Exam Bulletin - Graduate Legal Assistant

State of California

Exam Code: EX-1729

Examination Plans Included:

  • GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT - Open

Final Filing Date: Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Classification Details

GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT: $5,075.00 - $6,085.00 per Month

View the GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT classification specification.

Application Instructions

This is not a timed exam. If you request a Reasonable Accommodation your account will be locked and you will not be able to proceed with the exam until the request is processed.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Who Should Apply:

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

  • GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 9 months:

Exam Code(s):

    1729

For GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 9 months:

Exam Code(s):

  • EX-01729

How To Apply:

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

Special Testing Arrangements:

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

Minimum Qualifications

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

00105797 - GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT

Current eligibility to take the California State Bar examination under the Business and Professions Code sections 6060 and 6061. Persons in their last year of law school may compete in the examination but may not be appointed until they have eligibility to take the California State Bar examination.

Incumbents must secure a valid license issued by the California State Bar Association within 24 months of an appointment or the employment may be terminated.

Position Description

00105797 - GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT

Under close supervision of attorneys, assist in legal research, and in the preliminary work involved in preparing other legal matters; other related work.

This class is primarily designed to afford law school graduates, not yet certified by The State Bar of California, an introduction to legal practice in the State service. It enables State departments to utilize the services of law school graduates who are awaiting the results of the California State Bar examination for subprofessional legal work and facilitates recruitment of recent graduates for legal careers in State service.

Typically, an incumbent analyzes legal problems; does routine legal research; prepares drafts of legal documents, briefs, reports, resolutions and legislative measures; ascertains the last amended form of the statutory law on a given subject; compiles, annotates, and indexes provisions of law and of legislative measures; serves legal papers; assists in answering court calendars; secures information regarding court decisions; assists in the work of a law library; keeps records and indexes of legal cases; prepares and dictates correspondence.

Incumbents who hold and maintain a provisional license to practice law issued by the State Bar of California's Provisional Licensure Program under Rule 9.49 of the California Rules of Court, perform a broad array of legal services for clients, including appearing before a court, or administrative body drafting legal documents, contracts or transactional documents, and pleadings, engaging in negotiations and settlement discussions, and providing other legal advice, provided that the work is performed under the supervision of a qualifying supervising attorney as defined by Rule 9.49.

Preferred or Desirable Qualifications
All employees shall have general qualifications as described by California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 172.

For information regarding position location(s), please refer to the Eligible List Information section.

Examination Information

We recommend using Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for optimal performance when accessing the examination.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Component OrderComponent TypeComponent DuePercentage of Final Score
1CalHR Online ExamN/A100%

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:
  1. Legal principles and their application, the use of legal reference works, and legal terms.
Ability to:
  1. Reason logically 
  2. Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action.

Eligible List Information

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the GRADUATE LEGAL ASSISTANT Classification will be established for:

  • State of California

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Resulting Eligibility List(s) will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State of California.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

  • A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
  • A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

Graduate Legal Assistant Training and Experience Exam Preview

Section 1: Tasks

Instructions:
Rate your experience performing specific job-related tasks.

Respond to each of the following statements by indicating how the statement applies to you. You are allowed to use experience in Law School, from internships, or any relevant paid or unpaid work you have done to answer all of the following questions.

  1. Performing legal research utilizing appropriate legal research tools (e.g. Westlaw, LexisNexis, secondary sources) to answer questions regarding cases or the law.
  2. Evaluating cases or fact patterns to identify and analyze relevant legal issues and facts.
  3. Analyzing facts and issues to recommend a position on a legal issue.
  4. Orally discussing the relevant facts and reasoning of a legal issue with, and/or seeking guidance and feedback from, appropriate parties (e.g., professors, supervisors, clients).
  5. Using legal software (e.g., Westlaw, LexisNexis, CaseMap) and/or Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel) to review, organize, and/or synthesize large volumes of information.
  6. Researching background information (e.g., medical, scientific, financial, economic, or historical) that contributes to an analysis of a case or fact pattern.
  7. Drafting correspondence and/or legal documents to address issues regarding cases or other legal questions.
  8. Preparing written outlines to ensure complete, accurate, and effective oral presentations.

Testing Departments

  • State of California

Contact Information

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

State of California
CalCareer Service Center
1810 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (866) 844-8671
CalCareer@calhr.ca.gov

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Drug Free Statement

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free State work place. Any applicant for State employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective, because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing civil service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

General Information

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

State of California reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.

Application Methods:
Electronic (Your CalCareer Account)