Legal Administrative Assistant - CHU

Federal Public Defender's Office; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 78,000 - 102,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and life insurance

Retirement

Thrift Savings Plan

Job summary

The Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona in Phoenix is seeking a full-time Legal Administrative Assistant for the Capital Habeas Unit. The role supports attorneys with complex litigation filings, case-file management, and scheduling in a federal defense environment.

Ideal candidates are high-school graduates with multiple years of general and specialized experience, proficiency in Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat, and U.S. citizenship.

Qualifications

• High-school graduate or equivalent
• Minimum of three years general experience and two years specialized experience
• Three+ years of experience assisting attorneys with court filings of complex litigation (preferred)
• Bachelor’s degree or paralegal certificate preferred
• Law office experience and computer literacy including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat required

Responsibilities

• Preparing, formatting, and filing complex pleadings including habeas petitions and appellate briefs
• Assisting with case-file management and organizing documents and discovery materials
• Answering phones, typing letters, and contacting court personnel
• Processing mail and preserving client-attorney communications
• Conducting conflict checks
• Calendaring and scheduling hearings and client meetings and maintaining internal calendars

Job description

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT 27-02

Legal Administrative Assistant - Capital Habeas Unit
Office of the Federal Public Defender District of Arizona - Phoenix

The FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER for the District of Arizona is accepting applications for the position of a full-time legal administrative assistant to be stationed in Phoenix. Internal and external candidates are welcome to apply. The Federal Public Defender operates under authority of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 3006A(g)(2)(A), to provide federal defense services by court appointment to individuals who are unable to afford counsel. The staff of the Capital Habeas Unit represents men and women under a sentence of death, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 3599.

Requirements.

To qualify for the position of Legal Administrative Assistant, a person must be a high-school graduate or equivalent and have a minimum of three years of general experience and two years of specialized experience. Preference given to candidates with three or more years of experience assisting attorneys with court filings of complex litigation. Some higher education may be substituted for specialized experience. Bachelor’s degree or paralegal certificate preferred. Law office experience, computer literacy, advanced word-processing skills, and proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat are required. Employment is subject to fingerprinting and a satisfactory background investigation. U.S. Citizenship is required.

Duties.

• preparing, formatting, and filing complex and lengthy pleadings, including motions, habeas petitions, appellate briefs, replies, memoranda, and case-related forms;
• assisting with case-file management; preparing, gathering, organizing, summarizing, and indexing electronic and paper documents and other discovery materials;
• answering phones, typing letters, and contacting court personnel and detention facilities;
• processing incoming and outgoing mail and saving all client-attorney communications;
• conducting conflict checks;
• calendaring and scheduling court hearings, client meetings, jail visits, and maintaining internal dockets and calendars; and
• performing other duties and projects assigned.

The full position qualifications statement and position description are available for inspection in this office.

Salary and Benefits.

The starting salary for the legal administrative assistant is commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the applicant and is currently at a range of $78,117-$101,558 per annum. This position is in the excepted service and does not carry the tenure rights of the competitive Civil Service. The position does include regular government employee benefits including health and life insurance, retirement, and the Thrift Savings Plan. Salary is payable only by Electronic Funds Transfer (direct deposit). All positions are at-will and subject to availability of funds.

The Federal Public Defender is an equal-opportunity employer. All applicants, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or age, are encouraged to apply.