Senior Paralegal

Modified: April 7, 2020 1:22pm

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Senior Paralegal

#62-064 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $37,648 - $47,572 Annually
Opening Date: April 7, 2020
Closing Date: May 6, 2020
Application fee: $20.00

Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There are five anticipated vacancies at the Erie County Department of Social Services.

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

Examples of Duties:

Senior Paralegal  performing specialized paralegal duties in a Social Services Division dealing with child support and child welfare issues and legal advocacy for the disabled (claims for disability benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act.) , or in the District Attorney's office; 

Supervises and trains paralegal and clerical staff;

Monitors status of files;

Files appeals as necessary and/or directed by supervisor, in a timely fashion;

Assists with preparation of rough drafts of briefs and various legal documents as assigned and prepares summaries of selected decisions and opinions;

Incorporates legal references and includes an analysis of precedents involved in relation to the case or matter under discussion;

Searches legal reference files and other sources for information and data required by the attorney in conducting interviews and answering correspondence;

Assembles exhibits, affidavits, legal documents, etc., for the use of attorneys in the preparation for trial of cases, and collects any additional information which is needed;

Verifies citations and statutory references contained in legal documents against original sources such as legal texts, reports, etc., making certain they are correct and in complete conformance with the source material;

Prepares drafts of motions and responses to motions, prepares complaints, determines status of cases and responds to inquiries;

If assigned to the Department of Social Services:

Prepares summons and subpoenas relating to Family Court support proceedings;

Prepares Court Orders relating to child welfare proceedings;

Interviews claimants, determines eligibility and assists in the preparation and review of pleadings and applications;

Prepares SSI/DIB applications for submission to SSA;

Acts as a liaison between Family Court and Child Support Investigators;

Maintains contact, personally and in writing, with SSA;

May represent claimants as well as DSS and department's interests at administrative hearings;

Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with other units in DSS and other agencies in the community;

May utilize community medical and health resources;

May evaluate and interpret the social/medical factors relevant to employability and/or eligibility of clients for disability benefits;

May make referrals for medical care;

May act as liaison between social services case staff and community groups and individuals in medical/social matters;

May establish and maintain effective working relationships with medical and allied professional and other agencies in the community;

May maintain medical, social and other records in individual cases.

If assigned to the District Attorney's Office:

Maintains specialized knowledge of regulations, procedures and laws pertaining to Buffalo City Court, Family Court, County Court and Superior Court;

Mediates problems between attorneys, victims and witnesses;

Provides required information i.e. in-state and out of State Certificates of Conviction/Incarceration, program narratives, etc. necessary for court proceedings;

Maintains contact with all arresting agencies locally, state-wide and on the federal level;

Prepares standardized forms concerning Extradition, Prisoner Return Orders and Writs of Habeas Corpus and presents legal documents in court;

Reviews parole notifications and informs victims of offender's incarceration status, past and present;

Provides information to victims and families regarding convicted criminals and present prosecution;

Review case schedule for court and insures quality of case preparation is high;

Appears as expert witness;

Presents cases before hearing officers;

Reviews and enhances court face sheets;

Completes court turn around documents;

Prepares and follows up on summonses.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A.)  Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered two (2) year college or university with an Associate's degree in Paralegal studies and 18 months of experience as a Paralegal; or:

B.)   Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor's degree and completion of a course in Paralegal studies which resulted in a certificate from a regionally accredited or New York State registered institution, and 18 months of experience as a Paralegal; or:

C.)   Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor's degree, including 30 credit hours in Paralegal studies and 18 months of experience as a Paralegal; or:

D.)  An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A), (B), and (C).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants for designated positions in the Department of Social Services that may have access to federal tax information to perform his/her job duties shall be subject to a suitability background check investigation, including FBI fingerprinting, local law enforcement check, and verification check of citizenship/residency. A criminal record does not necessarily disqualify applicants from employment, rather an individualized determination will be made. The cost of the background check will be assumed by the Department of Social Services.

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

Examination date:

June 13, 2020

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

May 6, 2020

A Guide for the Written Test for Legal Services is available at the New York State website:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm. Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

Subjects of Examination:

Scopes / Subjects of examination: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas.

Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

Legal terminology, documents and forms

These questions test for the ability to recognize definitions of specific common legal terms or the term which fits a certain description. The questions are presented in various forms such as simple definitions, examples of terminology, and the use of this terminology within documents and forms related to the legal field.

Interviewing

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in obtaining information from individuals through structured conversations. These questions require you to apply the principles, practices, and techniques of effective interviewing to hypothetical interviewing situations. Included are questions that present a problem arising from an interviewing situation, and you must choose the most appropriate course of action to take. 

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES: Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", "Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.