Law trainee

OFFICE OF PUBLIC DEFENDER

Chautauqua County Office of the Public Defender is accepting applications for three (3) qualified Full-Time Law
Graduate Trainees in the Mayville, NY office. These positions are Full-Time at 40 hours per week. Salary starts at
$31.68 and includes benefits. This is para-professional legal work of substantive nature within a law office for

individuals who are in their second or final year of school to obtain their Juris Doctorate . The work duties
involve paraprofessional and administrative tasks, including delegated legal work related to the delivery of legal
services. This position works closely under the supervision of an attorney or attorneys.


PLEASE NOTE: Trainee appointments are for a maximum period of up to two years beginning on the date of
appointment. At any point during the traineeship, incumbents may advance to the Law Graduate title, if the minimum
qualifications are met to advance. If the incumbent obtains permanent status as a Law Graduate Trainee and has
satisfied the minimum qualifications of the Law Graduate title, they may advance without further examination.



Typical Job Duties :

• Learns to prepare County contracts, real estate documents, legal opinions, and local legislation for final review

by attorney;

• Learns to prepare pleadings, motions, orders and other litigation or court documents for final review by attorney;

• May attend committee meetings of the County Legislature and meetings of County boards and commissions;

• Assists in the review of County policies and compliance procedures;

• Assists with departmental trials and administrative hearings, including pre-trial preparation, research, witness

preparation, assistance in court with organization or pleadings, exhibits, and relevant research, review of
testimony, and research of legal issues;

• Assists in post-trial preparation such as review of decision for necessary departmental action and review of

proposed court orders for accuracy and assistance with appeals, including drafting of necessary motions for
review and legal research;

• Utilizes electronic and web-based applications to perform legal and general research such as analyzing statues,

case law, and court decisions; completing property title searches, and document searches in various courts and
clerk’s offices;

• Assists with the review legal files for appropriate estate recovery action;

• Learns to prepare small estate affidavits, probate petitions, creditor affidavits and other necessary legal

documents;

• Assists in the review of deeds and other real property legal documents and court documents to determine

appropriate course of action with respect to liens, recoveries and assignments of assets;

• Learns to develop assigned cases or files to the point of final review by attorney and maintains assigned

caseload for appropriate follow-up;

• Assists with filing legal documents and correspondence and reviews documents filed with the courts;

• Learns to act as liaison with clients, caseworkers, other agencies including the courts;

• Learns to respond to inquiries for information and researches issues presented by other agency personnel.

This position is being filled on a provisional basis pending the outcome of a future dated Civil Service examination for
this title.



Chautauqua County Offers A Comprehensive Benefits Package Which Includes:
- Health Insurance (including Dental & Vision plan) - 13 Paid Holidays
- Health Savings Account (partially funded by the County) - Vacation & Sick Time

• Personal Days

- NYSLERS Pension - NYS Deferred Compensation
- Eligible for Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness - Wellness Program



Must Meet Minimum Qualifications: Qualified candidate must be EITHER currently working to achieve a Juris
Doctorate at a regional accredited or New York State registered college or university AND be in their second or final
year of graduating from the program; OR currently working to achieve eligibility to take the New York State Bar Exam
AND be in their second or final year of achieving this eligibility.



Application Process : Interested candidates must complete an original Chautauqua County Government Application
for Employment/Examination available on the county’s website: chqgov.com and return it along with copy of your

transcripts to Chautauqua County Department of Human Resources, Gerace Office Building – Room 144, 3 North
Erie St, Mayville, NY 14757 or email completed application (including signature) to [email protected]

Chautauqua County is an Equal Opportunity Employer