Legal Assistant II

Make a difference in the community you live in! As a Community Builder—an employee with the City of Gainesville— you will have a direct hand in building and improving your community and making a visible impact on the lives of your neighbors. Working for local government is more than a job, it’s a chance to contribute to community success and to help enhance the Gainesville way of life.

Job Description:

SUMMARY

An employee in this class is responsible for performing technical and confidential legal work of considerable difficulty requiring initiative and independent judgment.  Duties involve providing assistance to attorneys in the preparation of complex cases and/or transactional matters by investigating the facts, identifying appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials necessary to determine the merits of a proposed course of action; reviewing law files to determine if cases are appropriate for litigation, mediation or arbitration; preparing legal memoranda, general correspondence, reports, and legal instruments; and assisting in drafting pleadings, trial and appellate briefs, contracts, ordinances, resolutions, and land use and zoning documents.

Positions allocated to this classification report to a Charter Officer, work under limited supervision and may have their technical work reviewed upon completion.  Work in this class is distinguished from other classes by its specialized legal and administrative duties, its required use of judgment and independent decision making, its interaction with high level internal and external personnel and work of a confidential and sensitive nature.  It is distinguished from the Legal Assistant Senior classification by its performance of work of a less highly specialized nature.

Employees in this classification as designated as confidential.  A confidential employee is a person who assists in a confidential capacity managerial employees who formulate, determine, or effectuate management policies in the field of labor relations or regularly has access to confidential information concerning changes resulting from collective bargaining as defined in Chapter 447, Part II, Florida Statutes.

EXAMPLES OF WORK

This section of the job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of duties and responsibilities of the position. The omission of a specific job function does not absolve an employee from being required to perform additional tasks incidental to or inherent in the job.  Performance of lower-level duties may be required.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Performs complex legal research, gathers and analyzes data and examines precedent and related cases specific to the area in which a particular issue falls.  Discerns and narrows the issue(s) and refines results as appropriate.

Perform investigations, including background investigations by gathering and analyzing public documents, court records, dockets of all courts and administrative agencies, including discovering assets, real estate records and prior judgments.

Drafts and edits correspondence, position statements, legal briefs, pleadings, motions, orders, and responses to discovery or public records requests. 

Prepares trial notebook(s), interviews witnesses, attends and assists at hearings and trials, including administrative hearings, mediations, and arbitrations.  Summarizes deposition transcripts and manages document production.

Responsible for preparation of city commission agenda items, including gathering and analyzing information and legislative history; drafting ordinances, resolutions and agenda items; calculating critical due dates; receiving approvals from stakeholders; facilitating and coordinating advertising by preparing requests for advertisement, reviewing advertisement proofs and monitoring publication of advertisement.

Reviews contracts including amendments, assignments and extensions, and agreements and releases to ensure required elements and provisions of the contract are included.

Tracks Florida legislation specific to an attorney’s practice area from beginning to end of session and advises the attorney of the bill’s progress, amendments, and effective date, as requested.

Serves as Clerk to quasi-judicial boards and staff support to special purpose committees.  Prepares notice of meetings, agendas, minutes, Findings of Fact and Orders.  Attends board or committee meetings.

Arranges for proper storage or disposal of documents in accord with the State of Florida General Records Schedule GS1-SL for State and Local Government Agencies.

Performs administrative duties such as answering calls, calendaring deadlines, scheduling, arranging travel, managing paper and electronic files for assigned attorney(s), and updating legal publications and Code of Ordinances.

Responds to and manages incoming requests for service from citizens and city departments using sound judgment and understanding to resolve issues.

Attends work on continuous and regular basis.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Associate degree from an accredited college or university or equivalent vocational/technical training, and five (5) years of progressively responsible administrative and staff support experience, three (3) of which are in the legal field performing the duties of a Legal Assistant or Paralegal for a law firm or a governmental entity, or an equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

An additional two (2) years of Legal Assistant or Paralegal experience in a law firm or governmental entity may substitute for an Associate’s degree.

CERTIFICATIONS OR LICENSES

Licenses

Valid U.S. Driver License required upon appointment.  Valid Florida Driver License required within 30 days of appointment.

Certifications

Certification from the Association for Legal Professionals (NALS), National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), Florida Association of Legal Support Specialists (FALSS), Florida Registered Paralegal (The Florida Bar), or other certification from an accredited institution as a legal professional is preferred.