RECRUITMENT BULLETIN #15-127b                                                                                                              May 2, 2016
 

POSITION:               Legal Secretary - Provisional
 
SALARY:                  $39,736 - $46,401
 
LOCATION:             Office of Legal Counsel and Labor Relations, 717 City Hall, Buffalo NY 14202 


DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS

Incumbents to a position in this class perform high level secretarial work in effectuating the performance of many and varied types of legal services rendered by the Department of Law’s staff attorneys.  Work requires the frequent use of legal terminology in the preparation of briefs and other legal instruments, special hearings and investigations.  Duties will involve the operation of equipment requiring the manipulation of a standard alphanumeric keyboard including typewriters, electronic word processing equipment, CRT terminals, Personal Computers, Data Terminals and Printers.  The Legal Secretary will be required to transcribe dictation from various sources; however, shorthand is not a requirement for this position.  Instructions to the Legal Secretary are outlined in a general manner by the staff attorney, however, the incumbent is responsible for clerical accuracy as to form and content.
 
TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES

• Transcribes dictation from various sources incident to and types legal pleadings, documents and papers concerning personal injury lawsuits, real estate matters, deeds, collections and other legal actions and proceedings as required;
• Transcribes dictation from various sources incident to and types local laws, ordinances, resolutions, opinions, reports, contracts, briefs and other legal documents, correspondence and papers;
• Proofreads such documents including the checking of citations in original reference for accuracy and completeness;
• Transcribes proceedings from tape recorder of hearings, meetings and conferences within the Department of Law;
• Performs a variety of general clerical and legal secretarial duties of corresponding degree of difficulty;
• May be required to assist in telephone and receptionist duties as needed;
• Performs related work as required.

 
FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
 

• Good knowledge of the geography of the City of Buffalo;
• Ability to understand and interpret written material, i.e., vehicle and traffic laws pertaining to school buses;
• Skill in mapping out routes and drawing up schedules for transportation of school buses;
• Ability to get along well with school administration, parents and the general public;
• Good appearance; initiative; physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position.

 
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Promotional

Continuous and permanent status in the Law Department as a Typist or Account Clerk-Typist for two years. 

Open Competitive
(A)  Associate’s Degree from an accredited college, university or business or technical institute in Legal Secretarial, Lawyers Secretarial Assistant, Court and Hearing Reporter;
OR
(B)  Associate’s Degree from an accredited college or university or business or technical institute in Secretarial Science with legal secretarial concentration;
OR
(C)  Graduation from High School, GED or Equivalency Diploma and two years of full time experience as a Legal Secretary in a law office, court system or in a law related setting;
OR
(D)  an equivalent combination as defined within the limits of A through C.
 
NOTE:  Certificate of Court Reporting from an accredited school may be substituted for one year of experience in a law office, court system or in a law related setting as described under ‘C’.
 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT

Must pass a qualifying typing test at the rate of 35 wpm.  This test will be administered on a computer keyboard.  No knowledge of computer operation or any specific software program is required.

FINAL FILING DATE:   May 9, 2016
 
APPROVED:
 
 
Brian Lorentz
Associate Superintendent for Human Resources