and maintains quality working relations with community agencies and resources that provide services for parties involved.
11. Reviews the work completed by paralegals.
12. Provides lead direction and trains paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff.
13. Performs administrative functions including tracking and collecting daily, monthly and yearly statistics on services provided.
14. Performs related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
A typical way of obtaining the required knowledge and abilities is equivalent to:
Education: Graduation from an accredited school of law.
-And-
Experience: One (1) year of full-time equivalent experience as a licensed attorney.
-And-
Active membership in the State Bar of California.
Knowledge of:
Civil procedures; rules of evidence; scope and role of local court rules and procedures; specialized legal knowledge in the area of work to be performed; legal terminology; conduct of proceedings in trial courts; legal ethics; the California judicial system, and local court operations and procedures; principles and practices relating to providing legal self-help services; research methods and principles of program evaluation; resources and community agencies providing services relevant to program clientele; principles and techniques of preparing effective oral presentations and written reports; problem solving, mediation and other conflict resolution methods and techniques; principles of interviewing and interpersonal communication.
Ability to:
Analyze problems and legal issues and identify solutions; research statutes and case law; conduct independent research of legal issues; apply legal principles to case facts; advise self-represented litigants, paralegals, interns, volunteers and Court staff on procedural and substantive legal issues; handle sensitive matters with tact and discretion; conduct mediations in an impartial manner; empathetically assist individuals who are in stressful situations; establish and maintain professional working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work; listen to arguments/discussions and understand underlying problems/questions; apply problem solving and conflict resolution methods and techniques; recognize and respect limit of authority and responsibility; work in an environment with conflicting priorities; use computer for legal research, word processing, spreadsheets, forms completion and communication.
Other Information
Must be able to pass a criminal history information background check.
To view the Sacramento Superior Court's Benefits Summary Sheet please click
The following is an explanation of the benefits, which apply to those employed in regular or limited-term positions:
Vacation: Vacation with pay varies depending upon the employee representation unit. New employees typically earn 10 days per year and accrual rates normally increase according to years of service.
Holidays: The Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento recognizes 14 holidays and 4 floating holidays per year.
Sick Leave: Employees accrue 5.0 hours per bi-weekly pay period.
Parental Leave: Employees with at least 1 year of service are eligible for paid parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child.
Retirement: Employees are covered by the Sacramento County Employee's Retirement System (SCERS) and Social Security.
Group Health Insurance: The Court offers several choices of employee and dependent health insurance coverage, with a significant portion paid by the employer.
Dental and Vision Services Plan: Employee and dependent dental and vision insurance plans are provided at no cost.
Life Insurance: Basic employee life insurance is provided at no cost to the employee with additional optional life insurance available at the employee's cost.
Medical and Childcare Flexible Spending Accounts: The ability to deduct a portion of your salary before taxes to apply toward medical expenses and/or child care expenses.
Deferred Compensation: The Court offers a Deferred Compensation Program.
Sacramento Credit Union: The credit union offers loan facilities and systematic savings plans through payroll deduction.
Tuition Reimbursement: The Court reimburses up to $3,000.00 dollars of an employee's educational expenses as outlined in its Tuition Reimbursement policy.
Long Term Disability: A Long Term Disability (LTD) plan is provided at no cost to employees.
Transit Subsidy: The Court provides a transit subsidy to eligible employees based on current policy.
01
Describe your training and experience working in Family Law, including any experience with governmental child support or domestic violence as well as any experience with probate guardianship or limited conservatorship. If none, please type "n/a."
02
Describe any experience you have working in a court-based Self Help Center or Family Law Facilitator's Office, including internships or Justice Corps membership. What was your role, how long were you there and what were your responsibilities? If you have no self-help experience, what comparable experience do you have and how has it prepared you to work in a court-based Self Help Center?
03
Describe your experience supervising legal and clerical staff, including the number supervised and the extent of your responsibility over them. If none, please type "n/a."
Required Question
Location : William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, CA
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 2024-11676B
Department: Court Wide
Opening Date: 09/23/2024
Closing Date: 10/20/2024 11:59 PM Pacific
Description
Definition
Under direction, Senior Staff Attorney performs a variety of complex professional legal work, including research and consultation for Court staff and self-represented litigants. This position provides legal and administrative support related to self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs. Senior Staff Attorney provides legal assistance and education services to self-represented litigants and assists them in gaining effective access to the legal system. This position facilitates the effectiveness of, and expedites proceedings by assisting and/or teaching self-represented litigants how to plan and prepare matters for Court hearings.
Distinguishing Characteristics
This professional level attorney classification is responsible for assisting in the operation of the self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs and for providing day-to-day administrative support and ensuring efficient delivery of program services. The incumbent is responsible for providing legal assistance to self-represented litigants and for providing lead direction to and training paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff.
Examples of Duties
Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Plans, develops, recommends and implements operational procedures ensuring maximum utilization of available staff, financial resources and compliance with grant requirements.
