Hiring Agency
The California Attorney Jobs: This is a professional member organization comprised of over 800 prosecutors. Our mission is to recruit, train, and advance the careers of minority attorneys as prosecutors at all levels of government (California Attorney Jobs 2009).
The Los Angeles County Prosecutor Attorney’s Office provides an excellent opportunity for interested individuals to gain at least three years of extensive trial experience as a prosecutor. All newly hired prosecutors begin their careers in our office as “fixed term” Deputy District Attorneys. Fixed term attorneys are hired as limited term permanent appointments. They receive County benefits, such as County retirement, optional County medical/dental plans, and vacation and sick leave accruals. All fixed term prosecutors prepare and prosecute many misdemeanor jury trials during their first three years in our office. Most also conduct preliminary hearings and/or juvenile contests (Legal jobs in California, 2010). In addition, all fixed term attorneys are assigned to the Felony Trial Team where they have the opportunity to try felony cases to a jury. Los Angeles County is a Merit System county, and hiring for fixed term prosecutors is done through the County’s Human Resources Department. Fixed term Deputy District Attorneys are generally hired once per year, usually in December. The application period begins in late October and it will be open for one month (Anon. “Attorney services network” 2010).
Description
The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney (PAT) is organized into six divisions of deputy prosecuting attorneys (DPAs). A division chief oversees each division. In some divisions, one or more team captains supervise smaller groups as well. Support staff in each division, under the direction of a clerical supervisor, assists the prosecutors with their work.
Main duties include
prosecuting misdemeanor and felony criminal cases; conducting pretrial interviews with victims, witnesses, defense attorneys and arresting officers; preparing cases for trial; refusing or approving and issuing complaints in misdemeanor matters and
Non-complex felony matters; advising law enforcement agencies in legal and evidentiary matters before issuance of criminal complaints; and preparing search warrants and arrest warrants (United States Department of Justice, 1995).
Other duties include
- Reviews and evaluates with each Assistant Attorney dispositions of criminal and civil cases assigned to them.
- Reviews criminal and civil cases, and recommends and/or determines their disposition.
- Prepares search warrants and advises and assists agencies in their use.
- Interviews police and civilians concerning complaints on criminal and civil matters and
- Determines appropriate disposition.
- Consults with staff attorneys on work assignments, regarding individual cases, criminal Complaints, investigations, questions of law, and procedures.
- Consults with Administrator concerning secretarial staff and professional staff regarding Work loads, case assignments, scheduling and other administration problems.
- Conducts pre-trials, preliminary examinations and tries criminal cases in Circuit Court.
- Assists and advises all law enforcement agencies within County on legal problems,
- Questions of law and procedure, investigations, individual cases and policies.
- Gets involved with personnel and labor relations activities for the department.
- Oversee and advise on all lawsuits.
Job requirements
To be considered for the above post, the candidate must possess the following education and work experience.
- Education: Bachelor’s degree and Law degree.
- Experience: Five years of related experience in areas of administration, labor relations and management.
Other Requirements
- Applicants must be active members in good standing of the California State Bar or must provide notice of acceptance as a new admittee having passed the most recent California Bar Examination
- Must be licensed to practice law in California
- At least five years experience as a District Attorney or higher.
- Ability to deal with the public directly under stressful circumstances
Licenses, certificates
Must be able to meet all traveling requirements for the position and if utilizing a personal or county owned vehicle in the performance of County work, must possess, and maintain a valid Washington State Driver’s License and the appropriate amount of automobile insurance.
This position requires a security clearance. A thorough background check through law enforcement agencies and previous employers will be conducted on all applicants based on information supplied on the application.
Los Angeles County reserves the right to independently determine the applicant’s prior criminal conviction record within the last seven years (Anon. “Attorney services network” 2010).
Note: The qualifications listed above are intended to represent the minimum skills and experience levels associated with performing the duties and responsibilities contained in this job description. The qualifications should not be viewed as expressing absolute employment or promotional standards, but as general guidelines that should be considered along with other job-related selection or promotional criteria.
Working conditions/physical activities
Work is performed in an office/courtroom environment with off-site visits to interview witnesses, etc. as necessary. Courtroom trial activity requires the ability to communicate effectively and respond appropriately.
Must have the ability to read reports, etc. and work in a high stress environment.
Physical hazards associated with travel to off-site locations are present. Potentially dangerous situations are present when interviewing witnesses and others involved in cases, especially at off-site locations. Some lifting of files and brief cases is required, to and from court/off-site locations.
Application Process
This is a civil service office. Individuals are hired as necessary through the county personnel office.
Obtain application materials from the Los Angeles County Human Resources Department through the post or the internet. Application, resume, writing samples and transcripts must be sent to the human resources office. Applicants can contact the Human Resources Department at our website.
The applicant can provide an e-mail address, and Human Resources should automatically notify applicants when the application period opens. Application forms and supplemental Questionnaires can be downloaded or completed on-line from our website during the open filing period. The completed applications and supplemental Questionnaires may be evaluated to select the best qualified candidates for an oral interview.
Equal Opportunity employer
Los Angeles County is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer, committed to a diverse workplace. It is the policy of Los Angeles County to provide equal opportunity in all terms, conditions and privileges of employment for all qualified job applicants and employees without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation age, disability, or veteran status.
Reference List
Anon. (2010). Attorney services network. Web.
California Attorney Jobs (2009). Welcome to California Attorney Jobs. Web.
Legal jobs in California (2010). Find legal and paralegal employment opportunities in California. Web.
United States Department of Justice (1995). Attorney vacancies. Web.