Legal Office Assistant

Full Job Description

Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5p.m. This position requires in-person office work, daily (M-F) to process the U.S. Mail.

About us:The Environmental & Land Use Hearings Office (ELUHO) houses three quasi-judicial tribunals: the Pollution Control Hearings Board (PCHB), the Shorelines Hearings Board (SHB), and the Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB).

These Boards manage a wide variety of cases and make significant decisions affecting Washington State’s environment and local land use plans.

Our agency is comprised of a small team of legal and administrative professionals whose mission is to support these three independent and impartial boards.

We strive to make board appeal processes easy and accessible, and to provide timely and exemplary review of appealed issues.

ELUHO prides itself on being an employer of choice that values diversity and provides a workplace inclusive of different cultures, backgrounds, and ideas.

We are committed to the health and well-being of our employees and their families.

We support healthy lifestyles and a healthy work/life balance, and we aim to provide employees with professional development opportunities.

What you will be doing:This position is part of a legal and administrative support team that provides technical and legal support for all three (3) boards.

You will be the first point of contact for the public, vendors, and customers.

You will ensure the ELUHO office is fully functional and that employees have supplies, equipment, and other administrative necessities.

You will provide backfill support to other legal and administrative employees.

Who we are looking for:You are a team player who can communicate well with your team and others to understand work assignments and meet expectations.

You are also able to work independently and use good judgment and problem-solving skills. We work with time sensitive legal issues, so you must be dependable with regular in-person attendance.

Because you will be supporting three (3) different boards, you must be flexible and adaptable to the different way each board functions.

You must be detail oriented, observant, and able to switch gears midstream to change your work priorities and processes as needed.

You are comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, using and learning new technology, and receiving feedback to improve.

Why you, a skilled professional, will want this position:You will learn a wide variety of skills and take on a range of responsibilities.

You will wear many different “hats” and will have the chance to backfill for higher level positions.

You will build direct professional relationships with judges and attorneys and will provide customer service to state agencies, attorneys, and others outside of the agency.

Most of your work will be non-repetitive and will require your good, creative thinking. Your innovative ideas will be appreciated. Lastly, you will be supported by a team that wants you to succeed.

Requirements

You will receive direction from Legal Assistants and guidance from the Director of Legal and Administrative Services on legal, case management, and board support work as well as receiving direction and special assignments from the Director of Legal Administrative Services and Director.

You will need to coordinate and communicate regularly with Legal Assistants, Director of Legal and Administrative Services, Director, Board members, and judges to accomplish your work.

Some of what you’ll do includes:

• Receives and screens customers, vendors, and the public by phone and in person while directing them to the appropriate resources
• Monitors, processes, and responds to all electronic filings, inquiries, questions, and requests in all ELUHO inboxes
• Accepts and receives legal service documents
• Prepares and disperses agendas and takes minutes of Board meetings
• Maintains inventory, tracks supplies and surplus, and orders office supplies
• Maintains and organizes office areas (i.e. supply room, hearing rooms and conference rooms)
• Prepares and processes travel and expense vouchers/invoices
• Troubleshoots technology issues in the hearing room (i.e. audio/visual equipment);
• Reconciles and processes payables, receivables, and reimbursements
• Prepares performance measures, statistical and weekly reports
• Opens, reviews, processes and routes incoming and outgoing office mail
• Performs legal tasks by proofreading, formatting and editing of legal documents for content and grammar
• Performs basic legal research
• Manages and maintains the All ELUHO calendar
• Tracks receipt of records to ensure timeliness, following-up by correspondence when records have not been received
• Ensure boards receive required documents for pre-hearing conferences and hearings
• Schedules court reporters for hearings
• Assists with in-person hearings and manages and maintains hearing recordings
• Registers attorneys for CLEs and other trainings
• Manages electronic filing systems
• Performs data entry functions
• Uploads/retrieves documents from legal database
• Independently drafts legal letters and memos
• Assists in the process of preparing legal documents and certifying records to the Courts including copying, bates numbering, and preparing certification documents
• Indexes, tabs, and files case documents
• Assists in preparing and processing paper and electronic documents/records
• Assists in maintaining a well-organized filing system
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

*Minimal travel required—to agency offices or occasional meetings/trainings

REQUIRED:

OPTION 1:

High School Diploma or equivalent
AND
Two (2) years of clerical experience

*Experience must include: Minimum of six (6) months of experience in a legal or professional office environment (e.g. medical records, court clerk, bank or accounting firm)

OPTION 2:

One (1) year of legal office experience

OPTION 3:

A combination of two years of college education and/or relevant experience

*Experience must include: Minimum of six (6) months of experience in a legal or professional office environment (e.g. medical records, court clerk, bank or accounting firm)

**Experience may run concurrently

AND all of the above must include:

• Two year working experience showing proficiency in MS Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• One year working experience/knowledge of common software programs used in a legal office for word processing, data tracking, and calendaring
• One year personal/professional experience working on Zoom, TEAMS, or other video conferencing systems (set up and manage).
• Professionalism, confidentiality, and punctuality
• Demonstrates reliability and the desire to learn new skills
• Communicates effectively verbally and in writing
• Ability to work independently
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, difficult phone conversations with the public and ability to work in fast-moving environment

Self-Awareness and Commitment to Equity:

• Ability to take action to learn and grow as demonstrated by considering and incorporating new information and different perspectives;
• Increasing and developing knowledge, skills, and abilities;
• Identifying and communicating needs and challenges openly;
• Adapting to change and applying new approaches;
• Identifying and innovating opportunities and solutions;
• Learning to navigate systems, processes, tools, and technology;
• Practicing self-awareness by reflecting on personal strengths, growth areas, and biases;
• Taking responsibility for learning and adapting, rather than relying on others to fill gaps;
• Ability to take action to meet the needs of others as demonstrated by welcoming and valuing different identities and perspectives;
• Increasing access, opportunities, and positive outcomes for others; helping and supporting people and communities from all backgrounds;
• Asking questions to understand and meet the needs of others;
• Collaborating with others to overcome challenges and find solutions;
• Developing mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships;
• Advocating for all people through active support and inclusion;
• Adapting communication and approaches to different communities and individuals.

PREFERRED:
Experience working in state government and/or legal office experience

Additional Information

Please provide the following documents in order to be considered; failure to do so may result in you not being considered for the position:

• A letter of interest, describing how you meet the qualifications for this position as outlined in the job posting
• A current resume, detailing experience, and education; and
• A current list of at least three (3) professional references with current contact information (attached or available to provide at the time of interview)

**NOTE: The interview process will include the completion of a skills assessment NOTE: By submitting these materials, you are indicating that all information is true and correct.

The state may verify information. Any untruthful or misleading information is cause for removal from the applicant pool or dismissal if employed.

A resume will not substitute for completing the “duties summary” section or supplemental questions of the application.

Please do not “refer to resume” for detail, or your application may be disqualified.

Opportunity for All: ELUHO celebrates our differences and we are committed to a workplace that supports equal opportunity employment and inclusion regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, marital status, families with children (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, status as a protected veteran, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as an individual with the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with disabilities or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

We will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws.

You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials and we will honor this as you interact with our organization.

Contact Information:For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact Angie Anderson at jobs@des.wa.gov.

Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call through the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.