Case Administrator

United States Courts; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave (13-26 days)

Sick leave (13 days)

Holidays (11 days)

Thrift Savings Plan

Pre-tax programs

Transportation subsidy

Job summary

United States Courts in the Southern District of California seeks a Case Administrator I to support case initiation, docketing, and records management. You will review incoming court documents for conformity with federal and local rules and assist customers with procedural information.

The role involves opening cases, assigning numbers, maintaining filing integrity, and preparing materials for review by chambers. Strong communication and data entry skills are essential for success.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience in clerical or administrative work applying rules and procedures.
• Proficient use of word processing, databases and related software.
• Experience in settings like law firms, banks or government offices.

Responsibilities

• Helps customers at the Intake window, accepts documents and informs about fees.
• Assigns case numbers and opens cases in case management system with initiatory docs.
• Maintains and certifies court documents and ensures correct docket entries.
• Prepares and routes documents to chambers; reviews for conforming rules.
• Receives, reviews and files documents; notifies parties of discrepancies.
• Enters Speedy Trial Act data and other required information.

Skills

Typing 40 wpm

Verbal & written comms

Job description

Overview of the Position The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California is accepting applications for the position of Case Administrator. As part of the Operations section, Case Administrator I staff serve as case initiation clerks and records and reproduction clerks. They receive and review incoming court documents for conformity with federal and local rules and perform customer service duties for the purpose of providing procedural information. Employees may also prepare cases for closing by ensuring that all necessary orders are entered, and proceedings are completed accurately.

• Helps customers at the Intake window accept appropriate documents; checks for prior or prohibited filings; informs customers of required fees; answer and route incoming calls; answers inquiries on procedures and case status, and other general information to the public, bar and the court; sorts, classifies and files case records; assists the public in the use of computerized databases; provides information to the public without providing legal advice; ensures data quality.
• Assigns case numbers to Judges and/or Magistrate Judges. Opens cases in case management system upon receipt of initiating documents, such as complaints or petitions; verifies and issues summons; verifies attorney’s authority to practice. Makes summary entries on the docket of all civil case opening documents and other documents, including, but not limited to motions to proceed in forma pauperis, notices of related case, summonses, and requests for appointment of counsel.
• Maintains integrity of the filing system by such means as monitoring proper access to records and maintaining timely and accurate filing of documents. Retrieves files and makes copies of records for court personnel, attorneys and others. Certifies court documents.
• Prepares and transmits to appropriate parties and/or chambers documents for review.
• Makes summary entries of all documents and proceedings on the docket. This includes, but is not limited to pleadings, minutes, orders and judgments.
• Receives and reviews incoming documents to determine conformity with appropriate rules, practices and/or court requirements. Reviews documents for accuracy and notifies any interested parties of discrepancies.
• Files documents meeting requirements as needed. Manually distributes documents to individuals not served electronically by the system.
• Ensures that all automated entries are properly docketed and appropriately linked for proper case management.
• Prepares and routes discrepancy orders to judges or magistrate judges on pleadings in non-conformance of the federal or local rules.
• Enters all Speedy Trial Act data and related information into the database to ensure that all entries are in compliance with the requirements of the Speedy Trial Act.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

To qualify for CL 24, the candidate must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to work at CL 23. To qualify for CL 25, the candidate must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to work at CL 24. To be placed above a step 1 at either CL level, an applicant must either possess job-related court-preferred skills or a total of three years of specialized experience equivalent to the lower CL level.

Additionally, this position requires the following:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to type 40 words per minute and skilled in the use of computers and various types of software.

The work in this position is performed in an office setting. This is not a full-time telework position.

Specialized Experience

Specialized experience is defined as progressively responsible clerical or administrative experience requiring the regular and recurring application of clerical procedures that demonstrate the ability to apply a body of rules, regulations, directives, or laws, and involve the routine use of specialized terminology and automated software and equipment for word processing, data entry or report generation. Such experience is commonly encountered in law firms, legal counsel offices, banking and credit firms, educational institutions, social service organizations, insurance companies, real estate and title offices, and corporate headquarters or human resources/payroll operations.

Employee Benefits

Salary is just one component of the comprehensive compensation package offered by the Federal Court. Federal court employees are eligible for a full range of benefits that include 13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid holidays per year, a flexible work schedule, immediate matching Thrift Savings Plan, pre-tax programs (health, dependent care and transportation), and insurance plans (i.e., health, life, disability, and long-term care), car-pooling options and a transportation subsidy.Employer benefit contributions equate to no less than 33% of an employee’s total compensation.

For more information about federal court benefits, please visit the U.S. Courtswebsite .

Information for Applicants

The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, or to withdraw the announcement, any of which may occur without prior written or other notice. In the event that a position becomes vacant in a similar classification, within a reasonable time of the original announcement, the Clerk of Court may elect to select a candidate from the applicants who responded to the original announcement without posting the position.

Only qualified applicants will be considered for this position. Employees of the U.S. District Court serve under "Excepted Appointments" and are considered "at will" employees. Federal Civil Service classifications or regulations do not apply; however, court employees are entitled to substantially the same benefits as other Federal Government employees.

All information provided by applicants is subject to verification and background investigation. Applicants are advised that false statements or omission of information on any application materials or the inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment or dismissal after being employed.

Participation in the interview process will be at the applicant's own expense and relocation expenses will not be provided.

The position is subject to the mandatory electronic fund transfer (EFT) participation for payment of net pay (i.e., Direct Deposit).

Non-citizens may be interviewed and considered for employment, but employment offers will only be made to individuals who qualify under one of the exceptions in 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)(B). In most cases, this means that an offer of employment cannot be made unless the candidate is a lawful permanent resident who is seeking U.S. citizenship as explained below.

Under 8 U.S.C. §1324b(a)(3)(B), a lawful permanent resident seeking citizenship may not apply for citizenship until he or she has been a permanent resident for at least five years (three years if seeking naturalization as a spouse of a citizen), at which point he or she must apply for citizenship within six months of becoming eligible, and must complete the process within two years of applying (unless there is a delay caused by the processors of the application). Non-citizens who have not been permanent residents for five years will be required to execute an affidavit that they intend to apply for citizenship when they become eligible to do so.

If selected for first time appointment to a position, you may be required to complete an initial performance probationary period. Failure to successfully complete the probationary period may result in termination of employment.

Required clearances: Please note that this position does not require that applicants complete the "Optional Background Information" section on page 5 of the AO-78 Application Form. The court may require the disclosure of any criminal history information at the time a conditional offer is made.

The selected candidate will also be required to submit to a background clearance which includes fingerprinting and a credit check.

The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.