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Legal Secretary I-LD/Legal Secretary II-LD

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Legal Secretary I-LD/Legal Secretary II-LD

Salary

$41,231.29 - $77,924.00 Annually

Location

Norfolk, VA

Job Type

Unclassified

Job Number

13626

Department

City Attorney

Opening Date

11/06/2025

Closing Date

11/20/2025 11:59 PM Eastern

+ Description

+ Benefits

+ Questions

Description

The City Attorney’s Office represents the City, the School Board, the Norfolk Employee’s Retirement System, the Chrysler Museum and other boards and commissions in legal matters. The office defends its clients in all litigation, files suits on behalf of its clients, prepares sound legislation for consideration by City Council, provides impartial advice, prepares contracts, ordinances and provides other legal services as necessary.

The City Attorney's office is seeking a professional to perform legal secretarial work which also occasionally involves administrative duties in various subject matters. The currently available position will provide legal secretarial support to two attorneys and will involve civil litigation, personal injury and property damage claims, administrative proceedings, worker’s compensation matters, and transactional matters.

The position will be filled at the Legal Secretary I or II level, depending on the qualifications of the successful applicant.

Department Hiring Salary Ranges:

LSI: $41,231 – $68,887

LSII: $46,589 – $77,924

Essential Functions

Depending upon assignment, and under the supervision of the City Attorney, Deputy City Attorneys, Assistant City Attorneys or, occasionally, other senior staff, essential functions include but are not limited to:

LEGAL SECRETARY I LEVEL:

+ Assists in preparing legal documents, some unique to municipal law offices, including ordinances, resolutions, agreements, contracts, police general orders, legal pleadings and discovery (criminal and civil); completes claim work in civil suits by preparing preliminary accident reports; and assists in the final execution and distribution of the documents, where required. Similarly assists in collecting delinquent personal property taxes.

+ Opens, indexes, maintains, organizes and closes Departmental files.

+ Assists in maintaining Code Books and other Law Department (City Attorney’s Office) and City records (e.g., updating code books, and scheduling and calendaring meetings, depositions and trials).

+ Performs general legal secretarial duties (e.g., preparing and formatting legal documents; answering multi-line telephones; answering general inquiries to the Law Department (City Attorney’s Office); preparing certified mail receipts; filing and notarizing legal documents; transcribing dictation; sending facsimile and e-mail correspondence; and general typing and photocopying).

LEGAL SECRETARY II LEVEL:

+ Performs the duties and functions of the Legal Secretary I position as described above.

+ Organizes trial schedule for appeals of City criminal (misdemeanor) cases. Maintains claim and litigation records concerning all claims and suits filed against the City or by the City in federal and state courts (including both courts not of record and of record).

+ Performs basic general paralegal-type tasks (assisting Deputies and Assistants in rendering legal services and preparing for trials), such as reviewing files to identify necessary witnesses; preparing subpoenas; scheduling discovery and general pre-trial procedures; retaining necessary professionals (e.g., court reporters); and generally assembling litigation materials for trial attorneys.

+ Assists attorneys in preparing and filing various legal instruments in all courts (e.g., motions for judgment, warrants in debt; interrogatories and show cause summonses, notices of lien, garnishments, and garnishment dispositions; notices of satisfaction of judgments; and orders to vacate judgments, etc.).

+ Assists attorneys in preparing a variety of legal instruments outside the context of litigation (e.g., opinions, ordinances, resolutions, and agreements).

+ Assists with legal debt collection, delinquent tax suits, real estate matters and the maintenance of installment plans on deferred payment loans. Also assists in training City collection coordinators in pre-judgment collections, bankruptcies, court procedures and post-judgment collections.

Education/Experience

Legal Secretary I Level:

High School graduate or equivalent with training in office-related work, such as reading, writing, filing and typing (typewriter and computer).

OR any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Legal Secretary II Level:

High School graduate or equivalent; specific vocational, administrative, or technical knowledge obtainable through six months to one year of advanced study or training past the high school level (through either city in-house training or an outside educational institution), and five years of increasingly responsible and effective legal secretarial work in the areas encompassed within the duties and functions described above.

OR any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Information & Requirements

Work Location: Norfolk Civic Plaza, 810 Union St, Norfolk, VA 23510

Work Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:30AM – 5:00PM, 40 hours per week

+ Regular full-time and permanent part-time employees may receive paid holidays, vacation and sick leave, employer paid pension plan, basic life insurance, voluntary participation in medical and dental, Section 457 deferred compensation, long-term disability, optional life insurance for self, spouse and children, medical and dependent care reimbursement plans, access to membership in credit union and employer provided parking.

+ Special project/grant employees are generally eligible for the same benefits of regular full-time employees; however, retirement, life insurance and participation in health plans vary depending upon funding and authorization.

+ Temporary/seasonal and part-time employees are generally only eligible for employer provided parking and access to membership in credit union.

+ Retirement

If you are hired October 5, 2010, or after to a position with City of Norfolk Retirement System benefits, you will be required to contribute five percent (5%) of your salary toward your retirement benefit. This will be a pre-tax payroll deduction.

If you are hired January 1, 2022, or after to a position with Virginia Retirement System (VRS) benefits, you will be required to contribute five percent (5%) of your salary toward your retirement benefit. This will be a pre-tax payroll deduction.

+ The Tuition Assistance Program is established to encourage employees toward continued self-development and education. Permanent full-time and permanent part-time classified, unclassified permanent, full-time special projects, and constitutional employees who have completed six months continuous service will be eligible to apply. The applicant’s school of enrollment must be an accredited institution.

NOTE:

The benefits described above are broad generalizations. The specific benefits that an employee may be eligible for are governed by City regulations, as applicable to job type.

Non-City

Positions listed with a job type designation of "Non-City" are not subject to the benefits descriptions above. Refer to the content of the job posting for information regarding these positions.

01

The following Supplemental Questions are specific to the position for which you have applied to assist the hiring manager in screening applications for specific experience being sought. Please be specific in answering these questions as they will be used to evaluate which applications will be given further consideration in the process. Do not answer "see resume" or "see application" as these are not valid answers. Please note that if you are invited to be interviewed by the department, your responses to the following questions may be subject to verification.

+ I understand and will answer the following supplemental questions completely and thoroughly.

02

Please acknowledge receipt of the following information: This position is Unclassified and serves at the will of the City Attorney.

+ Yes, I acknowledge receipt of the information above

+ No, I do not acknowledge receipt of the information above

03

Please select the highest level of education you have completed.

+ High School Diploma/GED

+ Some College (6 months or more)

+ Vocational/Technical Degree

+ Associate's Degree

+ Bachelor's Degree

+ Master's Degree or higher

04

If you possess an Associate’s Degree or higher, is it related to paralegal studies, legal studies, law, criminal justice, or other legal related field?

+ Yes (specifically)

+ No

+ I do not possess a degree

05

Have you received any post-educational training related to paralegal/legal assistant/legal secretary job functions?

+ Yes

+ No

06

If you have received post-educational training related to paralegal/legal assistant/legal secretary job functions, please specify below. If not, please type N/A

07

Please indicate your years of experience performing increasingly responsible legal secretarial work.

+ Less than one year of experience

+ 1 to 3 years of experience

+ 3 - 5 years of experience

+ 5 or more years of experience

08

Describe all legal experience/functions/duties performed in relation to your work experience identified in the previous question, as well as the employers for whom this work was performed.

09

Describe all experience performing legal/paralegal functions specifically related to litigation.

10

Describe all experience performing legal/paralegal functions unrelated to litigation.

11

Describe experience communicating (by email, telephone, fax, etc.) with outside attorneys/staff, City staff, and members of the public in a law office setting.

12

Please indicate which Microsoft Office products you use proficiently. Select all that apply.

+ Word

+ Excel

+ PowerPoint

+ Access

+ One Drive

13

Please describe your experience with electronic filing with courts and/or administrative agencies.

14

Please indicate the legal instruments that you have experience with preparing. (Select all that apply.)

+ Notices of Lien

+ Garnishment Dispositions

+ Satisfaction of Judgments

+ Warrants in Debt

+ Ordinances

+ Resolutions and Agreements

+ Summons

+ Interrogatories

+ Garnishments

+ Complaints

+ Bills of Particular

+ Requests for Production of Documents

+ Requests for Admissions

+ Subpoenas

+ Grounds of defense

+ Motions (specify)

+ Pleas (specify)

+ Pleadings

15

If selected that you have experience preparing Motions and/or Pleas, please specify. If not, please type N/A

16

What is your current typing speed (wpm)?

+ Average/Casual - around 40 WPM

+ Professional - 65-75 WPM

+ Skilled/Advanced - 80-120 WPM

17

Are you willing to take a typing test?

+ Yes

+ No

18

Please provide an explanation of any periods of unemployment within the last 5 years that were 30 days or longer. Indicate "N/A” if you have not experienced any periods of unemployment.

19

Provide minimum of two professional references who can attest to the applicant’s ability to perform the Essential Functions listed in the job description.

20

Please indicate your veteran status. (A copy of your long form DD-214 may be required)

+ I am not a Veteran

+ I am a Veteran

+ I am a Disabled Veteran

21

Are you a current or previous City of Norfolk employee?

+ Yes - I am a current City of Norfolk Employee

+ Yes - I am a previous City of Norfolk Employee

+ No - I am not a previous or current City of Norfolk employee

22

Are you currently a resident of Norfolk, Virginia?

+ Yes

+ No

23

If you were referred for this position by a current City of Norfolk employee, please provide the employee's full name, department, and job title, and your relationship to the employee. If not, please indicate by typing "N/A."

Required Question

Employer

City of Norfolk

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