Exam Bulletin - Legal Assistant

State of California

Exam Code: EX-1832

Examination Plans Included:

  • LEGAL ASSISTANT - Open

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

Classification Details

LEGAL ASSISTANT: $4,593.00 - $5,751.00 (A) per Month

View the 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):

  • LEGAL ASSISTANT - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

    1832

For LEGAL ASSISTANT, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

  • EX-01832

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.

00101820 - LEGAL ASSISTANT

Education
Successful completion of six semester units of paralegal or undergraduate legal courses, with at least three units of which must be in legal research. (Candidates who have completed three semester units of paralegal course work necessary to fulfill the education requirement will be admitted to the examination, but they must submit evidence of completion of the required six units before they can be considered for appointment.) AND

Either 1
Experience: Two years of experience in the California state service as a Senior Legal Typist, Range B; Legal Secretary, or other classification with law-related duties, involving the review, preparation, or interpretation of legal documents or involving the conduct of investigations or studies leading to legal actions.

Or 2
Experience: Three years of responsible experience as a law clerk or legal secretary in a law firm, corporate law office, governmental or public law office, non-profit organization, educational institution, court, or other entity under the direction and supervision of a licensed attorney or judicial officer. Academic education above the twelfth grade may be substituted for one year of the required experience on the basis of either (a) one year of general education being equivalent to three months of experience, or (b) two years of education in a recognized attorney assistant program in probate, tax law, labor law, corporate law, litigation, or other law-related areas being equivalent to one year of experience.

Position Description

00101820 - LEGAL ASSISTANT

Under the immediate direction and control of an attorney who shall accept full responsibility for the tasks performed, assists in reviewing legal documents and appeals to determine whether they comply with specific requirements set forth in applicable legal codes; assists in reviewing for completeness information furnished by program staff in matters referred for legal proceedings; performs preliminary analyses of legislative bills; summarizes, organizes, and indexes prior opinions, testimony, depositions, documentary material from interrogatories, and abstracts; organizes trial documents and exhibits; researches legislative histories; gathers factual information and performs routine legal research to assist an attorney in determining appropriate action; assists in the preparation of roughs of complaints and pleadings; prepares legislative calendar; prepares fact sheets; prepares papers and arranges for service of process; assists in preparing drafts of documents such as motions to substitute parties, petitions, inventories, judgments, affidavits, certificates of readiness, requests for trial setting, reassignment of claims, decisions, orders of extension, notices of hearings, abstracts of judgment, returns of writs, certified copies, writs of execution, and satisfaction of judgments; prepares documents for opening and closing files for internal administrative purposes; prepares correspondence and reports; assists in preparing drafts of answers to inquiries regarding legal requirements and procedures relative to the appropriate legal code and answers to inquiries regarding status of cases and departmental procedures by attorneys, parties, and the public; and maintains liaison and exchanges legal and factual information with other legal units in the department and other State agencies.

Additional Desirable Qualification
Evidence of continuing education, such as additional paralegal or legal coursework.

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. Basic legal concepts, terminology, principles, and procedures
  2. Use of legal reference material 
  3. Legal office management principles

Ability to:
  1. Reason logically
  2. Analyze situations accurately and recommend an effective course of action 
  3. Write effectively 
  4. Prepare reports and summary sheets set forth a statement of the facts, applications of the relevant law, and conclusions 
  5. Read and understand statutes, court decisions, legal documents, and similar material 
  6. Work cooperatively with attorneys, clerical staff, technical staff, and the general public 
  7. Explain the provision of law, procedures, and problems to persons contacted in the work

Eligible List Information

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the 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.

Legal Assistant Training and Experience Exam Preview

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 required to respond to every question and provide relevant examples. Also, indicate the references who can verify the information provided.

In responding to each statement, you may refer to your WORK EXPERIENCE, whether paid or volunteer, your EDUCATION, and/or FORMAL TRAINING COURSES you have completed.

PLEASE NOTE: This examination is designed to gain an overall assessment of your education, training, and experience as it directly relates to the duties and the knowledge, skills and abilities required for this position. Possession of specific education is not required to be successful in this examination; however, such achievements may substitute for desirable levels of experience. All components of this examination have been carefully validated by tying them directly to job requirements and documenting their relevance to the position.

  1. Organize and review legal documents (e.g., pleadings, exhibits, trial binders, depositions, discovery, evidence, court decisions, rulings, legislative bills) to identify information, redact confidential or privileged information, cite references and determine compliance with statutes and regulations for use at hearings and trials.
  2. Conduct legal and factual research using manual and electronic resources (e.g., LEXIS, WestLaw) to locate information and provide summary of findings in support of case development.
  3. Communicate with government agencies, State and federal courts, witnesses, clients and/or opposing counsel to schedule court-related proceedings (e.g., depositions, interviews) or obtain supporting case documents (e.g., policy manuals, hearing notices, court filings, facsimile filings, court calls).
  4. Analyze and prepare service of process legal documents (e.g., proofs of service, pleadings) to determine validity of and compliance with State and federal statutes.
  5. Organize and maintain filing systems and index of legal documents (e.g., affidavits, legal correspondence) in paper or electronic form for quick reference and to track status of files.
  6. Prepare drafts of legal documents (e.g., pleadings, exhibits, trial binders, depositions, discovery, evidence, declarations, correspondence, memoranda, fact sheets) in support of case development and use in trial preparation.

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)