Legal Assistant

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, NORTH DAKOTA; Bismarck (ND); Hybrid; USD 56,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan

Fully paid family health insurance

Job summary

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) seeks a motivated and detail-oriented Legal Assistant to join the Legal team, working closely with the General Counsel in a small government agency. Strong writing, proofreading, and organizational skills are essential.

Responsibilities include maintaining case files, drafting and finalizing legal documents, coordinating calendars, and assisting in legislative rulemaking and filings. A four-year track record in legal/office support is preferred.

Qualifications

• Associate degree with four years of high-level office support or legal work.
• Legal drafting and records management experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Maintain case files, create forms, and set up meetings.
• Prepare, edit, and finalize legal and administrative documents.

Skills

Legislative process familiarity

Administrative support

Legal document proofreading

Communication skills

Education

Associate degree in office support/legal/business

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Westlaw

ND Courts/ Odyssey File & Serve

Job description

Hiring Salary: $5,000-$6,000/month plus benefits including retirement and fully paid family health insurance.

Benefits

The North Dakota Public Service Commission offers challenging work opportunities, a full range of employee benefits including a comprehensive employer-paid health plan, paid leave, a retirement plan, flexible work hours, a stable work-life environment and more. For more information, go to our website at www.psc.nd.gov.

Summary Of Work

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Legal Assistant to join our Legal team. This will involve close collaboration and teamwork with the General Counsel to meet the priorities of the agency. The candidate must be creative and enjoy working within a small government agency that is diverse and fast paced. The ideal candidate will have the ability to exercise independent judgment in a variety of situations, with strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication, administrative and organizational skills, and the ability to balance multiple priorities. This requires attention to detail, high degree of accuracy, and the ability to evaluate workload and reprioritize to meet position needs while maintaining professionalism.

Duties and Tasks

• Support the department's attorneys in all aspects including:
• Maintaining case files, creating forms, and setting up meetings.
• Administrative Rules responses and tracking.
• Organizing and tracking open records requests.
• Electronically file legal documents with the proper court through record certification on appeals.
• Assist in compiling and reviewing documents related to litigation.
• Prepare, edit, and finalize a variety of legal and administrative documents, including letters, forms, settlement agreements, memos, and legal opinions.
• Ensure all documents are accurate, well-formatted, and free of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors through careful proofreading and proficient use of word processing software.
• Communicate verbally or in writing with users to determine proper format and layout of documents to enhance utilization of systems and related equipment.
• Set-up, revise, and maintain calendars/schedules.
• Set priorities and meet deadlines.
• Prepare outgoing legal mailings and correspondence including service documents.
• Support the department's attorney in drafting rules and legislation, and assist in bill tracking during legislative session.

Minimum Qualifications

Associate degree with major coursework in office support, legal, business, or office education with four years of work experience performing a variety of high-level complex office support, clerical or secretarial work that includes legal work or office coordination responsibilities. (Note: The hiring authority will consider substituting additional work experience for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis if the experience provides the knowledge and skills required to perform the duties of this position.)

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiar with the legislative and administrative rulemaking process.
• Previous work experience as a Legal Assistant or Administrative Assistant.
• Legal research and drafting work experience.
• Work experience in state or federal government.
• Knowledge of Westlaw, Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Secure File Transfer, ND Courts, and Odyssey File & Serve preferred.

About Team ND

"Far and away the best prize life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." - Theodore Roosevelt

More than 7,500 talented, hard-working people across sixty-three agencies have come together as Team North Dakota. At Team ND, we are driven to succeed through gratitude, humility, curiosity and courage. Our purpose is to empower people, improve lives, and inspire success. Join us in being legendary.

Total Rewards: The State of North Dakota is committed to providing team members with a strong and competitive rewards package that support you, your health and your family.

Considering a new position on Team ND? How does your current position stack up? Use our Total Rewards Calculator to estimate.

Application Procedures

Applications will ONLY be accepted online through the ND PeopleSoft System.

• In addition to the online application, applicants must upload the following documents:
  • Resume ;
  • Cover letter which includes a summary of how the applicant's education and work experience are related to the minimum and preferred qualifications;
  • College transcripts (if applicable); and,
  • The name, address, and phone number of three (3) professional references (no letters of reference please)
• Candidates will be scored on a 100-point candidate questionnaire to be considered for interviews. Application materials, including resumes and attachments, are not considered in the 100-point candidate questionnaire. Applicants must provide detail in their responses to the questionnaire.
• Application materials must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the closing date.
• Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Sponsorships will not be considered.
• Applicants who are residents of North Dakota and eligible to claim veteran's preference must upload Form DD214 or certification from the applicant's unit command that the individual is expected to be discharged or released from active duty in the uniformed services under other than dishonorable conditions not later than one hundred twenty days after the date of the submission of the certification.
• For more information about the position or if you need accommodation or assistance in the application or interview process, contact Sheila Zacher at [phone], TTY 1-800-366-6888, or 711.

Agency Specific

The position will be located at the capitol building in Bismarck, North Dakota with occasional remote work flexibility.

For more information about the North Dakota Public Service Commission, please visit our website at https://www.psc.nd.gov/.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The State of North Dakota and this hiring agency do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), genetics, religion, age or disability in employment or the provisions of services and complies with the provisions of the North Dakota Human Rights Act.

As an employer, the State of North Dakota prohibits smoking in all places of state employment in accordance with N.D.C.C. Sect. 23-12-10.