Office Support Person V - Appellate Secretary - DA

This employee is responsible for various clerical and administrative tasks to support the administrative needs of the Attorneys in the Appellate Division including, but not limited to, receiving, sorting, and distributing mail; answering and directing telephone calls; maintaining calendar and tickler system for attorneys; typing and formatting documents; and maintaining appropriate Division records and files. Most critically, this employee is tasked with filing legal documents on behalf of the Appellate Attorneys in both state and Federal courts in accordance with the applicable local, state, and Federal rules of procedure. This employee may also perform other tasks as deemed necessary for the supervising secretary or the attorneys in the Division.

* Typing and formatting legal documents.
* Preparing and filing various types of legal documents in numerous different courts, including answers to PCRA petitions in the Court of Common Pleas; appellate briefs in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; responses to federal habeas corpus petitions in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; and responses to petitions for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.
* Ensuring that prepared and filed documents meet the requirements set forth in Rules of Appellate Procedure or other local rules. Strict adherence is required.
* Coordinating with the county print shop to ensure that the requisite number of copies of briefs are made; submitting the hard copies of the briefs to the appellate courts.
* Drafting and filing entries of appearance, motions for extensions of time, and continuance requests.
* Preparing and sending out subpoenas for witnesses for court hearings.
* Drafting letters to the local, state and Federal courts.
* Preparing appendices and reproduced records for briefs and answers.
* Receiving, sorting, and distributing mail.
* Maintaining a working relationship with various appellate courts.
* Maintaining records of all defendants' court filings, the Commonwealth's court filings, and the dispositions of the filings; assisting in compiling bi-annual statistics for the Appellate Division.
* Answering telephone calls; directing the call as necessary, taking a message, or responding appropriately to the inquiry.
* Maintaining daily schedules for division attorneys.
* Calendaring all deadlines for court filings and all argument and hearing scheduling.
* Assisting with file research and/or organization.
* Retrieving files and documents for attorneys, often from decades' old cases.
* Overseeing division file flow; file management.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

* Strong typing/word processing skills.
* Telephone manners.
* Familiarity with the local, state and Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
* Knowledge of the state and Federal court systems.
* Knowledge of the Criminal Justice System.
* Ability to navigate various computer databases, including PACER, CPCMS, and UJS Portal.
* Communication skills, both verbal and written.
* Grammar and spelling skills.
* Schedule flexibility.
* Knowledge of Office policy/procedure.
* Knowledge of Office organization and division mission.
* Must be able to work under pressure and maintain composure under stressful situations.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit; and talk and hear. The employee is occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands or arms; and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision and depth perception.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.