Legal Office Assistant (Non-Permanent) - HQ Production Center, Olympia

Full Job Description

Legal Office Assistant (Non-Permanent)
Office of Administrative Hearings

Headquarters Division
Olympia, WA

NOTE: This appointment is anticipated to last up to twelve (12) months and may be extended based on budget and business needs.

Requirements

• Process new hearing requests according to agency timelines and caseload specifications.
• Review hearing requests to identify the reason for the appeal, the caseload, program type, and agency representative.
• Create a new case in the case management system (PRISM), enter the information provided in the hearing request, and upload to PRISM.
• Review the new case set-up for accuracy and make certain all relevant information was entered.

• Process and publish dismissals and short orders according to agency timelines and caseload specifications.
• Ensure all documents are processed and published timely according to caseload specifications and utilizing proper forms and templates.
• Perform quality checks to ensure orders are signed, dated, and include the correct mailing date.
• Ensure appropriate supplemental materials are included.
• Upload orders to PRISM
• order is directed to the correct parties with all the correct information and that confidential information has been properly redacted.
• Review and manage the PRISM dashboard to ensure all dismissals and orders have been published and mailed, and cases are closed.

• Monitor secure email and e-fax in-boxes, portals, and USPS scanned mail folders for incoming documents.
• Date stamp and upload documents accurately into PRISM.
• Notify the appropriate Legal Assistant and ALJ as assigned.
• Update PRISM case notes to reflect receipt of documents and action taken.

• Monitor mail, secure email inboxes, faxes, and portals for incoming documents, ensuring that all incoming documents are accurately date-stamped.
• Scan incoming mail to designated scan folder.
• Upload incoming and outgoing case documents accurately into PRISM.
• Update PRISM case notes to reflect receipt of documents and action taken.
• Triage incoming documents that may require immediate action and alert the assigned Legal Assistant and ALJ when necessary.
• Route documents to the appropriate team member if action is needed.
• Print files from daily PRINT folder using Impress software.
• Insert mail into envelopes using Quadient inserter. Ensure all mail is processed properly and each piece is accounted for in AIMS software.
• Process outgoing mail, ensuring that the mailing deadline is met.
• Pick up agency mail daily from the building mailroom, and ensure all outgoing mail is deposited each day in the mail drop area prior to final pick-up.

Qualifications

• Option 1: High School diploma or equivalent AND two (2) years of clerical experience, including a minimum of six (6) months of experience in a legal or professional office environment (e.g., medical office, court clerk, bank or accounting firm).
• Option 2: One (1) year of legal office experience.
• Option 3: A combination of two (2) years of college education and/or relevant experience.

• Take action to learn and grow: Curious about self and others. Takes responsibility for knowing own strengths and weaknesses. Uses their learning to make government programs and processes more efficient and effective to serve all of Washington.
• Take action to meet the needs of others: Flexible, adaptable, and customer service focused. Willing and able to empathetically respond to the unique needs of the people they work with and serve.

Accountability and dependability: Accepts personal responsibility for quality work and actions. Meets productivity standards and timeliness standards.

Produces accurate and timely work with minimal supervision. Uses professional judgment to balance quality of work with ability to meet timeliness standards.

Informs supervisor or appropriate others of problems, identifies issues and offers solutions. Gives and accepts constructive feedback.

Focuses on the situation, issue, or behavior rather than the person. Punctual and regular work attendance with minimal unplanned/unauthorized absences.

Attention to detail: Diligently attends to details and pursues quality in accomplishing tasks. Performs tasks with care; is thorough. Makes few errors. Checks work to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Compares observations or finished work to what is expected to find inconsistencies. Remains aware and takes care of details that are easy to overlook or dismiss as insignificant.

Communication effectiveness: Effectively receives and conveys ideas and information both verbally and in writing, and exhibits active listening skills.

Participates in meetings in an active, cooperative, and courteous manner. Uses “plain talk” both orally and in writing. Responds timely to email, phone messages, mail, and faxes.

Composes clear, straightforward, and technically correct documents. Chooses the most effective and meaningful written form to express information.

States information as simply as possible and organizes information logically. Proofreads and edits according to accepted rules of English language. Writes effectively for the intended audience.

Ethics and integrity: Earns others’ trust and respect by demonstrating consistent honesty, forthrightness and professionalism in all interactions. Protects privileged and confidential information.

Uses work time, equipment, and resources efficiently and effectively. Follows policies, rules and procedures.

Avoids situations and actions considered inappropriate or which present a conflict of interest. Tells the truth and is honest in all dealings. Follows through on commitments.

Relationship and team building: Builds constructive working relationships that reflect acceptance, cooperation, and mutual regard.

