Senior Legal Administrative Assistant

About the role

The primary job duty of the Senior Legal Administrative Assistant is to provide support to the Legal Department and forensic sections in furtherance of their compliance with legal obligations. The Senior Legal Administrative Assistant primarily performs complex administrative tasks related to records requests, receiving staff subpoenas, responding to inquiries from the public and stakeholders, as well as overall records management.

Responsibilities

• Acts as primary point of contact for internal staff and external legal stakeholders.
• Drafts and distributes responses to court orders, subpoenas, motions, and complex records requests.
• Verifies accuracy and completeness of critical documents.
• Assists with ascertaining case status, court dates, and coordinating pre-trial meetings between prosecutors and expert witnesses.
• Compiles, reviews, and verifies full case file productions for accuracy and completeness in fulfilling records requests.
• Responds to court orders, including discovery orders, subpoenas for records, and consumption orders.
• Processes motions and petitions, including expunctions, withdrawal of consent requests, and Brady requests.
• Provides backup support to the Legal Administrative Assistant as needed in managing Case File Room duties.
• Assists the HFSC Records Management Officer in administrative tasks related to records management projects.
• Recommends innovative new processes that will benefit the division.
• Communicates with prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement agencies, judges, and HFSC legal counsel to ensure responses are consistent with applicable law.
• Coordinates pre-trial meetings between prosecutors and expert witnesses and assists with confirming court dates and case status.
• Oversees monthly audits of the Case File Room and CS/CM ticketing system to ensure compliance and quality control.
• Records data for reports, surveys, audits, and internal performance tracking related to duties of Senior Legal Administrative Assistant and Legal Administrative Assistant.
• Trains and monitors Legal Administrative Assistant's ability to perform functions, providing authorization for the staff member to perform tasks independently when appropriate.
• Develops, implements, and updates appropriate training guidelines for division staff training in Legal Administrative functions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a related field is required.
• Minimum of 2 years previous experience in a similar role and industry is required.
• Experience in the Harris County criminal justice system and/or a forensic laboratory environment is a plus.
• Experience with JusticeTrax Laboratory Information System is a plus.

Skills

• Demonstrated proficiency in Office Suite products, specifically Microsoft TEAMS and Office 365.
• Demonstrated ability to use complex analytical skills to select and execute duties.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with quick turnaround times simultaneously.
• Excellent stakeholder management and interpersonal skills, including the confidence to interact with and influence personnel at all levels.
• Demonstrated skills in listening, responsiveness, flexibility, initiative, decision-making, and conflict resolution.
• Motivated self-starter requiring minimal guidance yet possessing ability to know when to ask for help.
• Strong initiative as well as excellent teamwork, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop innovative solutions to problems.
• Excellent organization skills.