Legal Secretary I/II (Open and Promotional)
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Legal Secretary I/II (Open and Promotional)
Salary
$72,134.40 - $100,443.20 Annually
Location
Redwood City, CA
Job Type
Regular
Job Number
E378AA
Department
District Attorney's Office
Opening Date
06/22/2026
Closing Date
7/6/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
Bargaining Unit
37
Description
Benefits
Questions
Description
The District Attorney's Office is accepting applications for the position of Legal Secretary I/II. There is currently one vacancy to be filled.
About the Office
The mission of the District Attorney's Office is to prosecute adult and juvenile offenders, provide services to support victims, enforce consumer and environmental laws, provide legal and investigative support to public safety partners, and remain committed to the principles of equity and transparency in seeking justice and greater public safety.
To that end, the Office is committed to ensuring that no member of our office will seek or obtain a criminal conviction or seek or obtain a sentence on any individual based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability. To learn more about the District Attorney's Office please visit: https://www.smcgov.org/da.
The Position
Legal Secretaries perform essential tasks, including preparing legal documents, correspondence, memoranda, and reports, providing support for incoming referrals, and arranging court dates, meetings, and appointments. Screening phone calls, conducting research, and compiling information are crucial aspects of the role. Additionally, Legal Secretaries maintain organized files, process mail, and effectively manage their own work, ensuring priorities are set and critical deadlines are met. Legal Secretaries must retain an abundance of procedures and consistently work under pressure. Communication, organizational, and time-management skills are essential to succeed as a Legal Secretary.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate for this position will have:
Experience working in a public or private law office.
In-depth knowledge of legal terminology and legal procedures.
Experience supporting multiple managers or attorneys simultaneously.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel.
Working knowledge of legal case management systems.
Strong interpersonal, communication, organizational, and time management skills.
Proven success working independently on multiple assignments and meeting deadlines.
Legal Secretaries working in the District Attorney's Office focus on criminal law processes and procedures.
Depending on the qualifications of the selected candidate, the vacancy may be filled at the Legal Secretary I or Legal Secretary II level.
Legal Secretary I ($72,134 - $90,230 Annually) is the entry level in this specialized secretarial series. It is designed to allow an experienced incumbent with either well-developed office administrative or secretarial support skills to learn the terminology, formats, and procedures in the legal secretarial field, or an incumbent with knowledge of legal office terminology, formats, and procedures to learn office administrative and secretarial support skills. This classification is flexibly staffed with Legal Secretary II and incumbents may advance to the higher level after gaining experience and demonstrating proficiency which meet the qualifications of the higher-level class.
Legal Secretary II ( $80,329 - $100,443 Annually) is the journey-level class of this series, fully competent to independently perform a wide range of legal secretarial support work. General procedures and guidelines are normally established by the secretarial lead or the attorney to which they are assigned, however, day-to-day activities may require the use of initiative and independent judgment. Responsibilities include regular contact with County staff and outside agencies in situations where tact and discretion are important.
Note: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.
Examples Of Duties
Legal Secretaries perform varied and responsible legal secretarial duties including, but not limited to, the following:
Preparing legal documents, correspondence, memoranda, and reports.
Processing new referrals.
Scheduling court dates, meetings, and appointments.
Receiving and screening telephone calls.
Researching and compiling a variety of informational materials.
Maintaining and organizing files.
Processing mail.
Organizing assigned work, setting priorities, and meeting critical deadlines.
Performing related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education and Experience: Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is:
Legal Secretary I: One year of either secretarial and office administrative experience equivalent to the County's class of Secretary OR legal office support experience.
Legal Secretary II: Two years of experience in providing legal secretarial and office administrative support to one or more attorneys and related support staff.
Knowledge of:
Office administrative and secretarial practices and procedures, including filing and letter writing.
Legal office terminology, processes, procedures, and the format for legal documents.
The operation of common office equipment, including a word processor and personal or online computer.
Record-keeping, report preparation, and filing methods.
