Position InformationMake a difference in our community by bringing your legal experience and bilingual skills to the Sonoma County Public Defender's Office!Starting salary up to $95.37/hour* PLUS, an additional $1.50/hour on top of the hourly pay rate for fluent bilingual positions!NOTE: The Public Defender's Office is currently recruiting to fill an Bilingual Removal Defense Attorney (English/Spanish) - Extra-Help position at either the II or III level. If you are interested in applying at the II level, you will need to apply to the separate, concurrent recruitment being conducted.
About the Position This bilingual, extra-help Removal Defense Attorney II will work with clients in removal proceedings in immigration courts. Most clients of the extra-help Removal Defense Attorney II will be charged or convicted of juvenile, misdemeanor, and/or felony offenses. This attorney will work primarily with Spanish-speaking clients but will also have clients who speak various other languages and come from many different cultures. The ideal candidate will possess rich cultural awareness and will effectively communicate with clients from many different cultures.
Responsibilities of the Removal Defense Attorney III include:
- Preparing legal briefs in connection with trial and other legal actions during removal proceedings
- Conducting legal research and interpreting and applying statutes, caselaw, and other legal authorities
- Devising trial strategy and initiating necessary investigation for each case
- Analyzing the facts of each case and identifying appropriate defenses
- Requesting records from various state and federal offices
- Advocating for our clients’ release from immigration custody
In addition to strong legal research and writing abilities and excellent oral advocacy skills, the ideal candidate will possess:
- Familiarity with related consequences, remedies, and resources including, but not limited to: removal proceedings, and various forms of affirmative and defensive immigration relief such as adjustment of status, DACA, U-visas, asylum, naturalization applications and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
- The ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other Public Defender staff, department representatives, county officials, court officials, and the public
- An understanding and acceptance of differences in human behavior, and cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds
- Working knowledge of Word, Excel, and similar programs
- Significant experience practicing immigration law in immigration courts, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and experience in county courts is highly desired
EXTRA-HELP EMPLOYMENT Extra-help employees relieve or augment permanent staff. Temporary, extra-help employees are not in the classified civil service and do not have property rights to permanently allocated positions. In addition, they do not receive most employee benefits such as long-term disability insurance coverage; accrual of vacation; participation in the County retirement program; or eligibility to take promotional examinations.
Temporary, extra-help employees are limited in their employment to a maximum of one calendar year. These employees must be off of work for three months before they can be re-employed on an extra help basis. Extra-help employees who meet the eligibility requirements may qualify for a County contribution toward medical coverage.
This bilingual position requires English and Spanish skills at the fluent (reading, writing, and conversational) level. Applicants who wish to be considered for these fluent bilingual positions must indicate their level of skill in the required supplemental questionnaire. An examination will be conducted prior to employment in a bilingual position to confirm the level of skill in this area. Bilingual premium pay is $1.50/hour for fluent bilingual skills.
This recruitment is being conducted to fill a temporary, extra-help fluent Bilingual Removal Defense Attorney III (English/Spanish) position in the Public Defender's Office. This employment list may also be used to fill future extra-help positions as they occur during the active status of this list. The Civil Service title for this recruitment is Deputy Public Defender III.
*Salary is negotiable within the established range.
APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.Minimum QualificationsProfessional License: Current active membership in the State Bar of California.
Experience: Any combination of training and experience, which would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, two years of legal experience practicing criminal law as a licensed attorney, including one year of experience comparable to the level of Deputy Public Defender II; or equivalent experience with another defense agency would provide such opportunity.
License: Possession of a valid driver’s license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.
Knowledge, Skills, and AbilitiesConsiderable knowledge of: the duties, powers, limitations, and authorities of the Office of the Public Defender; the principles of criminal law, principles of trial procedure and rules of evidence; legal research methods and judicial procedures; statutory and constitutional laws of the State of California.
Ability to: research, analyze and apply legal principles, facts, evidence and precedents to legal problems; consistently prepare and present statements of law, fact and argument clearly, logically and persuasively in written and oral form in legal matters; establish and maintain effective working relations with other staff members, departmental representatives, county officials, the courts, law enforcement agency officials, and the general public; understand and accept differences in human behavior, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying- Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
- You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
- You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
- Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.
Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.
APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.Responses to supplemental questions are used to evaluate your qualifications. Please provide sufficient information to allow for a thorough evaluation of your qualifications.The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:
An
Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (pass/not pass) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's combination of educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities that relate to this position to ensure satisfaction of the minimum qualifications for this position. Candidates who possess the minimum qualifications for the position will be placed on an extra-help employment list and referred to the department. The department may contact candidates from the employment list who possess the most appropriate job-related qualifications for further consideration.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION A background investigation is required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to applicants.
Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.
HOW TO APPLY Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be RECEIVED by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Continuous recruitments may close without notice at any time that a sufficient number of qualified applications have been received. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.
The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.
HR Analyst: DP
HR Technician: EV
IMPORTANT NOTE: Benefits described herein do not apply to Extra Help positions.
COUNTY OF SONOMA BENEFITS: SCDPAA*These are some of the excellent benefits the County offers:
Paid Time Off : Competitive vacation accrual and sick leave accruals; additional management leave annually; 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year; and may be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment.
Health Plan :Choose from nine health plans (three HMOs, three deductible HMOs, and three HSA-qualifying plans) with a generousCounty contribution to the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit). For more information, please see the appropriate MOU.
Retirement :Fully integrated with Social Security.For more information regarding eligibility, retirement contributions, and reciprocity with prior public service, please visit https://scretire.org/active-/-deferred/when-you-are-hired .
IRS 457 Plan :Pre-tax employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.
Retiree Medical : County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits.
Student Loan Debt Relief :County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.
Plus excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, professional development, and more.
For answers to specific questions regarding the employment process and more details about benefits or retirement, please contact Human Resources at (707) 565-2331.Additional details about benefit and compensation packages can be found in the MOUs located at https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources/divisions-and-units/employee-relations/labor-agreements-and-salary-resolution . For specific information about health and welfare benefits including plan options, coverage, and premium amounts go to https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources or, contact the Human Resources' Risk Management-Benefits Office at benefits@sonoma-county.org or (707) 565-2900.
*IMPORTANT NOTES: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.
Closing Date/Time: Continuous
