Law Office Assistant 1/2 (Pcn 03-0359)

What You Will Be Doing

Law office assistants are responsible for formatting and finalizing various legal documents including diverse pleadings, filed with courts of all levels. Law office assistants may also assist with formatting and finalizing legislative materials.

Other duties include communicating with various officials and individuals over phone and email, processing incoming/outgoing legal documents, creating case files, organizing case files, scanning, filing, faxing, coordinating case-related attorney travel, and other duties as needed.

Mission and Culture

The Civil Division of the Department of Law is the State of Alaska's chief legal office in civil matters. The Civil Division has fifteen sections in offices throughout the state and is considered the "largest law firm" in Alaska.

We represent the other state departments and their employees. We are currently hiring for several Law Office Assistant 1 positions.

Benefits of Joining Our Team

Our law office assistants are the attorneys' right hand staff, helping them from top to bottom and beginning to end over the course of their cases.

Within that, we offer opportunities to learn about the legal system, engage with the court, prepare for hearings and trials, assist in the legislative/regulation development process, and provide vital support to State agencies.

In our office, you can become a leader; work as part of a team; work in one or more areas of law; and build your office and computer skills.

People who succeed and thrive in our office are those who can be reliable and present each day to work alongside their assigned attorneys to tackle their various deadlines and legal puzzles.

The Working Environment You Can Expect

This position is in the Brady Building in downtown Anchorage.  The Brady Building is a multi-floor office building with easy access to parking and popular lunch spots.  The office is open from 8:00am to 4:30pm.

After six months of acceptable job performance, employees are eligible for an alternate workweek, flextime schedule, or occasional teleworking.

Who We Are Looking For

To be successful in this position a candidate will need the following core competencies:

• Well-developed written communication skills with the ability to edit and proofread documents for grammar, composition, punctuation, and spelling.

• Strong computer skills utilizing Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe.

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop and to maintain cooperative working relationships with a wide variety of people and the ability to accept supervision and direct instructions.

To truly excel in this position a candidate will have or develop the following competencies:

• Ability to work calmly and productively under frequent deadline pressure and changing priorities in a distracting, fast-paced work environment with frequent interruptions.

• Ability to stay focused on numerous details and to maintain a high level of accuracy.

Law Office Assistant 1

One year of experience that involves some combination of providing significant customer service contact; eliciting or exchanging information as related to requirements or procedures necessary to secure services, authorizations, or goods on behalf of the client; and/or performing standard administrative tasks such as preparing correspondence or reports, filing, entering data, receiving payments, and/or maintaining logs and includes the regular, proficient use of electronic management information systems and word processing and other standard business software applications.

Substitutions:

Any combination of post-secondary education from an accredited college or university (2.67 semester hours or 4 quarter hours equal one month) in any area of study and/or applicable experience, as defined above, may substitute for the required experience.

An associate's degree or specific vocational-technical certification in a legal support career area (e.g., paralegal, legal assistant, legal secretary, or criminal justice) may substitute for the required experience.

Vocational-technical certification in a generalized business support career area (e.g., administrative office technology, business and marketing management, entrepreneurship, or office assistance) may substitute for up to 6 months of the required experience.

Law Office Assistant 2

One year of specific experience as a Law Office Assistant 1 with the State of Alaska;

OR

Successful completion of training under a formally established Law Office Assistant 1-2 flexible staffing training plan with the State of Alaska;

OR

One year of experience in a law office, or other administrative experience that includes the regular, proficient use of electronic management information systems and word processing and other standard business software applications for preparing, reviewing, or processing legal documents such as affidavits, court reports, demand letters, discovery requests or responses, entries of appearances, hearing transcripts, memoranda of advice/instruction, motions, legal opinions, subpoenas, and/or writs.

Substitutions:

A bachelor's degree in a legal field of study may substitute for the required experience.

An associate's degree or specific vocational-technical certification in a legal support career area (e.g., paralegal, Law Office Assistant, legal secretary, or criminal justice) may substitute for up to 6 months of the required experience.

Post-secondary education from an accredited college or university in a non-legal field of study may substitute for up to 6 months of the required experience (2.67 semester hours or 4 quarter hours equal one month).

Vocational-Technical Certification in a generalized business support (e.g., administrative office technology, business and marketing management, entrepreneurship, or office assistance) career area may substitute for up to 3 months of the required experience.

Special Note (All Levels):

Most positions require incumbents to be able to obtain a Notary Public upon hire, and to be able to pass a criminal background check to meet security requirements for using criminal record networks such as APSIN and National Crim Enforcement Information Center/National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NCIC/NLETS). If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement.

Some positions are required to work regular overtime during the standard workweek, on weekends, and/or holidays to provide support to the assigned duty attorney. If this requirement is present, it will be stated in the vacancy announcement.

NOTE: PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY

THIS RECRUITMENT IS FOR ALASKA RESIDENTS ONLY

This recruitment is open to Alaska Residents only. Applicants must meet Alaska Residency Requirements to be considered for employment at this time.

Application Notice

You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via a hardcopy application. If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal, such as AlaskaJobs or any other database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hardcopy application to apply successfully.

Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" page. Your application must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on the closing date.

Supplemental Questions

This recruitment utilizes a supplemental questionnaire as part of the application process. These questions may be a mix of written, multiple-choice, and select all that apply questions.

The answers you provide to the questions will be an opportunity for you to tell us about your experience and/or education. The answers will be used to determine which applicants will advance to the interview phase of the recruitment and selection process; please be as thorough and accurate as you can.

A cover letter is NOT required for this position. Your complete application, including supplemental questions, will be used to determine which applicants will advance to the interview phase of the recruitment and selection process.

Education

If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed.

Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials if used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position. Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of the interview.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the minimum qualifications listed above. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs; or an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the post-secondary institution. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

Work Experience

If using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer's name, job title, employment dates, and whether full or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and if minimum qualifications are clearly met. If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the recruitment interview and selection phase.

Note: Attaching a resume is not an alternative to filling out the application in its entirety. Noting, "see resume" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination that your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

Bargaining Unit

If you are a current state employee, please mark the union you are a member of at the time of application. If you are not a current state employee, do not complete this question.

Flexible Staffing

This position is flexibly staffed. The level of the job offer will be based on the selected candidate's eligibility. If hired at the lower level, you will be promoted to the higher-level job class after completing the training plan and meeting the minimum qualifications.

Multiple Vacancies

This recruitment may be used for more than one (1) vacancy. The applicant pool acquired during this recruitment may be used for future vacancies for up to ninety (90) days after this recruitment closes. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to each recruitment notice to ensure consideration for all vacancies.

EEO Statement

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities, who require accommodation, auxiliary aides or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-0430 or 465-4095 in Juneau or (907) 465-3412 (TTY) or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at: P. O.

Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal-opportunity employer.Workplace Alaska Application Questions & Assistance

Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to recruitment.services@alaska.gov.

For applicant password assistance, please visit the reset password page.

For specific information about this position, please contact the hiring manager at the following:

Kelly West                           

Phone: 907-269-5100

Fax:  907-276-3697

Kelly.West@alaska.gov (email preferred)