Description

Persons requiring reasonable accommodation in the application process or requiring information in an alternative format may contact the recruitment team at HREmployment@atg.wa.gov. Those with a hearing impairment in need of accommodation are encouraged to contact the Washington Relay Service at 1-800-676-3777 or www.washingtonrelay.com
Position and Salary
The Attorney General’s Office is recruiting for a permanent full time Paralegal 2 in the Criminal Justice Division. This position is located in Seattle, Washington, and is represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).
Paralegal 2 (Range 55) salary range: $58,104 - $78,120
The base pay offered will take into account internal equity and may vary depending on the preferred candidate’s job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
The following stipends may apply based on position requirements:

• Incumbents assigned to our Seattle office location receive an additional 5% King County Location Pay stipend.
• Incumbents assigned to a position designated as requiring dual language skills will receive a 5% Dual Language Requirement Pay stipend.

• Economic justice and consumer protections (safeguarding consumers, protecting youth, seniors, and other vulnerable populations)
• Social justice and civil rights (addressing discrimination, environmental protection, and veteran and military resources)
• Criminal justice and public safety (investigative and prosecutorial support, financial crimes)
• And much more!

The MECU and CLU investigate and prosecute criminal cases when requested by the Governor or any of the 39 county prosecuting attorneys, including multi-jurisdictional crimes, violent crimes, financial crimes, and crimes involving specialized expertise such complex fraud, criminal conspiracies, corporate corruption, public corruption, organized retail crime and schemes that target state agencies.

The SVP Unit identifies Washington’s most prolific and dangerous sexually violent predators, and works to civilly commit those who continue to pose a serious risk to re-offend.

The SP unit has three subunits: HITS, SAKI and the Missing, Murdered Indigenous People Cold Case Unit. The HITS Unit assists law enforcement by providing investigative expertise and maintaining a statewide database to analyze data regarding crimes and perpetrators and identify and apprehend serial offenders. The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Team implements measures to ensure that legally-owed DNA is collected and tested so that cold cases, including serial offenders, can be brought to justice. The newly-created Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Cold Case Unit assists federal, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in investigating unsolved cases involving Indigenous people, who are disproportionately subjected to violent crime.

The WSP/CJTC unit represents and advises the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.

Additionally, the CRJ participates in numerous working groups and task forces, including Organized Retail Theft Task Force, Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force, Seattle University Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Commercial Sexually Exploited Children Task Force, Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations (SAFE) Advisory Group, Hate Crimes Working Group, Identify Theft Task Force, and the Catalytic Converter Theft Task Force.

For more information about CRJ and the cases we handle, please visit our website at https://www.atg.wa.gov/criminal-justice

Duties

What does a Paralegal 2 do?
In support of the mission and values of the Attorney General’s Office and under general direction, this position requires the employee to manage all aspects of litigation support functions, from pre-filing consideration to several levels of possible appeal. The objective of this position is to serve as a trial paralegal for the Criminal Justice Division (CRJ) in a litigation intense environment. This position supports the mission of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) by providing excellent, independent, and ethical legal services to the State of Washington and protect the rights of its people by journey-level Paralegal support to the Criminal Litigation Unit (CLU), the Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) Unit, and various subunits, with a focus on Labor & Industries criminal cases, by helping the attorneys prepare for trial, including legal research, case analysis, legal strategy, processing discovery, and trial preparation. This position directly supports the important task of ensuring the safety of the citizens of Washington. This position assists in the litigation of cases before all 39 counties in Washington State, all 3 Divisions of the Washington State Court of Appeals, the Washington State Supreme Court, and in all state and federal courts. This requires the paralegal to understand all internal AGO policies and procedures and all case calendaring protocols (CEC). The employee must also understand and apply the rules governing civil discovery, local, state and federal court rules and the rules of evidence. The Paralegal must also comply with the Rule of Professional Responsibility, rules governing medical and psychological records and maintain confidentiality.
This position also requires the employee to manage all aspects of Public Record Requests for the Criminal Justice Division statewide. This position is responsible for coordination of public records requests within the Criminal Justice Division. Directs and coordinates distribution of requests, performs appropriate searches of the division drives, ACE, CMS, and emails, and completes timely production of reviewed and redacted responsive documents in compliance with agency policies and procedures. Assists with the review and redaction of responsive documents and assertion of appropriate exemptions when required. Maintains the division Public Records Request Manual, provides assistance, guidance and training to Criminal Justice Division staff. Pursuant to AGO Policy, III.15, this position will be responsible for responding to all public records requests in a timely manner. This shall be done in accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the Public Records Act, RCW 42.56 and related statures related to the disclosure of public records. Records retention is governed by Chapter 40.14 RCW Preservation and Destruction of Public Records.
This recruitment announcement may be used to fill multiple open positions for the same classification, in addition to the position(s) listed in this announcement.

Qualifications

Desired Qualifications
Research suggests that women and people of color are less likely to apply unless they are confident they meet 100% of the listed qualifications. We strongly encourage all interested individuals to apply, and allow us to evaluate your combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities demonstrated using an intentional equity lens.
Combination of four years of experience through paralegal certification, two-year paralegal degree, and/or paraprofessional experience in support of an attorney.
OR
Three years’ experience as a Paralegal 1 in Washington State Service.You may have gained applicable paraprofessional experience through previous Paralegal or Legal Assistant work.
Conditions of Employment
A background check consisting of employment history, professional references and educational verification (e.g., degree, license, or official transcript) may be conducted. Prior to any offer, the applicant selected will be required to submit to and pass a fingerprint-based criminal background check conducted by the Washington State Patrol, Criminal Records Division. The incumbent will submit to additional background checks as a condition of employment every five (5) years thereafter.

Supplemental Information

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
In addition to completing the online application, applicants must attach the following documents to their profile in order to be considered for this position:

• A letter of interest, describing your specific qualifications for the position;
• A current resume detailing experience and education.

• Carefully review your application for accuracy, spelling and grammar before submitting.
• You may not reapply to this posting for 30 days.
• The initial screening of applications will be solely based on the contents and completeness of the “work experience” and “education” sections of your application in www.careers.wa.gov, completeness of the application material submitted, and responses to the supplemental questionnaire.
• A resume will not substitute for completing the “work experience” section of the application.
• All information may be verified and documentation may be required.