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<b>Description</b>
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<p>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.</p>
<p><b><br> DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS</b></p>
<p> 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.</p>
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<b>Examples of Duties</b>
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<p><i>Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:</i><br> <br> 1. Plans, develops, recommends and implements operational procedures ensuring maximum utilization of available staff, financial resources and compliance with grant requirements.<br> <br> 2. Reviews court files, documents and related materials to assess cases; drafts legal correspondence and/or documents necessary to effectuate legal resolutions.<br> <br> 3. Researches legal authorities and statutory and case law; examines legal documents for compliance with legal and procedural requirements.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 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.<br> <br> 7. Coordinates the activities of the program with related court programs and other community resources.<br> <br> 8. Develops, updates and maintains educational and instructional materials; provides legal information on specific areas of the law through workshops, clinics and educational material.<br> <br> 9. Provides procedural instructions, legal information and referrals to other court-based services, legal service providers and community agencies.<br> <br> 10. Establishes and maintains quality working relations with community agencies and resources that provide services for parties involved.<br> <br> 11. Reviews the work completed by paralegals.<br> <br> 12. Provides lead direction and trains paralegals, interns, volunteers and other Court staff.<br> <br> 13. Performs administrative functions including tracking and collecting daily, monthly and yearly statistics on services provided.<br> <br> 14. Performs related duties as assigned.</p>
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<b>Minimum Qualifications</b>
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<p><i>A typical way of obtaining the required knowledge and abilities is equivalent to:</i><br> <br> <b>Education</b>: Graduation from an accredited school of law.</p>
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<b> -And-</b>
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<b> Experience</b>: One (1) year of full-time equivalent experience as a licensed attorney.
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<b> -And-</b>
</div> Active membership in the State Bar of California.
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<b>Knowledge of:</b>
<br> 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.
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<b>Ability to:</b>
<br> 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.
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<b>Other Information</b>
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<p>Must be able to pass a criminal history information background check.</p>
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<p>The following is an explanation of the benefits, which apply to those employed in regular or limited-term positions:<br> <br> <b>Vacation:</b> 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.<br> <br> <b>Holidays:</b> The Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento recognizes 13 ½ holidays and 2 floating holidays per year.<br> <br> <b>Sick Leave:</b> Employees accrue 4.6 hours per bi-weekly pay period, equivalent to 15 days per year.<br> <br> <b>Parental Leave:</b> Employees with at least 1 year of service are eligible for paid parental leave upon the birth or adoption of a child.<br> <br> <b>Retirement:</b> Employees are covered by the Sacramento County Employee's Retirement System (SCERS) and Social Security.<br> <br> <b>Group Health Insurance:</b> The Court offers several choices of employee and dependent health insurance coverage, with a significant portion paid by the employer.<br> <br> <b>Dental and Vision Services Plan:</b> Employee and dependent dental and vision insurance plans are provided at no cost.<br> <br> <b>Life Insurance:</b> Basic employee life insurance is provided at no cost to the employee with additional optional life insurance available at the employee's cost.<br> <br> <b>Medical and Childcare Flexible Spending Accounts:</b> The ability to deduct a portion of your salary before taxes to apply toward medical expenses and/or child care expenses.<br> <br> <b>Deferred Compensation:</b> The Court offers a Deferred Compensation Program.<br> <br> <b>Sacramento Credit Union:</b> The credit union offers loan facilities and systematic savings plans through payroll deduction.<br> <br> <b>Tuition Reimbursement:</b> The Court reimburses up to $2,400.00 dollars of an employee's educational expenses as outlined in its Tuition Reimbursement policy.<br> <br> <b>Long Term Disability:</b> A Long Term Disability (LTD) plan is provided at no cost to employees.<br> <br> <b>Transit Subsidy:</b> The Court provides a transit subsidy to eligible employees based on current policy.</p>
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