DSHS HCLA Paralegal 2

About the role

Adult Protective Services (APS) conducts investigations of abandonment, abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and self-neglect and offers, arranges for, and provides protective services to vulnerable adults. In this role, you will directly support the statewide due process team, who provides support to the regions when determining whether an allegation is substantiated, and who represents the department in administrative hearings if a substantiation allegation is contested. As the Paralegal, you will operate under the supervision of the Unit Manager of Legal and Records at APS Headquarters, and perform paralegal work involving litigation support, file management, tracking, and other work necessary to support the due process team.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates and handles the scheduling of prehearing conferences and hearings
• Responsible for administrative hearing process, timeframes, and deadlines
• Ensure alleged perpetrators are notified of APS findings
• Work with internal and external partners to ensure appellants are given due process rights
• Serve as the central point for service of documents from the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and the department's Board of Appeals (BOA)
• Draft and prepare letters for service and filing
• Organize, maintain, and upload litigation hearing files and documents
• Examine and edit legal documents
• Research and check legal citations to ensure accuracy in legal pleadings and briefs
• Receive and respond to discovery requests in the form of superior court orders

Qualifications

Professionals with combination of four years of experience through paralegal certification, two-year paralegal degree, and/or paraprofessional experience in support of an attorney OR one year experience as a Paralegal 1. Equivalent education/experience may be considered. Note: Some positions may require at least one year of training and mentoring others.

Skills

• Knowledge of legal terms and phraseology, legal forms, and documents
• Familiarity with administrative hearing procedures
• Ability to learn, apply, and interpret laws, policy, and procedures; and use good judgment in evaluating situations and making decisions
• Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and organize workload
• Ability to communicate through oral and written forms of communication, with management, peers, clients, and the public
• Ability to compose professionally cogent and grammatically correct documents
• Ability to respect and maintain the highest level of confidentiality