Legal Staff Paralegal in Albany, NY

Government

Albany, NY

Legal Staff Paralegal in Albany, NY

Legal Staff

Min 3 yrs required

No

Job Title: Legal Assistant 2

Job Responsibilities:

The Legal Assistant 2, Grade 17, will be part of the Litigation and Enforcement section within the **Members Only** and will be responsible for a variety of duties including, but not limited to:

- Drafting legal documents such as affidavits and correspondence for review by OGC attorneys, ensuring accuracy in correspondence, captions, and docket entries.
- Assisting in the final preparation of legal documents for State and federal litigation, which includes proper formatting, preparing tables of authorities/contents for briefs or reports, bookmarking, ensuring certifications of compliance with procedural requirements, and monitoring word count limitations.
- Preparing and filing/uploading legal documents in court dockets, requiring familiarity with New York State Courts Electronic Filing (NSYCEF), Federal Court Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF), and Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) electronic filing systems, and applying knowledge of relevant State and federal procedural and filing rules.
- Preparing and filing electronic legal documents or electronic documents used by other administrative agencies, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or Department of Energy.
- Organizing and preparing large administrative records for court filings, preparing indexes or tables of contents for administrative or litigation records, and responding to subpoenas and other discovery requests; filing and serving “paper” documents when required.
- Assisting in the review of records or document production in various cases and investigatory matters.
- Assisting OGC attorneys in customer complaint appeal cases.
- Performing legal research with familiarity in Westlaw, online, and hardcopy sources.
- Obtaining documents from other publicly available dockets, platforms, and data sources.
- Interacting with NYS Archives and NYS Library staff and resources.
- Applying redaction software functions to protect information in specific contexts.
- Tracking relevant court dates and maintaining a litigation calendar, which involves searching and tracking case information in NYSCEF and PACER service systems for litigation filings.
- Working independently and as part of a diverse, interdisciplinary team, prioritizing and managing different work streams and schedules.
- Supervising, guiding, or reviewing the work of lower-level support/legal assistant staff as appropriate.

Education and Experience Information:

Minimum Qualifications:

General Public

Non-Competitive (NY HELPS):

Candidates must have three years of full-time experience as a Paralegal or Legal Assistant, where they were responsible for applying knowledge of the law and legal procedures in rendering direct assistance to lawyers, clients, and courts; preparing and interpreting legal documents and forms; researching, compiling, and using information from legal materials to provide both written and verbal comments on their findings; and/or analyzing and handling routine procedural problems independently with minimal attorney oversight.

Substitutions:

1. An associate degree (or higher) in paralegal/legal assistant/legal studies program or a certificate in a paralegal/legal assistant/legal studies program from a regionally accredited college or university, or one approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) AND one year of experience as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant.

2. An associate degree in any field from a regionally accredited college or university, or one approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) AND two years of experience as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant.

3. Graduation from an accredited (ABA approved) law school with a degree required for NYS Bar will be accepted AND two years of full-time experience as a Paralegal/Legal Assistant.

55-b/c

Candidates who are currently eligible and meet the qualifications listed in the “Non-Competitive (NY HELPS)” section are encouraged to apply. If interested in this position and applying using 55-b/c status, please provide a copy of the current 55-b/c eligibility letter.

Civil Service List

Candidates on the Legal Assistant 2 list have been canvassed and do not need to apply to this posting.

Transfer

Current New York State employees with one year or more of permanent, competitive service, or 55-b/c service as a Legal Assistant 2, Grade 17; OR current New York State employees with one year or more of permanent, contingent permanent, or 55-b/c service in a qualifying title and eligible for transfer under section of the Civil Service Law are eligible to apply.

For current New York State employees on the eligible list and not reachable, they may be eligible for transfer. Candidates are encouraged to access GOT-IT on the Civil Service website to determine transfer eligibility.

Salary Information:

The text does not provide specific salary information for the Legal Assistant 2 position.

About The Department:

The New York State Department of Public Service (DPS or Department) is committed to ensuring safe, affordable, and reliable access to electric, gas, steam, water, and telecommunications services at just and reasonable rates for New York State customers. The department also aims to protect the natural environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the transmission and siting of renewable energy resources, and enhance the resiliency of utility infrastructure.

Additional Comments:

This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). Under the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, meaning no examination is required, but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply.

At a future date, it is expected that employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded all the same rights and privileges as competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in an NY HELPS title, employees may participate in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

The Department of Public Service is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. The department also considers qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If an applicant has a disability or special need that requires accommodation, they should contact the Designee for Reasonable Accommodations (DRA) and Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator, which can be found under the Accessibility Link on the Department’s webpage.