Legal Office Administrator

East Bay Municipal Utility District • Oakland, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Legal Office Administrator reports directly to the General Counsel and supports the overall functions of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) by providing complex legal secretarial, administrative, budgetary, and office management support. This position will analyze, recommend, and implement improvements in the OGC’s work processes, office practices, and administrative policies and procedures. The Legal Office Administrator must be able to lead, supervise, review the work of, and train legal secretarial and paralegal staff; manage special projects; oversee budget administration; and perform advanced legal support functions requiring independent decision-making. Tasks require specialized knowledge and understanding of legal terms and procedures, including the preparation and processing of a wide variety of confidential information unique to the General Counsel’s Office. Considerable latitude of judgment is exercised, under general guidelines, to initiate and complete complex assignments. Major responsibilities require initiative, independent judgment, critical thinking, and maintaining professional interactions with OGC staff, EBMUD personnel, and members of the public.

Requirements

• Graduation from high school or its equivalent, supplemented by college level coursework.
• One (1) year of experience supervising legal support staff and performing law office management duties; or Four (4) years of experience in the Office of General Counsel or an external law office, equivalent to EBMUD’s classifications of Legal Assistant II, Litigation Assistant, and/or Paralegal.
• Must possess the physical characteristics to perform the critical and important duties of the classification, including the ability to sit for extended periods of time and lift office materials weighing up to 30 pounds.
• Business and legal office management practices and procedures, including organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work and balancing administrative support resources with competing needs.
• Manual and electronic record management and filing systems.
• Correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, legal terminology, phraseology, and standard formatting used in preparing, editing, and proofreading reports, correspondence, and legal documents.
• Litigation procedures, legal records management methods, and techniques for filing, indexing, and cross-referencing documents.
• Proper English usage, business letter writing, and communication practices.
• Supervision of support staff.
• Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations.
• Ability to read written materials and view computer monitors and communicate effectively in writing.
• Ability to orally communicate effectively in person and by phone.
• Ability to write and type at a rate of 50 words per minute from printed or rough draft copy, as well as from voice recordings, with accuracy.

Nice To Haves

• Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

• Organizing, scheduling, assigning, directing, reviewing, and evaluating the work of lead and journey-level legal support staff engaged in complex legal and administrative support for the General Counsel’s Office.
• Providing complex legal and administrative support directly to the General Counsel and OGC management, including compiling and preparing materials for meetings, responding independently to information requests from external organizations and EBMUD staff, and coordinating communications between the General Counsel and EBMUD management.
• Supervising and leading legal support staff; coordinating training; addressing performance deficiencies; assigning staff to attorneys; and ensuring adequate staffing levels for attorney support.
• Participating in recruitment and selection of legal support staff; reviewing employee performance; and establishing and maintaining work standards.
• Relieving the General Counsel of certain administrative duties, transmitting information and requests, following up as necessary, advising on pertinent matters, representing OGC on administrative issues as assigned, attending meetings, and assisting with special projects.
• Analyzing and providing information requiring independent judgment, knowledge, and interpretation of policies; organizing and maintaining administrative and confidential files; preparing records and reports per EBMUD procedures; researching, compiling, and summarizing materials for reports, correspondence, meetings, and presentations.
• Recommending, developing, and implementing workflow and office procedure improvements; evaluating staff efficiency; implementing office standards; assisting in departmental goals; and enforcing approved policies and procedures.
• Preparing budget projections, draft appropriation requests, and justifications; managing OGC’s budget; monitoring expenditures; reviewing invoices, billing statements, and purchase orders; and overseeing payment processes.
• Maintaining the General Counsel’s calendar; scheduling meetings; coordinating travel, accommodations, and conference registrations; and preparing expense authorizations and reimbursements.
• Receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls; assisting or directing callers as appropriate; and screening and routing mail with relevant attachments.
• Preparing correspondence and legal documents, including resolutions, ordinances, legal opinions, contracts, briefs, leases, agreements, confidential memoranda, and procedural manuals.
• Overseeing and maintaining the legal library; collaborating with the law librarian; assisting with computer research systems; negotiating vendor contracts; and indexing and filing legal documents.
• Overseeing purchase of office supplies and equipment; requisitioning materials and coordinating maintenance.
• Operating standard office equipment, legal document management systems, and software, including word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation tools to prepare reports, charts, and graphics using MS Office applications such as Word, Excel PowerPoint, etc.
• Researching, compiling, and analyzing data for special projects; reviewing departmental and interdepartmental operations; and evaluating administrative issues including policies, procedures, productivity, space planning, organizational structure, and facilities.
• Performing other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the General Counsel.
• Organize and prioritize work effectively under time constraints despite frequent interruptions.
• Be available to work overtime as needed.

Benefits

• A generous benefits package
• A reasonable telecommuting policy
• The opportunity to participate in EBMUD Affinity Groups, including the Asian Pacific Employees Association, the Black Employee Network, Fuerza Latina, the Raining Pride Committee, the Disability Advocacy and Rights Team and the Women's Employee Resource Opportunity and Collaboration Community.
• Flexible/hybrid work from home schedule may be available for some positions in this job classification.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: High school or GED