LEGAL ASSISTANT (WT: PARALEGAL SPECIALIST II) - 76002561

Requisition No: 850201 

Agency: Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle

Working Title: LEGAL ASSISTANT (WT: PARALEGAL SPECIALIST II) - 76002561

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 76002561 

Salary:  $42,000.00 Annually 

Posting Closing Date: 05/08/2025 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

LEGAL

MV & DLR LEGAL COUNSEL

Career Service (CS) Opportunity

*Open Competitive Advertisement*

To be considered for this position, applicant responses to qualifying questions must be clearly stated within the employment history.  Software systems, actual work experience, and years of employment must be clearly defined, or the application may not be considered for the position. 

Contact Person: Tammie Gibbs, 850-617-3147, TAMMIEGIBBS@FLHSMV.GOV

The Organization

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) provides highway safety and security through excellence in service, education, and enforcement. With a workforce of approximately 4,500 employees throughout the state, the Department is leading the way to A Safer Florida through the efficient and professional execution of its core mission: the issuance of driver licenses, vehicle tags and titles, and operation of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Our Benefits include

• Paid Parental Leave
• Annual and Sick Leave Package
• Nine Paid Holidays
• State Health and Life Insurance
• Educational Benefits
• Contributory Retirement Plan

To learn more about FLHSMV and why it’s a great place to work, visit our website at: flhsmv.gov/careers.

If you're seeking employment with a meaningful mission, opportunities for skill growth and career advancement, competitive medical and life insurance, retirement benefits, ample vacation and sick leave, paid holidays, and educational assistance, consider building your career at FLHSMV!  

Duties and Responsibilities

This Legal Assistant position provides paralegal support to the Chief Counsel of Motor Vehicles and other attorneys on the Motor Vehicle legal team as assigned. As a Legal Assistant, you will provide assistance to attorneys handling Department civil, administrative, and appellate litigation primarily involving motor vehicle title petitions and dealers. Duties and responsibilities will include:

• Preparing drafts of legal documents to include pleadings, orders, motions, memoranda of law and other legal correspondence.
• Performing legal research and data collection.
• Managing attorney calendars and tracking deadlines.
• Maintaining litigation files in the case management system.
• Filing litigation documents with clerks of court and/or judges.
• Requesting and scheduling hearings with courts.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Value customer service and understand the importance of responsiveness and timely follow-through.
• Portray a positive, respectful, and professional image to all regardless of situation or communication method. 
• Be able to provide guidance that encourages collaboration and balances providing subject matter expertise with support for customer preference.
• Possess excellent active listening and adaptive communication skills to include the ability to convey information so that it is clearly understandable.   
• Possess a strong work ethic and drive to move things forward under own initiative.  Approach work with a sense of commitment, urgency, flexibility, and personal accountability.
• Be able to effectively manage a busy workload, be productive in an environment with regular interruptions, and meet designated timeframes without compromising attention to detail or customer service.
• Be solutions oriented with the ability to use critical thinking, judgement, and discretion to make sound decisions and effective recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference will be given to applicants with the following experience and/or knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Experience working as a paralegal, legal assistant, or any related position.
• Experience drafting legal documents.

Job Related Requirements

• The position you are applying is subject to a Level 2 background check, along with Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) clearance, to include a fingerprint-based check of the criminal records of the FBI, as a condition of employment pursuant to Chapter 110.1127, 435 and 943, Florida Statutes.  Please note that, since this position requires CJIS clearance, the Department will have access to all an applicant’s criminal and juvenile delinquency records, even those that have been sealed or expunged.

General Information

• The elements of the selection process may include a skill assessment and/or oral interview.
• Applicants being considered for employment will be required to submit to a fingerprint-based background investigation, which will include a check of the criminal history records of the FBI. Fingerprints and associated information/biometrics will be retained in the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) system and fingerprints may continue to be compared against fingerprints submitted to or retained by NGI.
• FLHSMV employees are paid once a month on the last workday of each month.  All state employees are required to participate in the direct deposit program pursuant to s. 110.113 Florida Statutes.

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.  Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.  Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.  Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code.  Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here.  All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement. 

Salary : $42,000