Paralegal I

The Office of the County Attorney is seeking a paralegal to support the office in its mission to provide the best legal representation to the Board of Supervisors, agencies, boards, authorities and commissions. This role provides hands-on assistance to the attorneys in their day-to-day work.

Key responsibilities include:

• Drafts a variety of legal documents including legal memoranda, motions, pleadings, legal items, etc.
• Organizes and tracks case files, pleadings, correspondence
• Drafts, serves and tracks requests for subpoena and subpoena duces tecum
• Assists in trial or hearing preparation including compiling exhibits, trial notebooks and witness materials
• Arranges for court reporters and coordinates deposition logistics
• Conducts basic factual and legal research using a variety of programs including CLEAR, Westlaw, CPAN, PACER, and FullCourt.
• Verifies citations and factual information in memoranda, briefs, legal items and other legal documents ensuring accuracy and conformity to court rules, the Bluebook and office policy and procedures
• Utilizes office case management system, Prolaw for case management
• Opens and closes matters in Prolaw

Performs legal and factual research, verifies citations in legal memoranda and briefs and
assists attorneys in identifying/locating and where appropriate, notifying all parties to litigation;
Drafts legal memoranda, motions, pleadings, discovery requests and discovery responses and other legal documents;
Tracks cases, files pleadings and sets docket matters down for hearing in the clerk's office to the extent permitted by court rules, prepares trial notebooks and exhibits and arranges for court reporters;
Handles details incident to the appearance of witnesses, including preparing witness lists, issuing subpoenas, ensuring witnesses appear in court and maintaining a trial calendar;
Assists attorneys in analyzing witness testimony by corroborating testimony through researching documentation, depositions court records, etc.;
Prepares summaries for final approval of real estate documents for supervising attorneys and drafts final approval memoranda to appropriate County agencies;
Conducts title searches;
Reviews/monitors time-sensitive documents such as parties at interest affidavits filed in connection with zoning/land use actions for proper disclosure to ensure compliance with local ordinances and the Virginia Code and makes revision recommendations as appropriate;
Reviews certificates of incorporation, operating agreements, corporate resolutions, wills, and powers of attorney for proper format, appropriate signage, etc.;
Provides information and training on various issues to County Attorney staff;
Prepares presentations on legal issues for various boards, commissions and other departments;
Updates law library, culling and adding materials as necessary;
Maintains statistical and narrative records for litigation and assignment reporting purposes;
Monitors and may supervise the activities of legal secretaries and law clerks.

Knowledge of the methods, sources of information and materials of legal research;
Knowledge of the principles and practices of substantive and procedural law;
Knowledge of federal, state and administrative court procedures;
Knowledge of County legal procedures and requirements related to basic legal work in a
variety of areas such as local taxation, workers compensation, family services, real estate and the County's grievance procedure;
Knowledge of systems and software technology to manage, track or organize information/data;
Ability to perform legal review/research;
Ability to use online legal research services and tools as well as the internet to perform legal review and research;
Ability to interview witnesses and to assist attorneys in preparing witnesses for deposition or trial, exercising judgement in determining the relevance of information to be provided;
Ability to compile and analyze data and create accurate and complete reports and charts;
Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals,
including the general public, members of the legal and business community, and department staff;
Ability to express oneself effectively, both orally and in writing. Ability to work with short deadlines.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")

Graduation from an accredited college or university with an associate's degree in paralegal or legal assistance studies or closely related field; plus one year of experience as a paralegal or legal assistant.

• Demonstrated experience drafting pleadings.
• Demonstrated experience handling sensitive and confidential information.
• Demonstrated experience using ProLaw.
• Proficiency using Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

• Employee may be required to lift up to 10 pounds.
• Job is generally sedentary in nature, however, visual acuity is required to read data on computer monitor, incumbent must be able to operate keyboard driven equipment.
• Must communicate with others.
• All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview and may include a practical exercise.

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others.) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov. EEO/AA/TTY.

#LI-AL1