Earns the trust, respect and confidence of co-workers and customers through consistent respectful, professional, transparent interactions.

Promotes cooperation and commitment within a team to achieve goals. Maintains an open, approachable manner, and treats others fairly and respectfully.

Preserves others’ self-confidence and dignity, and shows regard for their opinions and perspectives. Sees the value of cultural, ethnic, gender and other individual differences in people.

Seeks to resolve disagreements constructively and avoids engaging in gossip and rumors.

Self-awareness and commitment to growth: Understands own personal identity and cultural background. Realizes all lived experience are not the same. Explores and identifies own biases.

Understands how own values and biases impact communication, working relationships, and communities served. Examines own perspectives as they relate to own personal and professional growth goals.

• Active Listening Skills: Effectively listens, asks questions, and confirms understanding when receiving information. Listens and responds with empathy.
• Customer Focus: Builds and maintains internal and external customer satisfaction with the products and services offered by the organization. Provides products and services that consistently meet the needs and expectations of customers.

Self-awareness and commitment to growth: Understands own personal identity and cultural background. Realizes all lived experience are not the same. Explores and identifies own biases.

Understands how own values and biases impact communication, working relationships, and communities served. Examines own perspectives as they relate to own personal and professional growth goals.

• Initiative: Demonstrate a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. Able to determine and act upon the appropriate course of action in supervisor’s absence, demonstrate good judgment, and work independently in a complex environment, and as a team member.

Interpersonal Skills: Ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnership and work cooperatively with others, inside or outside the organization, who can provide information assistance and support.

Build constructive working relationships characterized by a high level of acceptance, cooperation, and mutual regard. Adapts to and works effectively with a variety of situations and people.

Knowledge Retention: Ability to learn and retain new or changing information and processes regarding caseloads, office procedures, and policies.

Take initiative to use personalized methods based on own learning style to learn and retain information that has been presented.

Ability to learn, retain and apply WACs, RCWs, and other rules to OAH procedures and processes.

Organizational Skills and Records Management: Ability to collect, organize, store, maintain, and retrieve accurate records, documents, and information.

Maintain files to ensure smooth, efficient operation and knowledge of work product. Attention to detail in coordinating and scheduling events related to office operations or scheduling of hearings.

• Prioritization: The ability to effectively organize multiple assignments of a complex nature or involving competing priorities to produce work products that are accurate, thorough, and timely.
• Regular and Reliable Attendance: Has minimal unplanned, unnecessary absences, has reliable attendance, and gets the job done.

Tact and Diplomacy: Responds to difficult, stressful, or sensitive interpersonal situations in ways that reduce or minimize potential conflict and maintains good working relationships among internal and external customers.

Tactfully presents information in an objective and neutral manner. Remains calm, patient and with self-control when responding to resistance or conflict.

Seeks to learn and demonstrates respect for other perspectives. Keeps conversations positive, focusing on options, benefits, and sources of assistance.

Technology Skills: Ability to use computer and case management system to effectively process assigned cases. Ability to independently produce electronic legal documents.

Ability to use email, telephone, and conference call systems to communicate with others.

Proficiently uses personal computers and Microsoft Applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook email and calendar, and PowerPoint to produce timely and accurate work products that fully satisfy the demands of the assignment.

Accurately enters data into a computer in a prompt and timely manner.

Workload Management: Accurately, effectively, and independently handles workload assigned. Engages in timely and effective problem solving.

Effectively plans and organizes multiple assignments, sometimes of a complex nature or involving competing priorities, to produce work products that are accurate, thorough, and on time.

Manages one's time and resources effectively. Sets high standards of performance for self and others. Assumes responsibility and accountability for successful completion of assignments or tasks.

Self-imposes standards of excellence rather than having standards imposed. Consistently produces accurate work within assigned timelines.

Additional Information

How to apply:
To begin the online application process, click the green "Apply" button on this announcement at careers.wa.gov or governmentjobs.com. To be considered for this position, you must include the following information in your online application and complete the supplemental questionnaire. Application materials must clearly show how you meet the qualifications for the position in order to be considered.

Application must include:

• A letter of interest describing what interests you in this position and what makes you a viable and competitive candidate.
• A resume highlighting relevant experience AND a completed online application profile that includes education and employment history.

A minimum of three professional references with your application, including at least one supervisor.A professional reference is defined as an individual who has either been paid to supervise your work or worked directly with you and can attest to your work performance, technical skills, and job competencies.

If your references do not meet these criteria, please include non-related professionals, such as educators or other professional associates.

OAH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, honorably discharged veteran, veteran status, genetic information, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.

For questions about this recruitment, or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email us at OAHHR@oah.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.