Paralegal (U) #00033570-24100, Full-Time, At-Will, in Aztec, NM

Business Unit: 24100 — Paralegal (U), full-time, at-will position with the Eleventh Judicial District & Magistrate Court, Aztec District Court in Aztec, NM. The role may be assigned to a rotating schedule requiring work at other District and Magistrate Courts in San Juan and McKinley Counties. Finalists subject to criminal background checks.

Pay

Target pay range: $31.229 per hour or $64,956 annually.

Schedule

Assigned work schedule may include nights, weekends, holidays, and overtime. A valid driver’s license and travel may be required.

About the role

Acting under general supervision of an attorney or a judge, performs highly skilled non-routine legal support work and manages projects in a legal office or court setting.

Responsibilities

• Perform advanced legal research and interview clients, pro se litigants, and attorneys; manage cases; compose legal correspondence to identify relevant legal issues.
• Provide appropriate legal forms, procedural information, and referrals according to court rules and guidelines.
• Review court rules, analyze circumstances, and make recommendations on complex situations and non-routine issues that may fall outside court guidelines.
• Assist customers in explaining legal procedures/circumstances, COLA rules, and regulations for self-represented parties; provide customer service and information to the public, other state agencies, and assist attorneys in delivering legal services.
• Perform advanced legal factual research; prepare legal pleadings, draft contracts, reports, correspondence, and routine orders; research, analyze, and audit case management issues; provide notarizations.
• Present and train others in Continuing Legal Education and other training or educational programs.
• Keep judges and/or legal staff including attorneys informed regarding proposed court rules, statutes, procedures, and law changes.
• Review case history; prepare and organize appointments and referrals for arbitration and mediation.
• Revise court forms to ensure compliance with New Mexico Statutes and court rules.
• Ensure intake forms from each customer interviewed are accurate and complete.
• Coordinate timely processing of documents; manage office files and records, calendar hearings, and statistical reports.
• Prepare agendas, schedule appointments and meetings; may manage administrative minutes.
• Serve as liaison with other court staff, state agencies, and the public; provide assistance to other legal divisions as requested.
• Ensure record keeping is accurate and up to date while maintaining HIPAA compliance.
• Ensure paperwork, court case files, procurement documents, and other legal documents comply with statutory retention schedules.
• May prepare legal pleadings, pro se correspondence, and arbitration forms including routine orders.
• Review case history; prepare and organize referrals for arbitration and mediation; prepare case files for arbitration.
• Coordinate with court-appointed arbitrators and their support staff to manage cases and case documents; answer questions and requests; provide forms, packets, and procedural information; may coordinate and manage files and records for arbitration.
• May analyze court dockets and operations to develop processes and standard operating procedures that improve case management and court services.
• May provide self-represented parties with referrals to court divisions and community resources.
• May respond to Inspection of Public Records Act Requests on behalf of the Court’s Records Custodian in compliance with all relevant statutes and rules.
• May research or draft legislative bill analysis or fiscal reports.
• May serve as a Court Monitor.
• Other duties as assigned.

Competencies

The successful applicant should demonstrate knowledge in:

• Authorized and unauthorized practices of law
• Legal terminology and procedures
• Court rules, policies, and operations
• Employment law
• Case management systems and applicable software
• New Mexico Statutes Annotated (NMSA)
• Forms of opinions and legal writing styles
• The Gregg Reference Manual, Lexis, Westlaw, Westcheck, etc.
• Supreme Court Rules and Regulations
• New Mexico Administrative Code
• New Mexico One Source
• New Mexico Judicial Branch Personnel Rules and other legal reference materials
• Differentiating court procedures versus legal advice
• Sources for fact gathering, data collection, and retrieving information
• Mediating and managing conflict
• Project management techniques
• Procurement procedures
• Audit procedures
• Court records maintenance, retention, and destruction
• Governmental and civic legislative processes
• HIPAA requirements

Work environment and physical demands

• Work is performed in an office or court setting.
• A valid driver’s license and travel may be required.
• The assigned work schedule may include nights, weekends, holidays, and overtime.
• The employee must regularly interact positively with co-workers, clients, the public, judges, and justices.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and prescription coverage
• Short- and long-term disability insurance programs
• Employee assistance program (EAP)
• State-paid life insurance, supplemental and dependent life insurance
• Optional flexible spending accounts for medical, day-care, and travel expenses
• Paid vacation and sick leave up to eight (8) weeks
• Eleven (11) paid holidays
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Deferred Compensation 457(b) plan
• Lifetime Defined Benefits Retirement Plan
• Flexible work schedules and alternative work locations
• Free health care, Rx, and lab work at the facility (Stay Well Health Center) in Santa Fe, NM
• Bilingual compensation
• Training and career development opportunities
• Higher education opportunities, educational leave, and tuition reimbursement
• May qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• May receive overtime, holiday, or shift differential pay
• May receive physical fitness leave

Benefits marked with an asterisk vary by job classification or need.

Qualifications

A Paralegal shall meet one or more of the following educational, training, or work experience qualifications in accordance with the State Bar of New Mexico, Rules Governing Paralegal Services, Rule 20-115:

• Graduation from a paralegal program that is: (1) approved by the American Bar Association; (2) an associate degree program; (3) a post-baccalaureate certificate program in paralegal studies; or (4) a bachelor’s degree program.
• Graduation from a post-secondary legal assistant program consisting of a minimum of sixty (60) semester hours or equivalent (per ABA guidelines), with at least eighteen (18) semester hours in general education and eighteen (18) semester hours in legal specialty courses.
• A bachelor’s degree in any field plus two (2) years of substantive law-related experience under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Successful completion of at least fifteen (15) semester hours of substantive paralegal courses may substitute for one year of law-related experience.
• Graduation from an accredited law school and not disbarred or suspended from the practice of law by the State of New Mexico or any other jurisdiction.
• Certification by the National Association of Legal Assistants, Inc., the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc., or other equivalent national or state competency examination plus at least one (1) year of substantive law-related experience under the supervision of a licensed attorney.
• A high school diploma or equivalent plus seven (7) years of substantive law-related experience under the supervision of a licensed attorney.