Description

Position Summary

Legal assistants in the Child Welfare Unit meet with Department of Human Services (“DHS”) social work service managers and Community Umbrella Agencies (“CUA”) case managers to discuss proposed and pending court cases, draft dependent petitions which are filed in the Dependent Branch of Family Court following these interviews, and review DHS case records in order to prepare petitions seeking either Voluntary Or Involuntary Termination Of Parental Rights, or Permanent Legal Custody.  They also prepare related documents and gather necessary information in order to supplement these pleadings.  The legal assistants occasionally expunge DHS case records of confidential information for review by outside parties and appear at Pre-Hearing Conferences at Family Court on behalf of the Law Department. 

Legal Assistant Supervisors in the Child Welfare Unit perform the above-described duties of a legal assistant in the unit.  Legal Assistant Supervisors, on a daily basis, review, revise when necessary, and electronically file dependent petitions in coordination with Family Court staff, and they appear weekly at Pre-Hearing Conferences at Family Court on behalf of the Law Department.

Essential Functions

• Duties of a Legal Assistant Supervisor in the CWU include but are not limited to:
• Participate in interviews of candidates for City of Philadelphia Legal Assistant positions
• Assist in new hire coordination and training of new legal assistant staff
• Schedule, prepare, and attend meetings specific to Child Welfare Unit legal assistant responsibilities
• Assist with scheduling, preparing, and attending meetings specific to Child Welfare Unit area of practice
• Assist in the development/modification of Child Welfare Unit training modules/programs/materials
• Prepare monthly Child Welfare Unit legal assistant staff calendar for on-call dependent petition drafting assignments
• Assign work to subordinate staff and monitor work assignments
• Provide direct supervision/oversight for City of Philadelphia legal assistants and indirect supervision for Legal Service Initiative Paralegals (LSIP) assigned to draft dependent petitions           o   Prepare annual employee performance evaluations for City of Philadelphia legal assistants under direct supervision                                                                                                               o   Provide feedback to LSIP supervisory/management staff regarding LSIP employee performance related to dependent petition drafting
• Assist with drafting dependent petitions as needed
• Provide direct oversight of dependent filing submissions to the Juvenile Branch of Family Court, Division of the Court of Common PleasInteract with Juvenile Branch of Family Court, Division of the Court of Common Pleas staff (Dependent Court Operations, Adoptions Unit, Truancy Unit) regarding dependency and adoption/permanent legal custody related filings
• Act as liaison between Juvenile Branch of Family Court, Division of the Court of Common Pleas staff and Child Welfare Unit staff to resolve filing impediments
• Report to Child Welfare Unit management and Human Resources regarding employee performance and work status
• Assist in resolving issues and disputes
• Develop, update, and maintain work and document logs/databases regarding dependency pleadings and maintain document quality control
• Assist with providing reports to interoffice/interdepartmental management and client representatives
• Assist attorneys with special due diligence efforts and other special projects
• Conduct research utilizing legal research tools and other databases/resources
• Handle an independent dependency and adoption/permanent legal custody related case load under the supervision of an assigned attorney and with assistance of a LSIP

Requirements

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Excellent organizational skills
• Effective and professional oral and written communication
• Ability to work independently and think proactively 
• Ability to manage and prioritize numerous assignments
• Computer skills required/desired for the position include:

MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint, OneNote, Access)

Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms)

Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets, OpenOffice Calc). ... 

Email (mail merge, filters, folders, rules)

Presentations/Slideshows (Powerpoint, Google Slides, OpenOffice Impress, Tableu)

Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other virtual platforms

• Experience with electronic filing through PACfile
• Ability to complete work projects in a timely and accurate manner
• Commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Experience exercising discretion and confidentiality with sensitive information

Qualifications (Education and Experience)

Preferred candidate will possess an Associates degree, paralegal certificate or equivalent and have experience supervising employees formally or informally, preferably in a legal setting.

Additional Information 

Did you know?

•         Transportation: City employees get unlimited FREE public transportation all year long through SEPTA’s Key Advantage program.  Employees can ride on SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys, and regional rail for their daily commute and more. 
•         Parental Benefits: The City offers its employees 8 weeks of paid parental leave.
•         We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
•         25% tuition discount program for City employees (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities.
•         We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents.
•         Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan.
•         Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays.
•         Generous retirement savings options are available. 

Interested candidates should apply through SmartRecruiters: https://smrtr.io/vSNTJ

Any questions related to this position should be directed to Karen Fortune, Chief Deputy City Solicitor, Child Welfare Unit (karen.fortune@phila.gov).  

Successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr phila.gov. For more information, go to: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx