This position is located in the Administrative Services Division of the Public Defender Service (PDS) for the District of Columbia. The Administrative Services Division is responsible for providing administrative support to all divisions within PDS.

Duties

The incumbent is under the supervision of the Chief Administrative Officer and is responsible for receiving and directing persons who call or visit the agency, and giving them information in person or by telephone concerning the organizations, functions, programs, activities, operations and personnel of the agency. The incumbent also provides back up administrative assistance to organization divisions in support of division missions and goals. Responsibilities Serves as information receptionist located at the primary point of contact in the main PDS building with responsibility for providing information in person or over the telephone, in response to inquiries concerning the identification, location and general responsibilities of organizations, functions, programs, activities, operations and personnel of the agency. Receives all duty day calls from clients seeking legal assistance or information concerning their cases; determines the purpose of their calls and identifies their needs for assistance; determines the appropriate legal service office or individual attorney involved in the case; enters duty day calls in the computer system (Atticus System) including the name of the client and the attorney represented the case; and refers them to the appropriate office or attorney. Receives all walk-in visitors to the agency, directs visitors to appropriate offices or individuals for meeting and refers those seeking legal assistance to the duty day attorney for consultation. Maintains records of visitors and inquiry tallies. Receives all incoming mail and packages, including FedEx and courier mail; sorts them by individual offices for distribution. Maintains up-to-date agency staff directory and locator records and directives, directory for other legal services agencies having similar or related functions, and other references such as duty day roster, bulletin board items, etc. Serves as back up assistant to divisions in the absence of the principal administrative support by performing general office, clerical or administrative duties necessary to maintain the normal daily workflow of the division. Assists the division office managers in the administration of their duties (e.g. maintaining office supplies, copy services for attorneys, ordering transcripts, creating Trial Board, reserving conference rooms, distributing division mail). Schedules conference room availability with PDS staff members and updates the calendar indicating the division point of contact, dates/time scheduled and contact numbers. Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications: One year of clerical general experience above the high school level is desirable. College education may be substituted for general experience on the basis of one academic year equals nine months of experience. Customer service experience and demeanor are highly desirable. It is desirable that applicants have knowledge of, and skill in applying basic business office rules, procedures and operations sufficient to perform a full-range of support tasks within a legal office environment. Accurate typing skills, basic data entry skills, and knowledge of MS Office Suites are a plus for maintaining directories, personnel lists, and other guides and references.

Education

High School Graduate or equivalent is required.

Contacts

• Address Public Defender Service for District of Columbia 633 Indiana Ave., NW Washington, DC 20004 US
• Name: Public Defender Service
• Email: [email protected]