Confidential Secretary (Public Defender's Office)

Description

The work involves responsibility for high-level clerical and broad-ranged clerical administrative work for the Public Defender’s office. This work will involve confidentiality and extensive usage of legal terminology and familiarity with legal documents. The incumbent acts as the liaison between the Public Defender and others, performs confidential duties to assist the Public Defender in areas of policy and procedure, personnel, and other areas as directed. Supervision of others may be a responsibility of this class. The work is performed under the general supervision of the Public Defender and is expected to exercise a high level of discretion and judgment in the performance of duties. A Confidential Secretary (Public Defender’s office) does related work as assigned.

Examples of Duties

• Acts as confidential secretary to the Public Defender;
• Coordinates and keeps the Public Defender’s schedule;
• Acts as liaison between the Public Defender’s office and others such as departmental employees, County officials, and the public;
• May assist with preparation of all manner of legal documentation including but not limited to court orders, affidavits, motions and subpoenas, legal briefs, and correspondence;
• May do research for specific case files and general information;
• Prepares necessary documents and paperwork generated by the Public Defender and Assistant Public Defenders;
• Sorts, indexes, and files a variety of legal documents including legal case files;
• Maintains records on and tracks the status of court cases and keeps court calendars;
• Confers with department staff, process servers, other County departments, courts, and clients on matters concerning office activities;
• May answer the main telephone line and greet the public and clients to ensure all issues are directed appropriately;
• Retrieves and prepares information and documentation needed for meetings and appointments and makes such available to the Public Defender;
• Coordinates and makes travel arrangements for the staff as directed and prepares necessary documentation concerning same;
• May open, sort, and distribute mail;
• May prepare financial spreadsheets, budgets, graphs, and various databased records as directed;
• Works on special projects regarding employment and/or operations of the department as directed, including the development of policies and procedures; and
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Typical Qualifications

Applicants must meet all requirements for one of the following qualification options in order to be approved for examination and/or appointment:

[1] Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. A list of acceptable companies who provide this service can be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You must pay the required evaluation fee.

Supplemental Information

PROVISIONAL APPOINTMENT NOTICE:
An individual who receives a provisional appointment must take the examination for the position title on the next occasion it is offered. In order to be eligible for a permanent appointment to the position, the provisional appointee must pass the exam and be ranked 1, 2, 3, or be tied in score with the individual ranked number 3 of those who are willing to accept appointment to the position. It should be understood that even if the provisional appointee is eligible for appointment, the employer may choose another candidate to fill the position on a permanent basis. Questions regarding provisional appointments should be directed to the Livingston County Human Resources Department.

NOTE: Livingston County residency is not a requirement for this position. However, Livingston County residents will be given preference in the hiring process.

Livingston County offers a robust benefits package for our employees.

This includes a variety of health insurance options, dental insurance paid fully by the County, paid vacation leave, paid holidays, ability to participate in a deferred compensation program, wellness offerings, and more.

For full details view the benefits guide here:
Livingston County Benefit Information