Judicial Assistant – Judge Burrell

CIRCUIT COURT FOR MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND

Personnel Class Specification

Judicial Assistant – Judge Burrell

DEFINITION OF CLASS

An employee in this position performs highly responsible administrative, secretarial and clerical work characterized by handling and coordinating overall office duties. Employee is expected to have a thorough knowledge of Court organization, office practices, and make independent decisions in dealing with the public and employees. Information obtained in the course of the performance of these duties may be confidential or private in nature. The employee in this position must recognize that visitors to the Court may be under significant stress and ensure that they are treated with dignity and discretion as they obtain court-ordered services. An employee in this position is at will and works at the discretion of the judge.

EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

To be successful, the employee in this position must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required. This job description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions. It is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities and does not prescribe or restrict various additional diversified tasks and assignments that may be required by the Judicial Officer.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Preparation of Court Orders, Monthly Reports and routine correspondence.
• Pick up mail daily from the mailroom and process accordingly.
• Order office supplies.
• Review tasks in queues in Odyssey for further action to be completed by the Clerk’s Office and/or the Assignment Office.
• Maintenance and filing of Judge’s notes in personal filing system.
• Maintain trial/court calendar.
• Telephone and personal contact with attorneys and general public. Scheduling of telephone conference calls, in-chambers conferences and specially set hearings, etc. Contacting attorneys to ascertain status of cases, etc.
• Assist in courtroom when necessary.
• Prepare Judge’s leave requests and submit them to the Assignment Commissioner. Upon approval of the leave request by the Administrative Judge, submit Judge’s leave in CONNECT.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Ability to work the full-time standard Court work schedule of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Monday through Friday) with flexibility to accommodate any necessary early or late meetings.
• Maintain a regular, punctual and reliable level of attendance.
• Ability to work independently and have high level of interpersonal skills to handle sensitive and confidential situations.
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and written, and exercise a high degree of judgment, tact, diplomacy and competence in dealing with judges, attorneys, court personnel and the public.
• Must have knowledge of secretarial, office administrative procedures and knowledge of use and operation of standard office equipment.
• Ability to set priorities and simultaneously process multiple tasks and maintain a professional demeanor when dealing with court personnel and the public at all times.
• Ability to make decisions based on experience, good judgment, and established policies and procedures.
• Ability to pay attention to detail in composing, typing and proofing materials; set priorities and simultaneously process multiple duties and responsibilities.
• Knowledge of and ability to apply fundamentals of business English, spelling, grammar, punctuation, standard office practices and procedures.
• Excellent telephone manner and experience dealing with the public.
• Ability to develop and maintain collaborative and professional working relationships with court personnel and the public.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• B.S. or B.A. degree in public or court administration from an accredited university or a paralegal degree from an accredited institution with three years of legal secretarial experience.
• General knowledge of Microsoft Office Suites and Zoom for Government.
• Excellent oral communication skills and an even temperament are high priority considerations for this position.
• Excellent organizational skills and customer service are of the highest priority as well as competence and temperament to communicate with the legal community, in-house court personnel and the general public in a fast-paced environment.
• Superior writing skills and command of English is essential.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted with five years of court experience.

Circuit Court employees are at-will employees and serve at the discretion of the Administrative Judge of the individual judge for whom they are hired. This means that either the employee, or the court, may terminate the employee relationship at any time, with or without cause. There are no contractual relationships between the Circuit Court and an employee; letters, benefit or policy statements, performance evaluation, handbooks, or other employee communications should not be interpreted as such. The at-will relationship remains in full force and effect notwithstanding any statements to the contrary made by court personnel or set forth in any documents.

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Additional Notes

1. It is a good idea to have your Cover Letter, Resume, and Writing Prompt prepared before you complete the Employment Application.
2. Your Employment Application will not be accepted until it has been fully completed and submitted with all three attachments.
3. If the Employment Application is not complete or the Court has not received all supporting documents, your submission will be returned to you. An email notification will be sent to you requesting further information.
4. You will be required to create an account if you need to save your Employment Application and complete it later.

For assistance or additional information about the Employment Application Process, please contact Court Administration at 240-777-9102 or by email at [email protected].