Paralegal Specialist 1 (02-1379)

This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify.

What You Will Be Doing

This position focuses on providing litigation support to the Anchorage leadership team and supervises several teams of paralegals and LOAs in the Agency.   Litigation support duties for this position include trial preparation, expert witness coordination, and holistic client support among others. As a supervisor, this position provides coaching, develops training and performance metrics, evaluates performance, and manages workflow and workloads. The position works with Agency leadership, administrative staff, attorneys, and support staff across the state.

Our Organization, Mission, and Culture

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel in many types of cases and the Public Defender Agency is appointed by the Court to represent people who are unable to afford counsel on their own. Paralegals and Paralegal Specialists are an integral part of providing that representation and protecting our clients' rights. They work closely with attorneys and other Agency staff to complete conflict of interest analysis to ensure that Agency representation of individual clients is and remains conflict-free. They will make recommendations to withdraw from representation where they determine a conflict of interest exists. This position is essential to the success of the division by providing advanced legal analysis and managing the success of the team.

The Benefits of Joining Our Team

Support staff at the Public Defender Agency have the opportunity to learn about the legal system and hone their administrative skills to further their career development in the legal field.  Most importantly, they get to do this while working as a team to provide meaningful contributions to Alaska, as the work we do impacts people’s lives and protects the constitutional rights of all Alaskans.  This important work helps improve case outcomes for individuals charged with crimes, helps re-unify families, and provides the foundation for successful re-entry into communities. Many paralegals use the skills and experience they gain to transition to investigative and administrative management positions within the Agency, the State of Alaska, or the private sector.

The Working Environment You Can Expect 

The office is located in downtown Anchorage near the Nesbett and Boney courthouses, with parking provided. The hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM with an hour lunch at noon.  The position interacts closely with attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and law office assistants across the state, and court system staff.