Legal Office Administrator

The Position

The Legal Office Administrator reports directly to the General Counsel and supports the overall functions of the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) by providing complex legal secretarial, administrative, budgetary, and office management support. This position will analyze, recommend, and implement improvements in the OGC's work processes, office practices, and administrative policies and procedures.

The Legal Office Administrator must be able to lead, supervise, review the work of, and train legal secretarial and paralegal staff; manage special projects; oversee budget administration; and perform advanced legal support functions requiring independent decision-making. Tasks require specialized knowledge and understanding of legal terms and procedures, including the preparation and processing of a wide variety of confidential information unique to the General Counsel's Office.

Considerable latitude of judgment is exercised, under general guidelines, to initiate and complete complex assignments.

Major responsibilities require initiative, independent judgment, critical thinking, and maintaining professional interactions with OGC staff, EBMUD personnel, and members of the public. Typical responsibilities may include:

• Organizing, scheduling, assigning, directing, reviewing, and evaluating the work of lead and journey-level legal support staff engaged in complex legal and administrative support for the General Counsel's Office.

• Providing complex legal and administrative support directly to the General Counsel and OGC management, including compiling and preparing materials for meetings, responding independently to information requests from external organizations and EBMUD staff, and coordinating communications between the General Counsel and EBMUD management.

• Supervising and leading legal support staff; coordinating training; addressing performance deficiencies; assigning staff to attorneys; and ensuring adequate staffing levels for attorney support.

• Participating in recruitment and selection of legal support staff; reviewing employee performance; and establishing and maintaining work standards.

• Relieving the General Counsel of certain administrative duties, transmitting information and requests, following up as necessary, advising on pertinent matters, representing OGC on administrative issues as assigned, attending meetings, and assisting with special projects.

• Analyzing and providing information requiring independent judgment, knowledge, and interpretation of policies; organizing and maintaining administrative and confidential files; preparing records and reports per EBMUD procedures; researching, compiling, and summarizing materials for reports, correspondence, meetings, and presentations.

• Recommending, developing, and implementing workflow and office procedure improvements; evaluating staff efficiency; implementing office standards; assisting in departmental goals; and enforcing approved policies and procedures.

• Preparing budget projections, draft appropriation requests, and justifications; managing OGC's budget; monitoring expenditures; reviewing invoices, billing statements, and purchase orders; and overseeing payment processes.

• Maintaining the General Counsel's calendar; scheduling meetings; coordinating travel, accommodations, and conference registrations; and preparing expense authorizations and reimbursements.

• Receiving and screening visitors and telephone calls; assisting or directing callers as appropriate; and screening and routing mail with relevant attachments.

• Preparing correspondence and legal documents, including resolutions, ordinances, legal opinions, contracts, briefs, leases, agreements, confidential memoranda, and procedural manuals.

• Overseeing and maintaining the legal library; collaborating with the law librarian; assisting with computer research systems; negotiating vendor contracts; and indexing and filing legal documents.

• Overseeing purchase of office supplies and equipment; requisitioning materials and coordinating maintenance.

• Operating standard office equipment, legal document management…