Legal Secretary-Conflict Defender Division

Job Description - Legal Secretary-Conflict Defender Division (26142333)

Position Title:

Legal Secretary-Conflict Defender Division - (26142333)

To be considered for OPD positions, applicants must complete and submit their application online, as well as upload any required application materials.

Our Mission

To Provide the Most Compassionate and Expert Defense of Clients and the Constitution

Our Vision

Creating Expert Teams of Advocates for Justice, Bringing Respect and Dignity to our Clients to Achieve Holistic and Equitable Outcomes

Reasons to work for the Office of the Public Defender: Our work changes lives! OPD's work makes a difference for the people in our communities. Public Defenders work for their clients, protect constitutional rights, and ensure the system remains fair. We are proud of the work we do. To find out more about OPD visit our website.

Benefits of working for OPD: The ability to work and play in the beautiful state of Montana is one of the benefits you will love about this opportunity! Montana offers theaters, museums, fairs, rodeos, a high-quality educational system, and many recreational opportunities. Montana''s mountains, rivers, and lakes provide year-round opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. Fishing, hiking, camping, boating, biking, hunting, skiing, and snowmobiling can be accessed throughout our great state.

Other fantastic benefits include:

• Health coverage
• Retirement plans
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Work/life balance
• Flexible schedules
• Opportunities and room for professional growth
• Telework (when applicable)
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness - Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive public service loan forgiveness - visit the Federal Student Aid website to learn more!

Materials Required of Applicants:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• References: Please provide contact information for (2) current or former supervisors and (1) professional peer.

About this Opportunity!

Job Overview:

The Legal Secretary is instrumental in ensuring the effective operations of Public Defender offices by performing a variety of high level administrative and legal office support activities. This position's responsibilities are to ensure the smooth and effective operations of the office which include but are not limited to data input and maintaining files, scheduling appointments, providing correspondence, assisting clients and office staff with information requests, and that all court requirements are met throughout the designated location. The Legal Secretary provides exceptional customer services to all clients, courts and internal customers in support of Public Defender Offices and reports to the Administrative Support Manager.

Essential Functions (Major Duties or Responsibilities):

A. Legal Office Support (70%)

• Manages and provides information regarding requests from clients, courts and office staff.
• Arranges meetings, conferences and schedules appointments for clients, staff and management; Coordinates office functions with other state and local government offices.
• Creates, reviews and maintains court calendars and provides complete and factual court calendars to appropriate parties and makes sure attorneys are notified.
• Receives and screens office visitors and telephone calls.
• Formats, drafts, prepares a wide variety of time sensitive and official legal documents such as legal pleadings, affidavits, warrants, motions and orders, summonses, subpoenas, correspondence, briefs, complaints, appeals, and pretrial agreements, stipulations, finding of facts, judgments, dismissals, and related documents in criminal cases and other public defender cases in accordance with instructions established in policies and procedures.
• Reads and analyzes incoming correspondence, faxes, e-mail, memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution.
• Reviews and distributes mail includes mailing, fax, or arranging delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses, and court officials.
• Prepares open cases and submits referrals to the conflict Defender Office.
• Establish and maintain case files and ensures that such files are complete, up to date and in proper format and order, for criminal, dependent neglect, mental, and juvenile cases; retrieves legal documents, records, and reports.
• Inputs data into Case Management System concerning all clients, case information, closes cases and runs reports from the OPD Case Management System.
• Scans or copies correspondence, documents, evidence, and other printed material and enters into Case Management System.
• Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements and other routine documents and inquiries.
• Maintains filing system and records for criminal, dependent neglect, mental, and juvenile cases, opens files, closes files and files documents.
• Assists attorneys in collecting information such as employment, medical, and other records.
• Provides various administrative Services to management staff and clients such as order placement or case information.
• Proofread documents, records, or other files to ensure accuracy.

B. Discovery (20%)

• Organizes, prepares and maintains documents, evidence, trial notebooks, various exhibits obtained during discovery by subject matter and chronologically for Public Defenders to use at depositions, motions hearings and during court.
• Gathers and compiles information for exhibits and appendices, and discovery requests received from Public Defenders and Investigators. This includes requesting documents from County Attorney Office, Police Department, records management, and other sources; reading through files to identify information necessary to establish key facts to provide knowledgeable and accurate responses and documents that would be critical in successfully defending clients.
• Retrieve and copy all documentation that relates to a particular case, subject, event, person, etc. as requested. Work often requires reading documents for content and interpreting whether a document is relevant and submitting to a Public Defender/Investigator for review.

C. Other Duties as Assigned (10%)

• Receives resolves and/or refers complaints to appropriate individuals.
• May attend legal meetings, such as client interviews, or depositions, and take notes at meetings or conferences.
• May assist with legal research by reviewing legal publications and performing data base searches to identify laws and court decisions relevant to pending cases.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Physical and Environmental Demands: Typical office environment, utilizing a computer, telephone system and other office equipment. Minimal travel may be required approximately 5% of the time.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (Behaviors):

Required for the first day of work:

• Knowledge of office administrative processes and procedures.
• Knowledge of bookkeeping and recordkeeping.
• Effective written and oral communication skills.
• Professional customer service skills.
• Ability to operate personal computer and general office equipment as necessary to complete essential functions, including using spreadsheets, word processing, database, email, internet, and other computer programs.
• Ability to develop and maintain cooperative working relationships.
• Ability to follow written and verbal instructions.
• Ability to plan, organize, and gather information.
• Ability to work independently.
• Ability to maintain confidential information.
• Ability to accurately track numerous details simultaneously.
• Ability to perform tasks with accuracy while under pressure of strict deadlines.

This agency participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. After accepting a job offer and completing Form I-9, your information will be submitted to the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration for verification. For more information about E-Verify, please visit the E-Verify website found here, https://www.e-verify.gov/.

Minimum Qualifications (Education and Experience):

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• One year of directly related office experience of performing a variety of office support or clerical work.
• Other combinations of directly related education and experience may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Preferred:

• Knowledge of the functions, procedures and organization of a law office and the principles and practices of legal research; court and law enforcement systems and understanding of different aspects of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement and jail procedures as well as legal terminology.

Applicant Pool Statement: If another department vacancy occurs in this job title within six months, the same applicant pool may be used for the selection. Training Assignment: This agency may use a training assignment. Employees in training assignments may be paid below the base pay established by the agency pay rules. Conditions of the training assignment will be stated in writing at the time of hire.

Salary: $

50,186.42 - 59,443.00 Yearly

Telework Eligibility: Telework Eligible (Full-time telework is not available. Telework schedule must be supervisor approved.) Benefits Package Eligibility: Health Insurance, Paid Leave & Holidays, Retirement Plan

Number of Openings

: 1 Employee Status: Regular Schedule: Full-Time

Job Type

: Standard

Shift

: Day Job

Travel

: Yes, 5 % of the Time

Primary Location

: Billings

Agency: Office of Public Defender Union: American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Posting Date

: Sep 15, 2026, 1:33:38 AM

Closing Date (based on your computer''s timezone)

: Sep 29, 2026, 11:29:00 AM

Required Application Materials: Cover Letter, Resume, References

Contact Name: Margaret McNivens | Contact Email: Margaret.McNivens@mt.gov | Contact Phone: 406-444-5374 Anyone who needs to request a reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the HR staff identified on the job listing or by dialing the Montana Relay at 711. Montana Job Service Offices also offer services including assistance with submitting an online application.

State government does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, creed, political beliefs or affiliation, veteran status, military service, retaliation, or any other factor not related to merit and qualifications of an employee or applicant.