Department of Social Services

LAST DAY FOR FILING: July 22, 2026

EOE

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: The work involves responsibility for supervising, training and overseeing the work of paralegal and clerical staff. Supervision is also exercised over their workload and performance. The incumbent is responsible for assigning work, ensuring quality and timeliness of work product, and assisting with complex legal tasks. The incumbent is also responsible for performing various paralegal duties and a variety of tasks that while not requiring the skills of an attorney, entail the application of complex legal procedures and research techniques to facilitate the preparation of legal documents and matters for litigation. The work is performed under the direct supervision of the department’s attorneys and administrative supervision of the appointing authority, with considerable leeway allowed for the exercise of independent judgment. Does related work as required.

EXAMPLES OF WORK: (Illustrative only)

Supervises all paralegal and clerical staff, overseeing their work, managing workloads, and ensuring tasks are completed accurately and on time;
Reviews work product, providing feedback and ensuring adherence to legal standards and county and court procedures;
Meets with attorneys to review assignment and distribution of weekly work duties to paralegals and clerical staff;
Assigns cases or projects to paralegals, coordinating workflow, and ensuring resources are available;
Trains new paralegal and clerical staff, providing guidance to them and identifying professional development needs;
Maintains office coverage and approves time off for paralegal and clerical staff;
Organizes, tracks, and completes service of process for petitions, motions, subpoenas, and other legal documents;
Organizes and run weekly/biweekly staff meetings;
Processes, indexes, and sorts records and maintains files necessary for the work of the attorneys;
Prepares court orders for review, file court orders with various courts on notice to parties, and keep and maintain the court order tracking log;
Performs annual evaluations of paralegal and clerical staff;
Conducts legal research under the supervision of an attorney;
Answers the telephone, receive callers and refer them to the appropriate person, answers requests for various information, takes messages;
Maintains accurate records of case files, documents, electronic data, and other relevant materials;
Assists with Caseworker training with Attorney;
Keeps and maintains attorney calendars; electronic calendar of court appearances and deadlines;
Works with other staff to schedule appointments, fair hearings, meetings, etc.;
Communicates and corresponds with attorneys, clients, agencies, courts, and other staff;
Files petitions, motions, pleadings, reports, and letters to various courts;
Drafts witness subpoenas for attorney review and makes arrangement for service of process as necessary;
Subpoenas witnesses and records as necessary;
Participates in interviewing and selection of new employees;
May appear in court with attorney;
May appear before County administrative committees;
Uses various electronic databases to obtain information for the attorneys and the smooth operation of the office;
Keeps, maintains, and manages statistics on filings and electronic data;
Pulls and prepares files for the attorney to take to court;
Performs other related duties as required.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES: Thorough knowledge of legal principles, practices, procedures and documents; thorough knowledge and skill with computers, electronic communication, scanning, word processing, managing spreadsheets, and accessing electronic data; good knowledge of the functions and procedures of the courts; ability to plan and supervise the work of others; ability to be proactive in solving problems; ability to pay close attention to details; ability to work effectively within a team environment; ability to perform multiple tasks quickly and efficiently; ability to understand and carry out complex oral and written instructions; ability to effectively listen and communicate both orally and in writing; ability to maintain confidentiality; ability to maintain cooperative relations with staff, other departments, other agencies, the courts and the public; ability to exhibit integrity, honesty, and good judgment.

PROMOTIONAL QUALIFICATIONS: Three years permanent status as a Paralegal within an Otsego County department.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Either:

(a) Graduation from a regionally accredited college or university or one accredited by the New York State Board of Regents to grant degrees with a Bachelor’s degree or higher in Paralegal Studies, Human Services, Business Administration, Legal Studies or closely related field and one (1) year of experience in a legal setting providing paralegal or legal assistant support to an attorney; or

(b) Graduation from a regionally accredited college or university or one accredited by the New York State Board of Regents to grant degrees with an Associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies, Human Services, Business Administration, Legal Studies or closely related field and three (3) years of experience in a legal setting providing paralegal or legal assistant support to an attorney;

(c) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and five (5) years clerical experience in a legal setting providing paralegal or legal assistant support to an attorney;

(d) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (a), (b), and (c) above.

NOTES:

Successful completion of coursework in human services, business administration, legal studies or closely related field at a regionally accredited college or university, or one accredited by the New York State Board of Regents to grant degrees, may be substituted for the required experience with three (3) semester credit hours of related coursework as indicated above being equivalent to three (3) months of experience, up to one-half of the required work experience.
Possession of a Paralegal Certification from a regionally accredited or NYS registered college or university can be substituted for the required experience on a year-for-year basis up to two (2) years. For example, a one year 32 or 36 credit paralegal certificate program would be deemed equivalent to one (1) year.
Degree(s) must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If the degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, the candidate must provide independent verification of equivalency. A list of acceptable companies who provide this service can be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. Candidates will be required to pay the evaluation fee
Applicants may be required to undergo a Local, State, and/or national criminal history background investigation, which will include a fingerprint check, to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in disqualification.

CLASSIFICATION: Competitive

Supervising Paralegal

About the Job

About Otsego County