Legal Assistant Jobs in Arizona

Job Description:

This is a primarily virtual position, requiring to be in person four times a month on scheduled days. The Appellate Services Administration (ASA) provides an administrative hearing and review process for approximately 45 programs administered by the Department of Economic Security (DES). Subject matter generally falls into three main categories: benefit eligibility and overpayment, licensing and certification of service providers, and claimant fraud.

Tentative start date will be dependent upon interviews conducted, onboarding completed, and the state agency issuing a PO. Local Only Candidates - Resumes must specify the current location of the candidate, all those who do not state current location will not be considered. - AS A REMINDER - Candidates must be local at time of submission, and available for in person interviews within 1 week of the posting close date. Candidates must also be able to start within 2 weeks of an offer being made.

Hybrid Schedule: initially will be fully onsite, can move to hybrid work once fully trained. Hybrid schedule will be remote 1 day/week. Interviews: virtual interviews. Convert to FTE: potentially, depending on their performance the first 4-5 weeks on assignment.

This position functions as a Legal Assistant to provide support to the Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) at the Appellate Services Administration (ASA). This function is mission critical, as ASA requires this position to review requests for an appeal, select exhibits for hearings, and distinguish between the different programs and issues of appeals to create packets that will be sent to all parties and used as exhibits in scheduled hearings with multiple parties.

Responsibilities

• Verify incoming appeals
• Retrieve accurate exhibits for a hearing
• Enter case documentation into appropriate repositories
• Assist Administrative Law Judges with case research
• Interpret necessary procedures for research and analysis of case files for hearings
• Upload legal decisions and dispositions for the department to take action on a case
• Schedule the hearings for the ALJs
• Assist customers with elevated docket calls

Skills Required

• Organization and maintenance of confidential paper and electronic files
• Arizona Public Assistance and Unemployment Insurance law, practices, and procedures
• Customer service techniques and office security procedures
• Identification of complex legal issues with appeals in a timely manner
• Analyze jurisdiction, issues, etc. by reviewing images and paper documents per case
• Create hearing packets for ALJs to use as exhibits during the procedural hearing
• Determine the timeliness of the request for hearing and register additional issues as needed
• Ensure incoming appeals meet noticing deadlines mandated by Federal and State laws
• Research-related issues are elevated by legal support staff or referred by ALJs, ASA management or other DES Departments
• Identify and correct errors and virtually print missing documents
• Elevate appeals to the Board for Appeals as necessary
• Enter notes into the case documentation repository
• Timely and accurately process requests for postponements, withdrawals, and other requests by parties and ALJs
• Adapt to prescribed procedures within the Administration, knowledge of the Administrative Procedures Act
• Perform repetitive detailed work with a very high level of accuracy and speed
• Concentrate and focus on complex and sometimes conflicting information from a variety of sources
• Analyze and research complex case information observing confidentiality policies and making command decisions on assigning workload to meet legally mandated deadlines
• Ability to work with customers and staff of various backgrounds, nationalities, and needs

Experience Required

• English; speaking, writing, reading; multi-task capabilities
• Manage conflicting priorities and demands
• Knowledge of Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sheets), Adobe Acrobat
• Operating various office equipment
• Use of computer with multiple programs running simultaneously
• Customer service techniques
• Interpersonal skills to handle internal and external customer complaints and concerns
• Effectively communicate (e.g. verbal, written, and reading) with internal and external customers, ALJs, coworkers, agency personnel, supervisors, and managers
• Work with minimal supervision
• Use critical thinking to analyze complex appeals requests, resolve conflicts between competing information, and extract and capture pertinent legal information
• Case management systems (e.g. APS, Clear2There, Guide mainframe, HEAplus, AZTECS, CACTUS)
• Office policies and procedures and handling sensitive data
• Managing multiple computer programs at one time
• Identifying appropriate legal documents in an imaging system to create and send out notices for hearings and create case files

Required Skills

• Computer Skills

Preferred Skills

• Legal Experience

Education Preference: any sort of legal education experience

Top Skills Needed: computer skills, Google Suite/Microsoft/Adobe, being able to multitask across several platforms, and analytical/critical thinking skills

Preferred Skills: mid-level legal background (not a must have, but beneficial)