Judicial Admin Assistant II

State of Montana; Helena (MT); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work/life balance

Health coverage

Paid vacation and holidays

Professional growth opportunities

Job summary

Montana Judicial Branch seeks an experienced legal/administrative office support role coordinating judicial processes for three Montana Supreme Court Justices. Responsibilities include drafting, proofreading, and finalizing orders and opinions, assisting with weekly agendas, and managing court documents with strict confidentiality.

Work involves data entry, website updates, and coordinating with law clerks and justices.

Qualifications

• Thorough knowledge of legal terminology and format.
• Thorough knowledge of business English, spelling, and punctuation.
• Thorough knowledge of legal office practices, procedures, equipment, and standard secretarial techniques.
• Considerable knowledge of court rules and procedures, preferably appellate court procedures.
• Ability to understand and carry out moderately complex oral and written instructions.
• Ability to recognize and maintain confidentiality in work assignments.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and coordinate work and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Types, edits, and proofs a variety of legal and court documents for grammar, style, punctuation, sentence structure, and format.
• Accesses databases to enter or update information and for other purposes including status checks.
• Types, copies, and distributes memoranda and opinions; coordinates the progress of an opinion from drafting to final release.
• Drafts simple orders for review and editing by law clerks or justices.
• Organizes and processes incoming paperwork; assists in training law clerks; coordinates justices' involvement in conferences and meetings.
• Maintains Court websites regarding case updates and appointments.
• Establishes and maintains filing system of cases, decisions, and reference materials; answers calls professionally.

Skills

Legal terminology

Court procedures

Secretarial techniques

Document drafting

Confidentiality

Job description

The Judicial Branch is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

An employee new to the Judicial Branch will serve a one-year probationary period. The successful applicant will be subject to a criminal background check. Travel may be required and working hours may include evenings & weekends.

The Montana Judicial Branch offers a variety of opportunities to help you make a difference in your community, and further your career. As a service-oriented employer, we seek employees with a passion for customer service to help us fulfill our mission t o provide an independent, accessible, responsive, impartial, and timely forum to resolve disputes; to preserve the rule of law; and to protect the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and Montana.

Benefits of working for the Judicial Branch:

• Work/life balance
• Family friendly policies
• Dedicated and caring colleagues
• Health coverage
• Retirement plans
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and Holidays (combination of up to 38 per year)
• Opportunities and room for professional growth
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness - Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF

Job Overview:

This is legal and administrative office support and judicial process coordination work for three Montana Supreme Court Justices. Work includes assisting justices prepare weekly orders, assisting justices and law clerks prepare opinions, proofreading and finalizing orders and opinions for publication, assembling weekly agenda, distributing mail and other court documents in a timely manner, assisting with Court website updates, and providing secretarial assistance. Work is performed according to verbal or written instructions from a justice, secretarial manual, legal reference and style manuals, and judicial branch and related rules and regulations. Work is performed with considerable independence after a brief orientation to the workflow of the office and is reviewed for accuracy.

Position Duties:

• Types, edits, and proofreads a variety of legal and court documents for grammar, style, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling and format; proofreads documents with another staff person or law clerk; may check the accuracy of routine legal citations.
• Accesses databases to enter or update information and for multiple other purposes including determining the status of a case.
• Types, copies, and distributes memoranda and opinions; gathers, organizes, and distributes papers and files; coordinates the progress of an opinion from the drafting stages to final release to ensure timeliness, accuracy, and adherence to court procedures.
• Drafts simple orders for review and editing by law clerks or justices.
• Organizes and processes incoming paperwork to keep appropriate individuals informed of changes or developments in cases and necessary information disseminated to the appropriate person; assists a justice perform document research from files in the clerk's office; assists in training law clerks in the process of issuing opinions; coordinates the justices' involvement in judicial conferences and meetings.
• Assists law clerks, staff attorney, and judicial branch technical staff in maintaining Court websites regarding case updates, standards of review, and Court commission appointments.
• Establishes and maintains extensive filing system of incoming cases, issued decisions, and reference materials within the chambers; maintains and updates chambers library and reference documents. Answers telephone in a professional, confidential, and courteous manner; screens calls, takes messages, and provides information as authorized; recycles all discarded briefs and documents.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

• Thorough knowledge of legal terminology and format.
• Thorough knowledge of business English, spelling, and punctuation.
• Thorough knowledge of legal office practices, procedures, equipment, and standard secretarial techniques.
• Considerable knowledge of court rules and procedures, preferably procedures used in an appellate court.
• Ability to understand and carry out moderately complex oral and written instructions.
• Ability to recognize and maintain the need for confidentiality in work assignments.
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and coordinate work and meet dea