Legal Assistant - Tax & Financial Services

Job Description

Legal Assistant - Tax & Financial Services

The Utah Attorney General’s Office has an opening for a Legal Assistant (paralegal) position in the Tax and Financial Services Division.

This position may be underfilled. The Legal Assistant will work under the general direction of division attorneys. In accordance with the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct, the Legal Assistant may perform minor legal tasks which would otherwise be performed by an attorney.

This position requires a minimum of :

• A legal assistant / paralegal associate degree;
• A legal assistant / paralegal certification from a national accreditation association, such as NALA, NFPA, or NALS; or
• Bachelor's Degree in a related field; and
• Five years of work experience in litigation as a legal assistant

Tax or Financial Services experience is not required.

Projects are complex in nature and often involve large quantities of information in a variety of formats. The Legal Assistant should have sufficient experience to be given moderate independence in planning and completing their assignments.

• The Legal Assistant will maintain physical and electronic files; conduct factual and legal research; be responsible for document control;
• review financial documents; manage deadlines and attorney calendars; work in a multi-state environment; coordinate with other state agencies;
• obtain, review, and summarize records; draft routine legal documents; assist in preparing and formatting documents to be filed electronically with administrative agencies and in state and federal courts;
• assist in all aspects of case preparation and presentation; collect organize, and prepare documents for production in discovery;

coordinate depositions; proofread documents; and other duties as assigned. The Legal Assistant will be expected to have strong attention to detail and produce quality work product, occasionally under tight deadlines, and work in a team environment.

Applications will be evaluated based on a proven ability to learn and use technology in the following programs and areas :

• Organization skills (electronic and paper files),
• Research skills (legal and factual),
• Drafting legal documents,
• Summarizing documents, and
• Microsoft Office, Westlaw / Westlaw Next, Adobe Pro, and file sharing and management programs.

Additional emphasis is placed on demonstrated organization skills, research skills, and proficiency with Microsoft Office and Adobe Pro.

The applicant shall submit a written summary detailing how they meet the minimum requirements in no more than two pages.

This job may be filled at any of the levels listed below :

• Legal Assistant I (0-2 years of experience)
• Legal Assistant II (3-5 years of experience)
• Legal Assistant III (5+ years of experience)

Example of Duties

• Prepare or draft various documents.
• Prepare document or data summaries; report findings and make recommendations.
• Search, retrieve, and / or research public and private records in accordance with applicable state and federal laws governing access to these records.
• Collect, organize, and prepare documents for production in discovery and / or GRAMA including redacting specified information and adding bates numbers.
• Collect and organize documents received in discovery including creating and updating tracking indexes.
• Coordinate depositions.
• Maintain attorney calendars and manage deadlines, including calculating deadlines under the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Maintain file organization and document control.
• Prepare trial or hearing materials including exhibit lists and electronic and physical exhibit binders.
• Participate in planning, strategy, and client meetings.
• Coordinate meetings.
• File and serve pleadings in administrative proceedings and in state and federal courts.
• Proofread outgoing documents for content, grammar, and errors.

Qualifications

includes knowledge, skills, and abilities required upon entry into position and trainable after entry into position)

• Familiarity with legal terminology and litigation process, including discovery, filing, and court / hearing records, procedures, and protocol.
• Familiarity with the formats for a variety of legal documents.
• Ability to establish, organize, and maintain large files and track large volumes of documents, information, and data.
• Ability to work as part of a team and deal with people in a manner that shows sensitivity, tact, and professionalism.
• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively, and understand information and ideas presented both verbally and in writing.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to review and edit documents for accuracy and completeness.
• Ability to plan, organize, and prioritize time and workload to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines.
• Ability to conduct fact and legal research.
• Familiarity with The Bluebook, Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, and Utah Rules of Evidence.
• Ability to learn and use technology including Microsoft Office, Westlaw / Westlaw Next, Adobe Pro, and file sharing and management programs.
• Ability to make a decision or solve a problem by using logic to identify key facts, explore alternatives, and propose quality solutions.
• Ability to use logic to analyze or identify underlying principles, reasons, or facts associated with information or data to draw conclusions.

Supplemental Information

Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies (program completion at accredited institution consisting of 60 semester hrs, or equivalent quarter hrs, with 15 hours of substantive legal courses);

Bachelors Degree in related field; or NALA, NFPA, or NALS certifications.

• Requires compliance with the ABA Legal Assistant code of ethics.
• Risks found in the typical office setting, which is adequately lighted, heated and ventilated, e.g., safe use of office equipment, avoiding trips and falls, observing fire regulations, etc.
• Typically, the employee may sit comfortably to perform the work; however, there may be some walking; standing; bending;

carrying light items; driving an automobile, etc. Special physical demands are not required to perform the work.