Position Summary

Reporting to the Manager, the Legal Assistant is responsible for providing legal administrative support for the Legal Services department. This includes providing coordination of legal services required by the County, monitoring and coordinating the flow of legal information and workload through internal and external legal counsel, research, tracking and reporting of legal matters and monitoring of costs related to legal services.

Core Accountabilities

Legal Services

• Operate the County’s legal services request system, including providing instructions to external lawyers and coordinating legal matters between departments and lawyers in accordance with applicable policies and procedures.
• Liaise with County staff submitting legal services requests, including confirming the scope of the request, requesting required documents, and determining desired timeframes for review and action by lawyers.
• Obtain, approve and manage cost estimates up to a limited amount.
• Review the provision of legal services on an ongoing basis, including discussing needs and concerns with departments, identifying opportunities for legal training, and assessing and addressing any service issues with external lawyers.
• Maintain a database for legal services requests, including for legal opinions, to avoid duplication of legal work and to assist departments with finding historical legal information.
• Draft legal correspondence and memorandums for lawyers’ review and sign off.
• Completion of corporate registry and land titles searches.
• Conduct case law searches and resource searches from legal research tools.

Litigation

• Monitor and coordinate the response to the County’s potential and active litigation, in consultation with the Manager, including notifying and liaising with the County’s insurer, as required.
• Coordinate electronic exchange of documents.
• Receive and respond to inquiries from law firms and County departments with respect to general or procedural questions and status of documents or the litigation file generally.
• Manage lawyers’ schedules, including coordinating meetings, preparing meeting materials and logistics, and monitoring the timing of upcoming deadlines to ensure time is well organized and key deadlines are met.

General

• Maintain a filing system for legal records.
• Conduct research, compile information, analyze data and prepare policies, procedures, letters, and other documents as assigned.

• Monitor and prepare periodic reports for the Manager regarding legal expenditures.
• Create, organize, maintain and close electronic files.
• Provide Commissioner for Oaths services for County staff.
• Monitor, track, collect fees and complete other related tasks for Access to Information Act ( ATIA) requests, as required.

Other

• Lead by example, by providing superior customer service as well as following and promoting industry best practices and County values and objectives.
• Work in accordance with the requirements established by the RVC Health and Safety Program and the Alberta OHS Act, Regulation and Code.
• Take reasonable care to protect their health and safety and other persons at or in the vicinity of the worksite while they are working.
• Perform other administrative duties and special projects as assigned.

Position Requirements

Completion of a Legal Assistant Diploma along with a minimum of three (3) years of progressively responsible and diversified experience in legal support services.  Equivalent combined education and experience may be considered.

• Demonstrate knowledge of a municipal government organization and maintain a working knowledge of departmental rules, regulations, policies, procedures, and functions.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate with various levels of interested parties, both internal and external to the County.
• Able to prepare clear, concise and well-researched reports.  Good drafting and analytical abilities.
• Excellent computer skills with a solid understanding of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Able to take initiative and work independently, with little direction to meet deadlines, including the ability to understand and follow complex written or oral instructions of a general nature and to complete the assigned tasks.
• Strong attention to detail and solid understanding of legal documents, proofreading, revising, editing, and formatting legal documents and some related document drafting.
• Above average written and oral communication skills including the ability to appropriately gauge the needs of the situation and adapt the communication style accordingly.
• Strong organizational and time management skills along with the ability to prioritize work effectively are required. Works effectively under the pressure of time limitations and constraints.
• Demonstrates superior customer service skills to both internal and external customers.
• Ability to deal with confidential matters in a discreet and professional manner.
• Knowledge of file management practices, along with the ability to build and maintain a legal filing system.
• Experience with legal practice management software.
• Experience with legal research resources.