Executive Assistant - Affirmative & Special Litigation Division

Position Description

The Harris County Attorney's Office (HCAO) is seeking an Executive Assistant to join our Affirmative & Special Litigation Division, which handles litigation and appeals in state and federal courts. The litigation and appellate matters concern large public impact cases, as well as other civil matters including constitutional claims, consumer protection, nuisance, and contract disputes. The Division also investigates potential claims and regulatory enforcement against businesses and individuals. The Division's goal is to advance and protect, through litigation, the well-being, health, and safety of Harris County residents. Under the supervision of Managing Counsel, the Executive Assistant will perform delegated and supervised substantive and administrative legal work that requires an understanding of legal principles and procedures.

In addition to the ability to earn compensatory time for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek, the selected candidate may be eligible to participate in the HCAO telework program, which currently allows employees to work from home a few days per week.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Coordinates and manages the Managing Counsel schedule and e-mails.

• Performs advanced administrative tasks such as developing agendas, preparing attorney case reports, and tracking case status and outcomes in support of docket management.

• Prepares agenda items for submission to governing body, including counsel contracts and settlement agreements among other items.

• Processes settlements and facilitates case closures.

• Processes matters approved by the Managing Counsel and Division Director, including invoices, reimbursements, and continuing education requests.

• Composes reports, memos, letters, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.

• Reads and analyzes incoming memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution.

• Maintains professional licenses and perform event registrations.

• Compiles data, research facts, and coordinates information retrieval to assist with multifaceted tasks and develop special projects.

• Coordinates and schedules complex meetings, teleconferences, and events.

• Coordinates team activities and events.

• Files and retrieves case documents, records, and reports.

• Answers and responds to calls from Harris County stakeholders, clients, and the public on behalf of the Division.

• Electronic filing and service of court pleadings and documents.

• Familiarity with service of process of court pleadings.

• Familiarity with discovery.

• Compose shells of legal documents.

• Handles multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining an effective balance of priority and high productivity.

• Develops and manages relationships with other county departments such as county commissioners, county judge, work groups, and others related to assigned projects.

• Provide executive leadership with travel and expense management.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Other Duties:

• This Job Description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position. Management may, at its discretion, assign, or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer

https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/EqualEmploymentOpportunityPlan.aspx

If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email ADACoordinator@bmd.hctx.net.

This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.

Requirements

Supporting Job Application Documents:

Applicants should provide a cover letter, resume, and three (3) professional references with their application.

Education and Experience:

• High School diploma or equivalent from an accredited educational institution.

• Must possess at least five (5) years' experience supporting attorneys and/or personnel in upper management (e.g. managers, directors).

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to communicate and work independently or in a collaborative group.

• Exhibit good strategic skills, leadership, verbal and written communication skills, and analytic capabilities.

• Exhibit a high level of professionalism and regard for confidentiality.

• Proficiency with technology and legal tools such as Microsoft Office Suite, Windows, Westlaw, and Adobe.

• Ability to comply with the Harris County Personnel Policies and Procedures and the policies of the County Attorney.

• Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining an effective balance of priority and high productivity.

• Must be able to work without direct supervision, and have excellent decision-making, and organizational skills.

• Ability to perform complex administrative skills for executive support and exercise good judgment.

• Ability to comply with office training requirements.

• Ability to perform in-person and online e-notary services as a Traditional and Online Notary Public in the State of Texas.

• Ability to use case management software.

• Occasional ability to work extended hours to accommodate caseload demands.

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

Preferences

• Paralegal certificate.

• Experience in administrative coordination or support of attorneys and/or executive level personnel.

General Information

Located in downtown Houston, the Harris County Attorney's Office represents Harris County government, the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris County Toll Road Authority, and the Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Emergency Network in all civil matters, including lawsuits. The office also provides legal advice to county officials and employees.

Position Type, Working Schedule and Typical Work Environment:

• This is a full-time position.

• Days and hours of work are typically Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with occasional weekends and holidays as necessary.

• Hours may vary based on the business needs of the HCAO.

• The selected candidate may be eligible to participate in the HCAO telework program.

• This job typically operates in a professional office environment, and the individual in this role uses standard office equipment such as computers, printers, scanners/copiers, and phones.

Physical and Mental Demands:

• This is largely a sedentary role that requires standing or sitting for prolonged periods, exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body, repetitive motions requiring dexterity such as keyboarding that may include the wrists, hands, and/or fingers, communicating with others to exchange concepts and information, problem-solving, decision-making, organization, the ability to read/write, and the ability to manage workplace stressors such as adversarial interactions.

Compensation:

• The base compensation for this position will be determined on the candidate's qualifications and the pay of other employees in the job function. Total compensation includes attractive paid leave programs, health benefits, and retirement plans.

• In addition, the position is eligible for the accrual of compensatory time off for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, consistent with Harris County personnel policies and procedures.

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.

BENEFITS

Harris County offers a competitive benefits program, including comprehensive group health and related benefits plan as well as defined benefit retirement plan.

The following list of benefits is offered only to employees in regular (full-time) positions:

• Medical Coverage

• Dental Coverage

• Vision Coverage

• Wellness Plan

• Life Insurance

• Long-term disability

• Employee Assistance Program

• Ten (10) days of vacation each year for the first five (5) years of service

• Accrual rates increase based on years of service

• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays and one (1) floating holiday

• Professional development opportunities

• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan

• Healthcare Reimbursement Account

• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are also available to regular (full-time) employment and may be available to part-time employees:

• Retirement Pension (TCDRS)
• Flexible schedule (varies by department)
• Transportation Assistance (Metro RideSponsor Program)

In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, Group Health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.

For plan details, visit the Harris County benefits website:

https://benefitsathctx.com/

01

Which of the following best describes your education as it relates to this position?

• High School Diploma or G.E.D. equivalent

• Associates Degree

• Bachelor's Degree or higher

• None of the Above

02

Please describe your educational background including level of education completed, area of study and completed major and minor programs.

03

Which of the following best describes your verifiable experience supporting attorneys and/or personnel in upper management (e.g. managers, directors)? (To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than five (5) years

• Five (5) years but less than six (6) years.

• Six (6) years but less than seven (7) years

• Seven (7) or more years

• I do not have this experience.

04

Please provide details about your verifiable experience supporting attorneys and/or personnel in upper management (e.g. managers, directors). Do not use "Please see Resume" or "See Resume" (To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history) Please include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilities. If you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.

05

Do you have a paralegal certificate?

• Yes

• No

06

Do you have proficiency with technology and legal tools such as Microsoft Office Suite, Westlaw, and Adobe?

• Yes

• No

07

Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions: Advanced: A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons. Intermediate: A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons. Basic: A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it. Entry Level: A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Advanced

• Intermediate

• Basic

• Entry Level

• Not proficient

08

Applicants should provide a cover letter, resume, and three (3) professional references with their application. Did you provide these supporting documents along with your application?

• Yes

Required Question

Agency Harris County

Address 1111 Fannin St

Ste. 600

Houston, Texas, 77002

Phone 713-274-5445

Website https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/harriscountytx