POSITION SUMMARY

The Paralegal is responsible for aiding the ADA’s in producing and filing proper legal documents with the appropriate agency, either in the York County Courthouse, one of the Appellate Courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the United States Supreme Court. The Paralegal acts as a liaison with law enforcement, witnesses, defense counsel and professional experts in taking phone calls, answering questions and scheduling meetings with the ADA’s. The position requires knowledge of the criminal justice system, including, but not limited to, the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, Appellate Procedure, and the York County Local Rules..

This position requires a minimum of an Associate’s Degree in Paralegal Studies, or an Associate’s Degree in any discipline with two (2) years of Paralegal experience, or five (5) years of Paralegal experience.  Candidates must demonstrate: proficiency in utilizing general office equipment including; typewriter, photo copier, facsimile machine, and personal computer; a professional demeanor in appearance, speech and behavior; trustworthiness of maintaining confidentiality in all matters; accuracy in entering alpha numeric data to include satisfactory spelling, punctuation and grammatical skills. This individual must be comfortable and professional when communicating with all other court-related agencies throughout the Commonwealth. This employee must demonstrate the ability to work in a team, as well as the ability to function without the need for direct supervision.  Applicants must possess (or demonstrate sufficient potential to rapidly acquire) proficiency in Microsoft Office Professional programs and basic legal secretarial skills.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for assisting multiple ADA’s.
• Responsible for assisting ADA’s in their duties, including but not limited to, copying, typing and filing of motions/petitions, subpoenas and Summary Conviction Appeals
• Assist in obtaining paperwork from entities outside of the office, taking phone calls, making contact with law enforcement, experts and witnesses for purposes of case preparation and maintaining PMS case files.
• Responsible for scheduling appointments of assigned ADA’s and screening calls/walk-ins to determine the need for such appointment.
• Responsible for processing files after arraignment for the attorneys to keep prior to the Pre-Trial Conference.
• Responsible to pull and prepare files for Treatment Courts, Summary Conviction Appeals and Indirect Criminal Contempt cases and liaison with other agencies to ensure accuracy of information.
• Assists in the tracking of DA case files by keeping up-to-date information in PMS.
• Responsible for file preparation following the preliminary hearing including but not limited to verifying the police report is in the file; match MDJ packets with the prelim file; write case number on the file and list all of the charges on the back; verify / enter information into PMS and finally pass the files to case manager for case assignment.
• All Paralegals are responsible for completing discovery within five days of the arraignment (one copy for the DA file and one copy for defense counsel).
• Responsible for uploading e-discovery to the Public Defender’s Office, sending e-discovery to those private attorneys who request it electronically or providing a hard copy to those who do not.
• Responsible for entering all individuals into PMS who are to be subpoenaed for each case (witnesses, experts and law enforcement).
• Responsible for filing motions on behalf of their ADA(s).
• Paralegals assigned to an adult criminal caseload are responsible for pulling pretrial conference files once the pretrial list is distributed by the Deputy Administrator for Case Management.
• Provide coverage for breaks of the Receptionist on an as needed basis as directed by the Deputy Administrator for Case Management and maintain all coverage responsibilities.
• Provide backup to other Paralegals and/or Unit Secretaries on an as needed basis in the event of their absence.
• Responsible for any other duties as directed by the Deputy Administrator for Case Management or any other member of Administration.