The Position
The City of Santa Rosa announces an exciting opportunity to serve City residents and make a difference in the community as a Legal Secretary.
The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.
$64,575 - $78,342 Annual Salary is currently under review.
THE BENEFITS OF CITY EMPLOYMENT:
In addition to offering a rewarding work environment, opportunity for career growth, and competitive salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave accrual package, excellent health plan options, and top of the line employer paid vision and dental coverage.
- A 9/80 flexible work schedule
- 11 paid holidays annually, plus 1 to 3 'floating holidays' per year, depending on start date and years of service
- $500 annually for wellness
ABOUT THE POSITION:
The City of Santa Rosa is seeking an experienced Legal Secretary. This is a rare opportunity for a skilled Legal Secretary to join the City of Santa Rosa's City Attorney's Office due to an upcoming retirement. This is a journey level classification. Positions in this class are found only in the office of the City Attorney. Tasks performed require the application of specialized knowledge and understanding of technical and legal terms and procedures involved in the preparation and processing of a wide variety of legal documents. Incumbents exercise considerable initiative and discretion in performing assignments. The Legal Secretary position will provide secretarial, administrative, and litigation support to one or more attorneys.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Skill in creating legal pleadings, legal file management, and working with state and federal court systems and their requirements for filing and serving documents, both electronically and over the counter.
- Experience and proficiency with legal calendaring and determination of deadline dates and alerts for legal events using a legal calendaring program.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and an effective collaborative style.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Strong word processing skills, with experience using the Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Professional.
- Effective and creative problem-solving skills.
THE DEPARTMENT:
The Santa Rosa City Attorney’s Office is comprised of highly skilled attorneys with significant public agency experience. It is a collegial and forward-looking office, highly regarded by local judges, the legal community, the City Council and City employees. The Office is committed to providing excellence in legal services and support for elected and appointed City officials, departments, boards, and commissions, as well as representing the City efficiently and effectively in litigation and administrative proceedings. The Office is integrally involved in shaping the future of the City and community of Santa Rosa. Teresa Stricker began as the City Attorney in November 2023 and reports directly to the City Council. Under her leadership, the Office is organized with the following complement of 16 budgeted positions:
- Chief Assistant City Attorney (1)
- Assistant City Attorney (6)
- Deputy City Attorney (1)
- Administrative Team:
- Office Administrator (1)
- Legal Secretary (3)
- Administrative Secretary (1)
- Paralegals (2)
HOW TO APPLY:
Please complete a thoughtful, thorough Supplemental Questionnaire submission. As part of the selection process, your responses to these questions will be scored using criteria specific to this position. Incomplete responses, or responses such as "See Resume" can result in disqualification from the selection process.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter.
SELECTION PROCESS:
Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of the application materials and supplemental questionnaire will be invited to continue in a selection process that may consist solely of an application screening, or may include an oral appraisal interview, assessment center, or another activity selected by the Human Resources Department. An eligible list will be established as a result of this selection process and may be used to fill future vacancies.
Examples of Duties and Responsibilities
Essential Duties:
The following duties are considered essential for this job classification:
- transcribes a variety of correspondence, ordinances, resolutions, legal pleadings, agreements and various legal forms from dictating equipment, rough copy and abbreviated notes;
- uses a word processor to prepare, compose and assemble information into proper legal form from established procedures or general instructions;
- files legal papers with the proper court;
- calendars all court dates, legal deadlines, hearings, depositions, appointments and other significant dates;
- answers telephones and screens calls for attorneys;
- answers questions, provides information, and refers inquiries as appropriate;
- maintains schedules and calendars; sets up and maintains a variety of legal files such as litigation files, work files, and research files;
- maintains control over the flow of documents;
- interacts with other City departments to obtain or give information, forms or data;
- maintains tickler files;
- greets visitors and clients;
- opens, scans, logs, and distributes incoming mail;
- prepares financial claims and agreements;
- arranges meetings and conferences;
- checks legal citations for accuracy;
- and performs related duties as required.
Required Qualifications
Knowledge of: Legal terminology; legal forms and documents; filing methods and systems, court systems and their filing requirements; business English, spelling, grammar, and punctuation; modern legal office practices, procedures, and equipment, including word processing.
Ability to: Compose, type and assemble information in proper legal form; operate word processing equipment in order to compose briefs, pleadings, letters, memoranda and other legal correspondence; set up and maintain a wide variety of legal files, records and reports; follow complex oral and written instructions; establish and maintain harmonious and effective working relationships with departmental personnel and the public; analyze situations and adopt effective course of action; type accurately at a speed not fewer than 60 net words per minute; transcribe dictation; comprehend and make inferences from written material; produce written documents with clearly organized thoughts, using proper sentence construction, punctuation, and grammar.
Experience and education: Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:
Experience - sufficient full-time legal secretarial experience in a public or private law office or a suitable combination of secretarial and legal secretarial experience which demonstrates possession of the required knowledge and abilities.
Education - equivalent to the twelfth grade. Higher education or completion of a legal secretarial training program may be substituted for some of the above experience.
Additional Information
Selection Process:
Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of the application materials and supplemental questionnaire will be invited to continue in a selection process that may consist solely of an application screening, or may include an oral appraisal interview, assessment center, or another activity selected by the Human Resources Department. An eligible list will be established as a result of this selection process and may be used to fill future vacancies.
Working Conditions:
Incumbents in this classification frequently use word processing equipment and enter data into a terminal, PC or other keyboard device. This requires continuous or repetitive arm-hand movements and may require sitting for extended periods of time with the ability to change positions at will. Daily activities require incumbents to communicate orally with customers, clients, or the public in a face-to-face, one-to-one setting or using a telephone. A Legal Secretary sorts, separates, arranges, files and/or distributes incoming mail and other materials in a prescribed manner. When filing, incumbents bend or stoop repeatedly or continually over time. Because a color-coded filing system is used, incumbents must be able to discriminate among and/or match colors.
SANTA ROSA - A WONDERFUL CITY TO CALL HOME:
The City of Santa Rosa is nestled in the center of famous Sonoma Wine Country, located just 55 miles north of San Francisco and 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean with a population of approximately 180,000. Santa Rosa serves as the County seat and the center of trade, government, commerce, and medical facilities for the North Bay. The surrounding area is home to over a hundred wineries and vineyards and many beautiful parks and recreational facilities, including golf courses. Santa Rosa is in the center of a nationally recognized cycling area. We boast many attractions associated with large cities, including a symphony, performing arts center, theater productions and internationally recognized restaurants, yet still retain the warmth and small town feel of decades past. Santa Rosa has been named one of the 50 greenest cities in the United States with one of the top five mid-sized downtowns in California.
The City of Santa Rosa is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.
