Legal Secretary

LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN, INC. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

INTERNAL JOB POSTING

LEGAL SECRETARY

PART-TIME (25 hours per week)

Racine Office

Date Posted: June 9, 2022

Open until filled but with a minimum of 10 days posting

Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. is seeking a part-time Legal Secretary to work at the Racine Office. This position will work 18 hours per week and is not eligible for Legal Action benefits or paid time-off benefits, e.g. sick, annual/vacation, personal or paid holidays; this position is available immediately.

LEGAL ACTION OF WISCONSIN

We are a large and vibrant non-profit law firm funded by the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Victim of Crime Act funding, the Wisconsin Equal Justice Fund, and many other sources. Each year, we provide free legal aid to about 9,000 – 12,000 low-income persons in Wisconsin’s southern 39 counties with offices in Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Oshkosh, Green Bay, and La Crosse. In addition, the firm operates a statewide farmworker project and a statewide legal aid to human trafficking victims project. Most of our work is in the areas of housing, public benefits, removing barriers to employment, consumer, family law, and victim rights. Legal Action attorneys specialize in specific areas of law, though they may be called upon to work in multiple areas. They provide high-quality and aggressive representation, maintain a direct service caseload of individual clients, and contribute to the firm’s work to engage in law reform litigation and other impact work.

Most staff in the Racine Office have returned to the physical office, but some still work partially remote. This position would not be able to include regular remote work. New hires may receive some training in the physical office and some remote training as well. We currently require facemasks to be worn when someone is not in their office with the door closed.

Legal Action believes that equal justice under law can only be achieved through the collaboration of a diverse staff. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, people who identify as LGBTQIA , people with disabilities, and people with life experiences or educational backgrounds that add to the firm’s diversity and our capacity to provide high-quality legal aid.

OFFICE LOCATION

The Racine office is located at 245 Main Street, Suite 202, Racine, WI 53403. The Racine office currently consists of 9 attorneys, 2 paralegals and 1 legal secretary.

KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Screens incoming calls, responds to sensitive and escalated inquiries from clients and visitors, obtains information regarding legal service inquiry, educates clients regarding Legal Action of Wisconsin programs and services. Refers calls and inquiries to appropriate staff member for a response.
• Prepares detailed record of client inquiry using an established intake script. Updates client record in response to follow-up inquiries.
• Refers and assists clients who speak English as a second language (ESL) with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) resources to determine whether the language line or interpreter can assist with their legal service inquiry.
• Communicates critical client issues to Managing Attorney.
• Coordinates and provides administrative support to site staff to ensure efficient operation of the office.
• Assists in maintaining attorneys’ appointment calendar and scheduled client meetings as requested.
• Participates in coordinating special projects and assignments as directed by management.
• Retrieves, stores, saves and disposes of hard copy case management files in accordance to the firm’s record retention policy.
• This position will also be expected to acquire knowledge of Legal Action’s services and community resources in order to make appropriate legal and non-legal referrals.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Experience:

• High School Diploma or GED required.
• Minimum of 2 - 3 years clerical general office or administrative customer service support experience.
• Knowledge of Microsoft office to include experience with Windows and MS Office Suite software e.g. Outlook, Word and Excel.
• Attention to detail and ability to produce accurate work
• Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures
• Ability to organize work assignments and prioritize what needs to be accomplished
• Ability to remain composed, professional and focused when responding to challenging client interactions
• Ability to work with a diverse group of people i.e. staff, clients, etc. respecting others’ differences, while demonstrating flexibility, empathy and listening to understand other’s perspective.
• Ability to write in a clear, concise and organized manner.
• Applicants without prior legal secretarial experience should be prepared to acquire such skills during the six-month probationary period. Suitable training will be provided but applicants will be expected to demonstrate a willingness to learn, flexibility in adapting to the changing nature of their daily work assignments and effectively understand work and utilize the resources necessary to perform the job duties referred to in this job announcement.

Desired Experience:

• Minimum of four years of administrative office experience in a law firm.
• Previous experience working at a nonprofit or with a nonprofit organization.

COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY

At Legal Action of Wisconsin, health and safety is a top priority. We require all new, unrepresented employees and interns, law clerks, volunteers, and contractors from employment agencies or consulting firms to have completed their COVID-19 vaccinations and booster and to provide medical proof from Wisconsin’s Immunization Registry or from a medical provider of their fully vaccinated status as a condition of employment with Legal Action of Wisconsin within 28 days of their first day of employment. Individuals may request a medical or religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Exemption requests must be completed and approved on or before the first day of employment.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

This position involves sedentary work, sitting at a desk on a computer for an extended period, exerting up to 10 pounds of force on a regular basis to lift, carry, push or otherwise move objects. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and/or laptop keyboard and to use a telephone. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision of a computer screen. This position involves driving a motor vehicle occasionally. It may also include driving a motor vehicle while seated for extended periods. This position requires occasional reaching, bending, kneeling, and stooping to retrieve various items and materials.

SALARY

As set forth in Legal Action’s Salary Administration Plan for non-represented legal secretary positions in our Oshkosh, Green Bay, Racine, and La Crosse offices and as set forth in collective bargaining agreements with AFSCME in our Milwaukee office and with ULW in our Madison office, the starting salary for this position is determined by the candidate’s years of relevant work experience.

A full-time Legal Secretary Tier 1 candidate with no relevant prior work experience would be eligible for a starting salary of $37,983/year. A full-time Legal Secretary Tier 1 candidate with five years of relevant work experience would be eligible for a starting salary of $41,148/year. The salary structure provides equitable experience-based salaries based on the Legal Secretary’s job responsibilities along with the knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to the position.

Our 2021-2022 salary administration plan includes additional pay for those employees who are fluent in Spanish or Hmong and utilize their language skills in performing their work.

The pay rate for this position will be prorated based on the number of hours or days worked. The pay rate is non-negotiable and will follow the legal secretary pay scale.

FRINGE BENEFITS

The Legal Secretary position will work 18 hours per week and is classified as an hourly position. The Legal Secretary Racine position is not eligible for Legal Action’s employer-provided insurance benefits and paid leave benefits e.g. sick, annual/vacation, personal or paid holidays.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD

This position is subject to a six-month probationary period.

GOVERNANCE

Legal Action’s personnel policies govern the Racine legal secretary position. All personnel policies, salaries and benefits (for unrepresented employees) are subject to change by Legal Action’s Board of Directors.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants must submit the following materials via Legal Action of Wisconsin’s online applicant portal:

• Resume
• Cover letter
• The names and contact information for three professional references

Please submit and upload all the documents required. If the required documents are not submitted on or before the application deadline, your application will be considered incomplete, and we may not be able to consider you for this position.

Attorney Robert Held Vander Wyst, Managing Attorney Racine Office, is the hiring manager for this position.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

This position will be open until filled but with a minimum of 10 days posting time.

Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer