Work Unit: County Attorney’s Office
Supervisor: County Attorney
Current Classification:
Pay Grade: 20 pay scale ($35.09 to $54.15) or 21 pay scale ($37.53 to $60.40), Depending on Experience
Title: Deputy County Attorney
Exempt
Permanent Full Time Position
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Position overview: The County Attorney's Office is responsible for the prosecution of criminal offenses committed within the County and for serving as the attorney for County government, including all agencies and boards. The Attorney position for handling litigation including legal research, drafting pleadings, conducting discovery and investigation, presenting to a court or jury, participating in mediations and settlement conferences, and oral argument. The Attorney may be responsible for providing legal advice and guidance on county policy and legislation, including strategies that affect the operations and goals of the commission and county departments.
All duties below are essential functions unless otherwise indicated. Duties of the position are not all inclusive and subject to change. The person will be crossed trained in both civil and criminal responsibilities of the County Attorney’s Office and expected to handle both civil and criminal matters as assigned as well as administrative tasks, as necessary. The County Attorney will determine the extent of work by the deputy in either the civil or criminal responsibilities.
The job requires knowledge of the concepts and theories of the legal profession; county government operations and procedures; legal research and writing; trial procedure and technique; negotiating settlements and agreements; written and oral communications, including language mechanics, syntax and English composition; the principles and application of civil and criminal law; trial and hearing procedures and rules of evidence;
and the statutory and constitutional laws of the State of Montana.
The job requires skill in persuasion, advocacy, the use of office equipment, court procedures, research, oral presentations, leadership, communication, organization, time management, and written communication.
The job requires the ability to research, analyze and apply legal principles, facts, evidence and precedents to legal problems; prepare, present and conduct cases of law in court; present statements of law, fact and argument clearly and logically in written and oral form; develop and maintain effective relationships with other staff members, departmental representatives, county officials, law enforcement, members of advisory and policy-making bodies, the courts and the public; analyze and draft ordinances and regulations.
Education and Experience The job requires education and experience equivalent to graduation from college and an accredited law school, admission to the Montana State Bar, and two years of experience.
The attorney works independently within established laws, regulations and procedures. Ability to perform detailed work with a high degree of accuracy. Ability to multi-task, prioritize projects and meet deadlines and maintain confidentiality in written /verbal information; ability to work independently.
The position requires handling non-public confidential information. The person in the position acknowledges the confidential nature of non-public information regarding county employees and elected officials. Consistent with applicable policies and guidelines, this position will respect and safeguard the privacy of employees, elected officials and
If in the course of executing job responsibilities, the person in the position accidentally accesses information that others might consider inappropriate for this position to access, the person in the position will notify the person’s supervisors of the date and time of the access. If a question arises at a later time, it will be understood that the access was accidental. The person in the position will not disseminate any such information.
By signing this Position Description, the undersigned hereby acknowledges reading and understanding this section regarding confidentiality and agrees to abide by the terms and conditions set forth herein. Violation of confidentiality may warrant disciplinary action, up to and including, suspension, demotion or termination of employment
The successful candidate must undergo certification testing and become certified to access documents determined to be confidential.
This position plans and carries out most assignments independently, and uses a high level of judgment and initiative to solve problems. Will work to develop and recommend new processing procedures in response to identifying process inefficiencies, frequent errors, etc. Work objectives and priorities are defined together with the County Attorney.
This position has contacts with the public, county personnel including law enforcement, elected officials, Department Head or equivalents, criminal defendants, Judges, court personnel, parties to cases, and other attorneys in order to be responsive to questions and inquiries regarding civil or criminal matters.
The demands and conditions described here are representative of those the employee must meet to perform the essential functions of the job.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.