Manager Of Legal Services

The purpose of the class is to supervise and provide legal representation to CASA volunteers and staff providing advocacy for children in abuse / neglect proceedings in Richland County Family Court, and to perform related professional, administrative and supervisory work as required. This class works within broad policy and organizational guidelines and does independent planning and implementation, reporting progress of major activities through periodic conferences and meetings. This position assists with planning, organizing and implementing programs within major organizational policies, reporting program progress to executive-level administration through reports and conferences.  This position helps provide oversight & responsibility for quality volunteer recruitment, retention, training and support of community volunteers.  The position is responsible for assisting with organizational planning; activities and policies reflect the mission statement of the department and are charge with the duty of Heightened Public Awareness regarding child abuse & neglect issues. This position is on-call 24-7.

The tasks listed below are those that represent the majority of the time spent working in this class.  Management may assign additional tasks related to the type of work of the class as necessary.

Supervises all legal activities of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program.

Supervises subordinate attorneys.  Supervisory duties include instructing; assigning, reviewing and planning work of others; maintaining standards; coordinating activities; assisting with the selection of new employees; acting on employee problems; and recommending employee discipline and discharge.

Reviews the work of subordinates for effectiveness; evaluates performance and makes recommendations as appropriate; offers advice and assistance as needed.

Assists in coordinating training and development opportunities for assigned staff.

Assists in formulating department policies and procedures, particularly with respect to legal issues.

Interprets complex legal and policy issues and maintains detailed knowledge of changes in pertinent legal doctrine.

Assist with the development and monitoring of departmental budgets, policies and procedures.

Supervise court processes (over 1500 hearings per year).

Develop & maintain positive relationships with Organizational Stakeholders (Local / Regional / National).

Supervises preparations for and presentations in Family Court; diagnoses cases and determines best case strategies; interviews clients, family members and others involved in assigned cases; researches legal issues affecting cases; applies the law to cases; determines outcomes desired; negotiates with other attorney; evaluates and prepares witnesses for court.

Promote heightened community awareness on issues relating to child abuse & neglect.

Assists in coordinating department activities and functions with those of other County departments, municipalities and outside agencies as appropriate.

Plans and gives presentations to various community / civic organizations as requested.

Maintains files; compiles data for and prepares various reports and statistics.

Attends & participates AND trains in professional conferences, training, seminars, workshops, etc. as necessary to maintain job knowledge and skills.

Represent Richland County on local / regional / national committees.

Sustain National CASA Accreditation through monitoring of compliance indicators & directing necessary changes & reallocation of resources as needed.

All other duties as assigned.

DATA INVOLVEMENT:

Requires developing new approaches or methodologies to solve problems not previously encountered by analyzing, synthesizing or evaluating data or information using unconventional or untried methods.  Requires heightened analytical abilities using data to make organizational projections, process evaluations, and departmental needs.

PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT:

Requires negotiating, exchanging ideas, information, and opinions with others to formulate policy and programs or arrive jointly at decisions, conclusions, or solutions. Requires working with a diverse group of people – professionals, defendant parents, inmates, grantors, legislative, etc.

INVOLVEMENT WITH THINGS:

Requires handling or using machines, tools or equipment requiring brief instruction or experience, such as computers for data entry, fax machines, copiers, telephones or similar equipment; may service office machines, including adding paper and changing toner.  Requires using equipment for training to include computers, sound, projectors, and awareness props.

REASONING REQUIREMENTS:

Requires performing work involving the application of logical principles and thinking to solve practical problems within or applying to a unit or division of the organization.

MATHEMATICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Requires using addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, and/or calculating ratios, rates and percentages.  Position requires heightened mathematical skills for completion of complex budgets and grants.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS:

Requires reading professional literature and technical manuals; speaking to groups of employees, other public and private groups; training for small and large audiences; writing manuals and complex reports; writing grant proposals; and writing training curriculum.

MENTAL REQUIREMENTS:

Requires doing professional-level work requiring the application of principles and practices in a wide range of administrative, technical or managerial methods in the solution of administrative or technical problems; the coordination of executive-level managerial work; requires heightened understanding of operating policies and procedures and the ability to apply these to complex administrative problems; requires continuous, close attention for accurate results or frequent exposure to unusual pressures

VOCATIONAL/EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION:

Requires Juris Doctor from an accredited law school.

SPECIAL CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES:

Requires employee to be a licensed member of the South Carolina Bar, in good standing.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

 Six years of leadership experience as a manager or supervisor.

PHYSICAL AND DEXTERITY REQUIREMENTS:

Requires sedentary work that involves walking or standing some of the time and involves exerting up to 30 pounds of force on a recurring basis or routine keyboard operations.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS:

The job may risk exposure to violence and/or hazardous environments.

SENSORY REQUIREMENTS:

The job requires heightened smell and visual acuity and field of vision, speak and hearing abilities, color perception.

JUDGMENTS AND DECISIONS:

Decision-making is a major part of the job, affecting a major segment of the organization and the general public; works in a dynamic environment; responsible to develop policy and practices.  Errors in judgment could result in a funding loss for the organization as well as serious dangerous outcomes for victim

Richland County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  ADA requires the County to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities.  Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.