Legal Assistant (Secretary )

Competition # : 42919  

Department:  Justice

Location:  HALIFAX

Type of Employment:  Permanent

Union Status:  NSGEU - NSPG  

Closing Date: ​29-May-24  ​ ( Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

The Public Trustee is committed to the proper administration of estates of deceased persons, incompetent persons, children and missing persons. It is also committed to providing informed consents for health care, placement to continuing care homes or home care services using an approach that is client-centred, respectful of human rights and freedoms and in the clients best interests if prior wishes, values, and beliefs are not known. The Public Trustee of Nova Scotia is independent of government. It is set up as a corporation to protect the financial and personal well-being of its clients and offers a wide range of unique services. Its authority is set out in numerous provincial laws.

 

About Our Opportunity

As a Legal Assistant within the Public Trustees Office you will provide high quality specialized legal assistance, case management, secretarial and administrative support for the solicitors on staff with the Public Trustees Office.

 

Primary Accountabilities

Under the supervision of the solicitors, you are responsible for all work involved in the administration and proper management of the solicitors client files. This includes not only dictation duties but document preparation, including the drafting of legal documentation for Supreme Court Chambers and Probate Court, attendance at the Prothonotary's Office and daily contact by telephone and correspondence with the many stakeholders involved with the solicitors client files. You will also assist the solicitors by prioritizing workload, ensuring approaching deadlines are met, a bring forward system is in place and workflow and time management are coordinated. Additional duties include reception coverage, telephone communication and various clerical functions for the office, Public Trustee and the Health Care Decisions Division.

 

Qualifications and Experience

As the successful applicant you will have a certificate/diploma from a paralegal training program or legal assistant training program and three years of experience working in a legal practice with a focus on wills, estates, trusts and real property, or an acceptable combination of education/training and experience. A proficiency in typing, dicta-typing and file management is required along with a basic knowledge of the legal terminology, legal forms and procedures involved in estate administration and the sale or real property. As well as your having a basic knowledge of the principles of estate law and real property transactions, a sound knowledge of computer programs used to create legal documents and spreadsheets is required. With minimal supervision, it is necessary that you have strong organizational skills and the ability to determine priorities, meet deadlines and perform multiple tasks . A high degree of initiative, effective interpersonal and communication skills as well as sound judgment and tact in dealing with people is required. We will assess the above qualifications using one or more of the following tools: standardized typing test, interview and reference checks.

Equivalency

Include, but not limited to:

• 4 years of directly related work experience

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

 

Benefits

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan , Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs. For information on all our Benefit program offerings, click here: Benefits for government employees .

 

Working Conditions

Normal work week is 35 hours/week, 7 hours/day May be required to work overtime on occasion Work is completed in a comfortable office environment

 

Additional Information

These are permanent employment opportunities located in Halifax.   We are recruiting for two (2) positions.

 

What We Offer

• Career Development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career
• Engaging workplace: our Employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in, we have forward-thinking policies and strategies
• Countless career paths
• Department specific flexible working schedules
  
   

Pay Grade: CL 21  

Salary Range:  $1,834.08 - $2,044.45 Bi-Weekly

Employment Equity Statement:

Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. The Government of Nova Scotia has an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Women in occupations or positions where they are under-represented. If you are a member of one of these equity groups, you are encouraged to self-identify on your electronic application.

This is a bargaining unit position initially restricted to current civil service employees represented by the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU). If applying from outside a government office, employees must apply correctly via this link:

Failure to apply correctly means that your application will not be given first consideration as a bargaining unit applicant, and will only be included if external applications are pursued. 

External applicants and current casual employees will only be considered if there are no qualified civil service bargaining unit candidates.  PLEASE NOTE: Candidates will not be considered for an interview if applications are incomplete or are missing information. 

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer. We thank all applicants for the interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. All questions and concerns may be directed to  .