Paralegal

Full Job Description

Are you interested in growing in a continually evolving work environment with a small, collaborative team?

Travis County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a Paralegal to join our team on-site in Austin, Texas.

In this role, you will be working closely with law enforcement, corrections, and the Travis County Attorney’s Office and District Attorney’s Office conducting legal research, responding to open records requests and much more.

Travis County Sheriff’s Office promotes a great work-life balance, holiday, vacation time off, and other great benefits.

This is the first in a series of two paralegal-related job classifications within the Administrative Support job family.

This classification is distinguished from the Paralegal Senior in that incumbents do not supervise other Paralegals or serve as the primary agent in the research and drafting of legal memoranda on substantive and procedural legal topics.

Sensitivity to detail, communication, and confidentiality.

Requirements

• Research inmates’ legal material requests. Determine inmates’ status (for example represented vs pro se, and indigent vs non-indigent). Assemble response to inmates’ requests.
• Maintains logs of output (documents, supplies, mailing, etc.). Maintain sufficient supplies for inmate needs. Must be comfortable working in high-security environment.

Prepares and organizes government and open records requests as well as documents requested through subpoenas. Retrieves information from computer to assist case documentation.

Contacts office staff, Court personnel, employees from other criminal justice agencies and others, as required to obtain information needed for requests.

Reviews, screens, and analyzes case-related materials for assigned cases and provides summary of facts to assigned folders.

Processes documents, including preparation, filing and issuance of information. Obtains, indexes, and outlines criminal histories, offense reports and all other relevant documents.

Assists attorney(s) in preparation for depositions, trials, Court and administrative hearings.

Drafts correspondence to victims, attorney(s), governmental agencies, law enforcement agencies and the general public as to the status of cases, contracts, or opinions.

Conducts legal research, prepares files, subpoenas and other legal documents, as required. Meets with respondent’s or defendant’s attorney(s) to provide case information.

• Drafts legal documents as needed or directed by TCSO staff.

May appear in Court to provide testimony as custodian of record.

Coordinates discovery, including assisting in drafting and calendaring of interrogatories, requests for disclosures, requests for production, requests for admissions and other requests in accordance with local, state, federal and administrative and agency rules and procedures.

Drafts discovery responses and objections in assigned cases.

Coordinates and schedules Court appearances, trials, depositions and meetings. Responds to inquiries related to the cases pending and returns messages for assigned requests.

Maintains log of daily duties. Maintains statistical records and prepares reports. Responds to inquiries related to the pending cases and returns messages for attorney(s), TCSO staff, and inmates.

Communicates with office staff, adverse counsel and staff, Court Clerks and personnel, and other Travis County employees.

• May select, train and oversee clerical support staff, including reviewing prepared files and documents. May locate and make contractual arrangements with foreign language interpreters.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:
Bachelor's degree in Paralegal Studies, Public Administration, Business Administration or a directly related field AND two (2) years experience as a paralegal;

OR,

Any combination of education and experience that has been achieved and is equivalent to the stated education and experience and required knowledge, skills, and abilities sufficient to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of this job.

Licenses, Registrations, Certifications, or Special Requirements:
Paralegal Certificate from a professionally recognized Paralegal/Legal Assistant program.
Applicants are required to attach a resume with the online application.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Federal, State, Local and County applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines.
• Public Information Act.
• Policies, practices, procedures and legal terminology related to Court system.
• Discovery process including subpoenas.
• Current legal trends in the interaction of law and professional ethics.
• Statistical and record keeping applications, including databases and spreadsheets.
• Business letter writing, grammar and punctuation, and report preparation.
• Lexis Nexis, Westlaw, or other case research database software.
• May be required to develop knowledge of and adhere to federal and state laws requiring the confidential handling of certain health information.

Skill in:

• Acquiring, maintaining, organizing, analyzing and summarizing case evidence.
• Understanding legal terminology and English grammar.
• Case file examination for documentation accuracy.
• Operating a variety of modern office equipment, including a computer.
• Both verbal and written communication.

Ability to:

• Accurately and succinctly summarize legal information.
• Perform legal research.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with County employees and officials, judges, attorneys, Court personnel, other participants in the civil justice system, representatives of outside agencies, and the general public.

Additional Information

Physical requirements include the ability to lift/carry up to 20-50 pounds occasionally, visual acuity, speech and hearing, hand and eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate a computer and office equipment. Subject to sitting, client/customer contact, standing, walking, vision to monitor, repetitive motion, stooping/kneeling, squatting, bending, and reaching to perform the essential functions.

Travis County employees play an important role in business continuity. As such, employees can be assigned to business continuity efforts outside of normal job functions.

This job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The essential duties, functions and responsibilities and overtime eligibility may vary based on the specific tasks assigned to the position.

Work Hours: 8 AM - 5 PM; Monday through Friday.

Location: Austin, TX

This position is in office.

Department: Sheriff

Criminal Background Check, Credit Check, Driving Record, Drug Test, Alcohol Test, Education, and Employment history check required.
For application Information, Contact: Monica.Risaliti@traviscountytx.gov