2. Reviews court files, documents and related materials to assess cases; drafts legal correspondence and/or documents necessary to effectuate legal resolutions.
3. Researches legal authorities and statutory and case law; examines legal documents for compliance with legal and procedural requirements.
4. Advises self-represented litigants on the status of cases; provides legal and procedural information, answers inquiries and explains processes; assists individuals in locating materials and information.
5. Meets with self-represented litigants and provides assistance in the preparation of forms, complex orders and judgments; reviews paperwork and examines documents to ensure cases are prepared for Court.
6. Holds pre-hearing conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues; assists parties to develop a shared understanding of the conflict and to work toward building a practical and lasting resolution; offers multiple and flexible possibilities for resolving a dispute.
7. Coordinates the activities of the program with related court programs and other community resources.
8. Develops, updates and maintains educational and instructional materials; provides legal information on specific areas of the law through workshops, clinics and educational material.
9. Provides procedural instructions, legal information and referrals to other court-based services, legal service providers and community agencies.
10. Establishes and maintains quality working relations with community agencies and resources that provide services for parties involved.
11. Reviews the work completed by paralegals.
12. Provides lead direction and trains paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff.
13. Performs administrative functions including tracking and collecting daily, monthly and yearly statistics on services provided.
14. Performs related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications
A typical way of obtaining the required knowledge and abilities is equivalent to:
Education: Graduation from an accredited school of law.
-And-
Experience: One (1) year of full-time equivalent experience as a licensed attorney.
-And-
Active membership in the State Bar of California.
Knowledge of:
Civil procedures; rules of evidence; scope and role of local court rules and procedures; specialized legal knowledge in the area of work to be performed; legal terminology; conduct of proceedings in trial courts; legal ethics; the California judicial system, and local court operations and procedures; principles and practices relating to providing legal self-help services; research methods and principles of program evaluation; resources and community agencies providing services relevant to program clientele; principles and techniques of preparing effective oral presentations and written reports; problem solving, mediation and other conflict resolution methods and techniques; principles of interviewing and interpersonal communication.
Ability to:
Analyze problems and legal issues and identify solutions; research statutes and case law; conduct independent research of legal issues; apply legal principles to case facts; advise self-represented litigants, paralegals, interns, volunteers and Court staff on procedural and substantive legal issues; handle sensitive matters with tact and discretion; conduct mediations in an impartial manner; empathetically assist individuals who are in stressful situations; establish and maintain professional working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work; listen to arguments/discussions and understand underlying problems/questions; apply problem solving and conflict resolution methods and techniques; recognize and respect limit of authority and responsibility; work in an environment with conflicting priorities; use computer for legal research, word processing, spreadsheets, forms completion and communication.
Other Information
Must be able to pass a criminal history information background check.
To view the Sacramento Superior Court's Benefits Summary Sheet please click
The following is an explanation of the benefits, which apply to those employed in regular or limited-term positions:
Vacation: Vacation with pay varies depending upon the employee representation unit. New employees typically earn 10 days per year and accrual rates normally increase according to years of service.
Holidays: The Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento recognizes 14 holidays and 4 floating holidays per year.
Sick Leave: Employees accrue 5.0 hours per bi-weekly pay period.
Parental Leave: Employees with at least 1 year of service are eligible for paid parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child.
Retirement: Employees are covered by the Sacramento County Employee's Retirement System (SCERS) and Social Security.
Group Health Insurance: The Court offers several choices of employee and dependent health insurance coverage, with a significant portion paid by the employer.
Dental and Vision Services Plan: Employee and dependent dental and vision insurance plans are provided at no cost.
Life Insurance: Basic employee life insurance is provided at no cost to the employee with additional optional life insurance available at the employee's cost.
Medical and Childcare Flexible Spending Accounts: The ability to deduct a portion of your salary before taxes to apply toward medical expenses and/or child care expenses.
Deferred Compensation: The Court offers a Deferred Compensation Program.
Sacramento Credit Union: The credit union offers loan facilities and systematic savings plans through payroll deduction.
Tuition Reimbursement: The Court reimburses up to $3,000.00 dollars of an employee's educational expenses as outlined in its Tuition Reimbursement policy.
Long Term Disability: A Long Term Disability (LTD) plan is provided at no cost to employees.
Transit Subsidy: The Court provides a transit subsidy to eligible employees based on current policy.
01
Describe your training and experience working in Family Law, including any experience with governmental child support or domestic violence as well as any experience with probate guardianship or limited conservatorship. If none, please type "n/a."
02
Describe any experience you have working in a court-based Self Help Center or Family Law Facilitator's Office, including internships or Justice Corps membership. What was your role, how long were you there and what were your responsibilities? If you have no self-help experience, what comparable experience do you have and how has it prepared you to work in a court-based Self Help Center?
03
Describe your experience supervising legal and clerical staff, including the number supervised and the extent of your responsibility over them. If none, please type "n/a."
Required Question