Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Civil Paralegal

Recruitment #20-1583-01

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed supplemental questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the supplemental questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

DESCRIPTION

THE POSITION

Under the general direction and supervision of an attorney, performs a variety of specialized paralegal functions including some combination of the following: drafts legal documents; conducts legal research and prepares written memoranda; prepares documents for use in pretrial and trial proceedings; creates and maintains legal files, trial notebooks, and indices; supervises case and file management systems; and performs related work as required.

Positions in this classification are located in the Office of the County Counsel and in the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS).  The position requires the incumbent to perform at the journey level with a high degree of independence and discretion and where complex technical legal knowledge is applied.  The position requires the incumbent to work with sensitive and confidential materials. 

 

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

• Has a passion for public service and a desire to learn and grow within the assigned Agency/Department.
• Demonstrates a high degree of customer interaction and maintains effective relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, interpersonal styles, abilities, and motivations.
• Demonstrates professionalism, courtesy, tact, and empathy.
• Possesses exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, focused on conveying information clearly, interviewing for information, and facilitating understanding.
• Has experience conducting administrative law hearings and drafting legal memoranda, briefs, stipulations, responses, and declarations. 
• Is a self-starter with the ability to learn and apply new information and adapt to new situations quickly.
• Is an effective time-manager who can prioritize multiple assignments, meet deadlines, and shift gears when necessary.
• Is an analytical thinker who enjoys seeking and synthesizing information from a variety of sources in an objective, unbiased manner to reach conclusions, provide recommendations, or problem solve.   
• Displays and promotes high standards of ethical conduct and behaviors consistent with agency and governmental standards; works with a high degree of personal integrity and maintains confidentiality of sensitive information.

The Civil Paralegal working in the Department of Child Support Services will have familiarity working within any of the following areas of law:  family, probate, bankruptcy, tax and workers’ compensation as well as, experience preparing support calculations.

Please CLICK HERE for the full job description.

The current vacancy is in the Department of Child Support Services. To learn more about the Department of Child Support Services CLICK HERE. To learn more about the County Counsel Department CLICK HERE. Please note that the eligible list resulting from this recruitment and selection process may be utilized for future vacancies which may arise within the next year.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EITHER I

Education:  

Certification of completion from an American Bar Association certified paralegal program.

AND

Experience:  

The equivalent of three (3) years of full-time progressively responsible experience in a position where the work is of a paralegal nature in a legal setting.

OR II

Education:  

Graduation from an American Bar Association accredited law school.

AND

Experience:  

The equivalent of two (2) years of full-time progressively responsible experience as a paralegal, law clerk or attorney in a legal setting.

OR III

Experience:

The equivalent of four (4) years of full-time progressively responsible experience as a paralegal, law clerk or attorney in a legal setting.

 

License:  
Possession of a valid California Driver’s License may be required.  


Special Requirements for positions located in the DCSS:
A thorough pre-employment background investigation, including fingerprinting, will be conducted of all candidates who have accepted a conditional offer of employment to ensure suitability for child support related work. 
 

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

NOTE: The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

  • Methods and techniques of legal research, legal source materials, discovery and fact investigation.
  • California Code of Civil Procedure.
  • Court regulations, procedures, and legal processes.
  • Principles of legal writing.
  • Legal terminology.
  • Effective interviewing techniques.
  • Methods and techniques for pretrial and trial preparation.
  • Document preparation techniques.

Positions at the DCSS:

  • Knowledge of California Family Code.
  • Understand and analyze financial information pertinent to the calculation of child support and perform accurate mathematical calculations.

Ability to:

  • Comprehend, digest and summarize complex legal documents.
  • Identify and analyze legal issues.
  • Interpret and apply relevant legal codes, statutory procedures and requirements.
  • Communicate clearly and concisely in both written and oral form.
  • Create and maintain file and case management systems.
  • Use computers and related software applications including, but not limited to, Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Lexis Advance, or other legal software.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.

2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process.

3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

 

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

 

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.

 

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN  

 

Deadline for Filing

5:00 P.M. Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Friday, February 26, 2021

Review of Minimum Qualifications:

February 26, 2021

TBD

Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:

March 24, 2021

TBD

Oral Examination:

Week of April 5, 2021

TBD

 

 

 *Updated: 02/11/2021 (SK)

We Reserve the Right to Make Changes to the Announced Recruitment & Selection Plan

 

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

BENEFITS

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Vision or Vision Reimbursement
  • Share the Savings
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
  • County Allowance Credit
  • Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
  • Short-Term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Floating Holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Catastrophic Sick Leave
  • Group Auto/Home Insurance
  • Pet Insurance
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Guaranteed Ride Home
  • Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
  • Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
  • Child Care Resources
  • 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box Noreply@jobaps.com are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

 

Sandy Kim, Human Resources Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

Sandy.Kim@acgov.org

(510) 272-6470

www.acgov.org/hrs

 

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER
All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.