OAG - Criminal Prosecutions | Legal Assistant III

About the role

The Criminal Prosecutions Division of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is seeking a Legal Assistant that organizes, names individual documents/data, and bates numbers voluminous and complex discovery. Coordinates with various entities to gather needed records and evidence. Reviews attorneys filings before e-filing those documents and communicates with court personnel for scheduling and obtaining court-filed documents.

The OAG is a dynamic state agency with over 4,000 employees throughout the State of Texas. As the State's law firm, the OAG provides exemplary legal representation in diverse areas of law.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates discovery including drafting, responding, and calendaring of discovery deadlines, and other requests for information in accordance with local, state, federal and agency rules and procedures
• Maintains case information in electronic litigation support/case management system including case status, scheduling of deadlines and other pertinent information
• Reviews mail and screens calls for attorneys
• Assists in all phases of trial preparation, including setting hearings/depositions/meetings, ordering records, coordinating discovery requests with client agencies, organizing trial notebooks and exhibits and preparing witnesses for trial
• Drafts, prepares, and reviews legal documents; researches legal sources such as administrative records, articles, agency rules and regulations; prepares memoranda on research findings
• Participates in managing and scheduling attorneys case-loads; prioritizes and organizes files; prepares chronologies, fact summaries, and witness files; files pleadings with court; communicates with client agencies, court personnel, and outside entities
• May supervise the work of others
• Performs related work as assigned
• Maintains relevant knowledge necessary to perform essential job functions
• Attends work regularly in compliance with agreed-upon work schedule
• Ensures security and confidentiality of sensitive and/or protected information
• Complies with all agency policies and procedures, including those pertaining to ethics and integrity

Qualifications

Graduation from high school or equivalent. Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university; experience in the following (or closely related) fields may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis: legal assistant, legal secretary, or general office experience in a legal environment.

One year of full-time experience working in the following (or closely related) fields: legal assistant; legal secretary, or general office experience.

• Knowledge of office procedures in a legal setting
• Skill in handling multiple tasks, prioritizing, and meeting deadlines
• Skill in effective oral and written communication
• Skill in exercising sound judgment and effective decision making
• Ability to receive and respond positively to constructive feedback
• Ability to work cooperatively with others in a professional office environment
• Ability to provide excellent customer service
• Ability to work in person at assigned OAG work location, perform all assigned tasks at designated OAG work space within OAG work location, and perform in-person work with coworkers
• Ability to arrange for personal transportation for business-related travel
• Ability to work more than 40 hours as needed and in compliance with the FLSA
• Ability to lift and relocate 30 lbs.
• Ability to travel (including overnight travel) up to 40%

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduation from a course of study for legal assistants/paralegal
• Experience with Criminal Histories, Warrants, Jail Records, Box (cloud-based file sharing), Word, Powerpoint, Open Fox, and Adobe Acrobat Pro
• Knowledge of Electronic Filing, legal terminology and principles and the Michael Morton Act
• Skill in performing legal research
• Certifications: Legal Assistant/Paralegal
• Other Language: Ability to proficiently read, write, and speak Spanish