Frequently asked questions from Legal Clerk, Legal Secretary, and Paralegal candidates
This information is offered as a resource. To the extent there is any conflict between this FAQ and the County’s Merit System Rules, County or Office Policies, or the MOU with Service Employees International Union, Local 521 (SEIU 521), those documents control.
- Why does your Office have openings? CCO is growing! As the number of attorneys in the Office has grown—from 60 in 2012 to 108 in 2023—our need for legal clerks, legal secretaries, and paralegals has also grown. This growth reflects the large array of litigation and policy matters that our Office works on as legal counsel to the County, its Board of Supervisors and elected officials, the County Executive, every County department, and other government bodies.
- Do I need law office experience? Not necessarily. Legal Clerk Trainees and Legal Secretary Trainees can be hired without legal experience if they have the required clerical skills and experience. We can teach you the more specific tasks. There are opportunities for promotion after you have built up experience. Paralegals can be hired straight out of a paralegal certificate program or based on relevant experience. The Office of the County Counsel seeks a diverse applicant pool for every position and welcomes qualified applicants of all backgrounds.
Office structure and substantive team assignments
- What is the supervisory structure at the Office? The Office’s legal work is carried out by 15 teams. Paralegals are supervised by a Supervising Paralegal. Legal secretaries and legal clerks are supervised by a Legal Support Supervisor and also supported by lead legal secretaries. The Office’s executive team consists of the County Counsel, eight Assistant County Counsels (each of whom supervise several teams), and the Office’s Legal and Compliance Officer.
- Are legal secretaries and paralegals assigned to only one team or multiple teams? It depends. Some legal secretaries and paralegals are “cross-assigned” to more than one team, but some are only assigned to a single team.
- What does a position with a “Confidential” designation mean? All County Counsel personnel must maintain strict adherence to the confidentiality of the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product. Separate from this general requirement of all staff, some positions are designated as “Confidential” because the position is assigned to support the County Counsel's Labor and Employment Team, whose attorneys are involved in contract negotiations with various employee bargaining units, personnel and union grievances, employee discipline, arbitration, and other personnel matters involving union members. Because of the work they perform supporting the County Counsel’s Labor and Employment Team, Confidential Employees are not represented by SEIU Local 521. However, the Confidential Employee positions receive the same compensation and benefits of SEIU-represented employees, with an additional 5% premium pay.
Compensation + benefits
- What are the compensation and benefits like? The County of Santa Clara offers competitive salary and benefits for all employees, more information about which can be found here. Compensation and benefits for legal secretaries and paralegals within the County Counsel’s Office are governed in large part by the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between SEIU Local 521 (the union that represents a wide variety of County employees, with exceptions) and the County of Santa Clara (available here). Highlights of the current compensation and benefits package include:
- The entry level salary for a Legal Secretary Trainee is currently $57,260, while the current highest salary for a Legal Secretary II is $91,147. Paralegal salaries currently range from $79,574 to $105,926. Actual salaries upon hire depend on qualifications and experience. Many of our paralegals have promoted into those positions after starting as legal secretaries.
- Low or no premium medical, dental, vision, and life insurance for employees and their qualified family members;
- With a minimum of five years of service, County employees can qualify for a CalPERS pension upon reaching the required retirement age. More information on CalPERS is available here;
- New employees earn 10 vacation days per year, with increases in amount of vacation earned beginning in year 2 (12 days), year 5 (16 days), year 10 (18 days), year 15 (20 days), and year 20 (22 days);
- Additional 4 days paid leave for personal business or beliefs and a “birthday holiday” that can be used during the year;
- Employees earn 96 hours (12 days) of sick leave per year; and
- 13 paid County holidays (New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, César Chávez Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Indigenous Peoples Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day).
- Will I qualify for student loan forgiveness if I work at the Office? The County of Santa Clara is a “qualifying employer” for purposes of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. However, you also have to meet the other requirements for PSLF (e.g., be employed full time and make qualifying payments).
Office culture
- What type of culture does the Office have? While every employee will describe our Office culture differently, some words that come up frequently are “supportive,” “collaborative,” and “growth-oriented.” We are an office committed to excellence, public service, and effective legal advice and advocacy. We strive to create a safe space for all our employees to develop their skills and interests, as well as opportunities for promotion. Staff often comment on how much they value being treated as part of the team. In addition to valuing excellent legal work, our Office also values kindness, collegiality, and respect among colleagues; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. We support getting to know one another as colleagues through activities such as our annual Administrative Professionals’ Day lunch, summer picnic for Paralegal Appreciation Day, Halloween lunch, end-of-year holiday event, and other events organized by our Social Committee and our Wellness Workgroup.
Telework policy and alternative work schedules
- Does the Office have a telework policy for paralegals? Yes. Following the completion of their probationary period, paralegals are eligible to telework up to two days per week. The Office also believes that in-person work best facilitates collaboration, relationship building and belonging, and mentorship. In order to balance these goals, all County Counsel staff are required to work in the Office on Wednesdays and Fridays. In addition, paralegals—like attorneys—are required to work one more day in the Office, which they can elect to be either Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday.
- Does the Office have a telework or alternative work schedule policy for legal secretaries and legal clerks? All legal clerks and legal secretaries are offered a 9/80 schedule which allows them to have a 3-day weekend every other week. Following the first pay period, a legal clerk or legal secretary may choose to continue with a standard schedule (M-F, 8 hours per day) or may choose a 9/80 schedule, which provides an option for an approved schedule of every other Monday or every other Friday as a day off with a schedule of eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day in every two-week pay period. Due to the on-site functions of their role, legal clerks and legal secretaries are not eligible to telework.
How can I find out what jobs are available?
- We will post links on our Legal Secretaries and Legal Clerks page or Paralegals and Senior Paralegals page when we have recruitments open to receive new applications.
What is the application and hiring process?
- When we have an open recruitment, you must submit an application to the County’s Employee Services Agency on the County’s jobs site (https://www.governmentjobs.com). When the recruitment closes, your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Some positions also include a written exercise; for such positions, applicants must have a passing score on the written exercise and will be ranked according to their score. Candidates are then referred to our Office for an interview. For all the foregoing steps, our Office does not have control of the timeline. Once we are referred the candidate, we schedule the interviews and any follow-up interviews as quickly as possible. If the Office identifies a candidate(s) for consideration, we will contact them and inform them that we are proceeding with reference checks and request reference contacts. Once we receive that information, we conduct the reference checks and decide on whether to make an offer. Candidates will be notified either way - whether they are extended an offer or advised that they were not selected for a position.