Correct English usage, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary.
Business arithmetic, including percentages and decimals.
Skill/Ability to:
Draft pleadings and other legal documents from stenographic notes, brief instructions, dictated tapes, or printed information.
Provide varied and responsible secretarial and office administrative assistance to one or more attorneys and/or associated staff.
Use initiative and independent judgment within established guidelines.
Organize and maintain accurate records and files.
Organize work, set priorities, meet critical deadlines, and follow up on assignments.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.
Some positions may require the ability to @type at a rate of 50 words per minute.
Note: Specific positions may require skill in taking dictation at a rate of 80 words per minute by hand or stenographic machine and transcribing it accurately.
Application/Examination
Open and Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, proba tionary, or extra help/limited term position prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.
The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in County of San Mateo, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.
IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire.
Tentative Recruitment Schedule:
Final Filing Date: Monday, July 6, 2026 by 11:59 PM PST
Application Screening: Week of July 6, 2026
Panel Interviews: Tuesday, July 21 and/ or Wednesday, July 22, 2026
About the County
San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.
The County of San Mateo, as an employer, is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.
The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer. We seek to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community.
HR Contact: Lealoa Numera (06222026) (Legal Secretary I/II - E377/E378)
We invite you to explore our Benefits-at-a-Glance (https://www.smcgov.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/Benefits%20at%20a%20Glance%204.29.25.pdf) page for a snapshot of the comprehensive and competitive benefits available to eligible employees of the County of San Mateo. From health and wellness to financial security, our benefits are designed to support you at every stage of your career. (Please note that benefits are subject to change.)
In addition to core benefits, the County is proud to offer a variety of wellness and professional development programs to help you grow both personally and professionally. Most of these enriching opportunities are available during work hours and come at no cost to you.
As a County employee, you'll also be covered by the federal Social Security system, earning valuable retirement benefits based on your salary and years of service.
01
IMPORTANT: Applicants for this position are required to submit responses to the following supplemental questions. Your responses will give us additional information about your background and experience related to this position, will weigh heavily in the application screening process, and will be used in the selection process. Be concise and specific. Neatness, clarity of expression, grammar, spelling, and ability to follow instructions will be considered in the evaluation process. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for your responses.
I have read and I understand these instructions.
Yes
No
02
Legal Secretary work involves efficiently managing administrative tasks, facilitating communication, and maintaining organized systems to ensure the smooth operation of the office environment. Describe the duties you have performed in your current or previous job, specifically in a secretarial, office administrative, or legal office capacity. In your response, be sure to specify your assignment(s) and the number of staff you supported, if applicable. Additionally, please be sure to describe your work in a civil law office and/or a criminal law office, if applicable.
03
Provide a specific example from your work experience in which you successfully met a tight deadline while multitasking, supporting multiple individuals, and working under pressure. Describe your techniques for managing the situation and the outcome. Please be as specific as possible.
04
Describe your work-related experience in filing and maintaining official or legal documents. In your response, be sure to include where the experience was gained and what the requirements were for filing and maintaining the documents.
05
How did you learn about this position?
County of San Mateo Website
County of San Mateo Job Interest Card Notification
County Hosted Virtual Event
County Hosted Job Fair
CalOpps.org
College/University Career Center
Community-based Organization Posting
Facebook/Instagram
Friend or Relative
GovernmentJobs.com
Indeed
Job Fair
LinkedIn
Professional Publication/Website (Please specify in next question)
X (formerly called Twitter)
Zip Recruiter
Other (Please specify in next question)
06
If you answered, "Professional Publication/Website" or "Other" to the above question, please indicate below how you learned about this position. Your response to this question will help us in better marketing County jobs. Type NA if not applicable.
Required Question
Employer
County of San Mateo
Address
County of San Mateo Human Resources Department 500 County Center, 4th Floor Redwood City, California, 94063-1663
Phone
(650) 363-4343
Website
https://jobs.smcgov.org
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