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State of Washington Classified Job Specification

PARALEGAL 1

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PARALEGAL 1
Class Code: 426E
Category: Legal Services


Class Series Concept

Positions in this series are legal professionals who support litigation, prepare for trial, and apply knowledge of court rules related to legal practice, subject matter, and court filing procedures for administrative tribunals, superior courts, state court of appeals, state Supreme Court, U.S. District Courts, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

This series is separate and distinct from the Legal Assistant series, in that the work is performed exclusively in a law firm setting, providing paraprofessional support of Assistant Attorneys General before two or more court venues, requiring working knowledge of court rules, including civil and appellate procedures.

Definition

In a law firm setting, performs entry level paralegal work in support of Assistant Attorneys General in litigation of state matters.

Distinguishing Characteristics

Positions perform first level technical paralegal functions of limited variety and difficulty for matters in one or two administrative or court venues. There is limited judgment and decision-making in identifying next steps in litigation and adjudication processes. Positions analyze facts, compose documents and pleadings, schedule and/or interview witnesses, research legal issues and evaluate the facts of cases, coordinate the preparation for litigation, track status of cases from summons to trial, draft legal notices and perform other paralegal work.

Typical Work

Monitors, tracks and updates status of attorneys’ cases and prepares related status reports and summaries;

Identifies and resolves scheduling conflicts for case matters, witnesses, clients and attorneys;

Identifies, compiles and selects documents and exhibits for discovery and trial;

Applies knowledge of various court rules related to legal practice subject matter and court filing procedures; 

Calculates and calendars critical and other dates and advise attorney of specific time requirements, deadlines and court schedules;

Schedules and coordinates pre-hearing conferences or depositions summarizes deposition content;
Communicates with the courts, clients, and witnesses regarding noted motions and confirms scheduling;

Prepares, proofreads, serves, and files notices of appearance, answers, motions, notice of hearings, initial or final orders, appellate briefs, accompanying correspondence, and other related case and court documents or pleadings in compliance with court rules;

Checks legal citations and references for correct format;

Performs legal research to gather, and analyze information relevant to litigation regarding specific topics, statutes, case law, court rules, and legislative history; 

Prepares exhibits and courtroom aids, incorporating current technology;

Drafts interrogatories, requests for documents and responses to same; 

Prepares and finalizes discovery, both propounded and responsive; 

Reviews discovery requests provided by opposing party and identifies necessary information needed to obtain appropriate records;

Composes, organizes and enters discovery information into legal databases; summarizes depositions and other discovery materials;

Retrieves case records, statements, or exhibits as required from databases;

Provides assistance to attorneys during trial;

Assembles jury instructions, organizes hearing and trial notebooks and maintains case files;

Acts as the Public Records Coordinator;

Performs other work as required.

Knowledge and Abilities

Knowledge of: legal terminology; current legal office practices; methods and procedures; law office communications; civil and appellate procedures and rules; legal requirements and proper procedure for service of legal pleadings on parties and witnesses; process and resources used to check and verify legal citations, references and quotation information for pleadings and legal memoranda; state and federal legal requirements regarding privilege and redaction of confidential information; discovery procedures; advanced skills in software and database applications typical of a law office; rules and regulations relating to witness appearance for trials and hearings, including preparation and service of required subpoena, lay and expert witness contracts and allowable compensation; correct punctuation, spelling, grammar and vocabulary skills.

Ability to: locate and independently interpret the highly technical local court rules and requirements set forth by multiple court venues; interpret ambiguous or nuanced local court rule requirements and take necessary action steps to ensure attorneys are aware of requirements and prepare and file documents in accordance with the requirements; independently prepare and format pleadings filed in multiple court venues following each local court’s rules and requirements; maintain confidentiality of restricted information; independently research court rules in multiple administrative, county, and
appellate court venues to calculate filing deadlines and determine formatting and filing requirements for cases and pleadings; utilize case management systems and databases for tracking documents, pleadings, depositions, hearings, trials, and critical case and litigation deadlines; utilize litigation software; understand and follow written and oral instructions.

Legal Requirement(s)

There may be instances where individual positions must have additional licenses or certification. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure the appropriate licenses/certifications are obtained for each position.

Desirable Qualifications

Combination of three years of experience through paralegal certification, two-year paralegal degree, and/or paraprofessional experience in support of an attorney.

Class Specification History

New class, consolidates 2070 Legal Assistant and 46610 Paralegal 1; adopted May 10, 2007, effective July 1, 2007.
Class series concept added, definition and distinguishing characteristics revised; additional class plan maintenance; salary range increase; adopted June 22, 2023, effective July 1, 2023
July 27, 2023: Administrative correction: updated job specification to reflect June 22. 2023 adopted allocating criteria.