Job Description

1458 LEGAL SECRETARY I:  Under supervision, provides legal secretarial and clerical services of a difficult, responsible and confidential nature for an attorney's office; and performs related duties as required. This class is the journey level in the legal secretarial series and is distinguished from other secretarial and clerical classes by its knowledge and continuous use of legal terminology, documents and procedures.

EXAMPLE OF ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job code/class and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

1. Word Processes and edits a wide variety of legal documents in proper format including pleadings, briefs, correspondence, subpoenas, contracts, jury instructions, complaints, resolutions and ordinances utilizing multiple word processing systems, to prepare a variety of legal documents.

2. Abstracts information from various sources to put general information into proper legal form.

3. Transcribes legal dictation from dicta-phone or longhand notes, minutes, interviews and telephone messages; or takes and transcribes dictation from shorthand notes at a rate of 110 wpm, to prepare legal documents and correspondence.

4. Opens, maintains, monitors and closes legal case files and maintains correspondence and record files.

5. Maintains attorney appointment calendars; keeps abreast of important court dates and files legal documents with courts as mandated; assures complaints are responded to in a timely manner..

6. Provides information when possible by personally assisting callers, and exercises considerable judgment and discretion in dealing with confidential matters.

7. Prioritize duties and deadlines to accommodate work schedules of a large number of attorneys.

8. Performs related duties as required.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• EXPERIENCE: Two (2) years of verifiable experience as a legal secretary transcribing dictation and typing legal documents including petitions, motions, briefs, complaints and other legal forms; AND
• The ability to type 55 net WPM
• License and Certification: SUBSTITUTION: A certificate of completion in legal secretarial skills from a recognized college, university, or training program, which involved learning legal terminology and legal formats and forms, may substitute for six (6) months of the required legal secretarial experience. Proof of satisfactory completion must be submitted at the time of filing.

VERIFICATION

“Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements” NOTE: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.”

Additional Information

SELECTION PROCEDURES

I. APPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY QUESTIONNAIRE - Complete the application and preliminary questionnaire thoroughly to avoid disqualification. 

II. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE (SQ): Candidates whose applications are determined to meet the minimum qualifications, will be required to complete a SQ. This SQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. 

II. MULTIPLE CHOICE LEGAL SECRETARY I EXAM (WEIGHT - 100%) - Candidates whose applications are determined to meet the minimum qualifications will participate in a multiple choice written exam. The exam will assess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities: Knowledge of: legal office practices, procedures, terminology; business English; filing systems; and Abilities and Skills to: independently compose and comprehend correspondence; understand and follow directions; proofread and solve problems including mathematical computations; communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

BANKED SCORES The score you achieve on this examination shall be valid and "banked" for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time period, you will not be required to take this test again should you apply and be found eligible for a future announcement for which this particular test is used. If the test for this future announcement is held within one year of the date of this examination, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after one year, you have the option to either (a) apply your banked test score to the other recruitments that you qualify for or (b) re-take the test. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the examination and only in association with your eligibility for another announcement for which this test is used. Please note that, should you re-test, your re-test score would become your official score and new banked score.

ELIGIBLE LIST/SCORE REPORT: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of 12 months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use the 1458 classification, please see click here.

HOW TO APPLY Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Select the “I’M INTERESTED” button located at the top right of this page. Then, follow the directions on the screen. Complete the application and preliminary questionnaire thoroughly to avoid disqualification. 

Applicants should receive a confirmation email in response to every announcement for which they file. After reading the email, retain it for your records. FAILURE TO RECEIVE THIS EMAIL MEANS THAT THE ONLINE APPLICATION WAS NOT SUBMITTED OR RECEIVED. It is applicants’ responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date, and they must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Please use the same email when applying to jobs on the job site and make sure your name is spelled the same way on each application. 

TERMS OF ANNOUNCEMENT AND APPEAL RIGHTS:  Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ .] The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO:

INFORMATION ABOUT THE HIRING PROCESS

Conviction History

Employee Benefits Overview

Equal Employment Opportunity

Disaster Service Worker

ADA Accommodation

Veterans Preference

Right to Work

Copies of Application Documents

Diversity Statement

EXAM ANALYST INFORMATION: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, HANA MENDOZA, AT HANA.MENDOZA@SFGOV.ORG.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.