Attorney II (JO# 6003)

JOB TITLE: Attorney II

LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO/SACRAMENTO

JOB OPENING #: 6003

OVERVIEW
The Judicial Council of California is accepting applications for the position of Attorney II for the Center for Families, Children & the Courts.
The Attorney II will support the legislatively mandated AB1058 Child Support Commissioner and Family Law Facilitator Program. The program includes a judicial branch operation in the local courts and an executive branch operation in each of the 58 counties, as well as a state oversight agency in each branch (executive and judicial). This position functions as the program subject matter expert for the judicial branch and provides legal advice and analysis specifically regarding child support laws and practices. This includes assuming lead responsibility for creating new Rules of Court and Judicial Council forms. Developing rules and forms requires conducting legal analysis of new legislations and regulations, collaborating with local courts and stakeholders to determine business needs, drafting new or revising existing rules and forms, writing various reports to the Judicial Council advisory committees and the Judicial Council, providing information to committees and the Judicial Council about the necessary changes and making recommendations. The subject matter expert on child support law and practices requires a base knowledge of family law, tax law, civil procedure, and juvenile law. This position provides legal analysis and technical expertise on child support matters to local courts and to other Judicial Council offices.
This position is required to work independently with moderate to limited supervision. Finally, this position collaborates on the implementation and interpretation of federal and state child welfare law, regulation and policy with local court staff including child support commissioners, family law facilitators, court executive officers, various child support justice partners and stakeholders including the California Department of Child Support Services, the Child Support Directors Association, and local child support agencies.
The Judicial Council strives for work-life balance and includes substantial vacation and holiday time. In addition, we offer an excellent benefits package including pension, medical, dental and vision coverage, flexible spending, up to $130 reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs, and retirement savings plans. In San Francisco, the office is only a 7-minute walk from the Civic Center BART station in downtown San Francisco. In Sacramento, the office is located minutes from downtown, just north of Discovery Park.

The successful candidate will be expected to work in the Judicial Council’s San Francisco or Sacramento office; Hybrid work options for employees who live in areas surrounding these locations may be considered.

RESPONSIBILITIES
• Provide legal analysis and content on the development of educational programs for judicial offices and court staff including family law facilitators:
 Provide legal analysis of current child support statutes and regulations and changes in child welfare legislation, policy, court procedures and regulation.
 Investigate training needs and ideas from legal court staff; serving as liaison to child support commissioners, family law facilitators, and state and local child support professionals.
 Develop legal content for annual four-day statewide child support training conference for commissioners and family law facilitators and court clerks to fulfill statutory training requirements.
 Create and update all AB1058 child support legal guidance materials for the courts including fact sheets and other resource guides.
 Liaison with CJER to develop legal content and revise for AB1058 Judicial Council Bench Guides on child support issues.
• Serve as subject matter expert resource on child support issues and the title IV-D program within the Judicial Council for Executive Office, Legal Services office, Office of Governmental Affairs, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, and Branch Accounting and Procurement:
 Conduct legal research and provide legal counsel to the AB1058 Program Manager and CFCC management regarding issues of title IV-D child support.
 Respond to inquiries regarding restrictions on title IV-D grant funds consistent with the requirements of federal regulations to other Judicial Council division and the trial courts.
 Evaluate juvenile and general family law rules and forms for impacts on the AB1058 child support program at the request of other Judicial Council divisions.
 Respond to inquiries regarding restrictions on title IV-D grant funds consistent with the requirements of federal regulations to other Judicial Council division and the trial courts.
 Evaluate proposed legislation and provide an analysis regarding AB1058 Program matters at the request of other Judicial Council divisions.
• Provide legal guidance to the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee of the Judicial Council through analyzing child support and family legal issues, determining how to present the legal issues for consideration, prepare drafts of a proposal (California Rules of Court and Judicial Council forms) for consideration which frame the policy issues, provide analysis of legal issues, and assess the implementation and operational impact of the proposal on the courts:
 Conduct legal research and analysis to aid the committee in determining appropriate/recommended changes to rules, forms, and standards for family and juvenile cases.
 For purposes of consideration by the committee(s) and Judicial Council, draft or revise the text of California Rules of Court; draft or revise Judicial Council forms. This involves creating (as part of the proposal) a new California Rule(s) of Court and /or Judicial Council form(s), and/or revising a current rule(s) of court or form(s) using strikethroughs, underlining, and highlighting to indicate proposed changes.
 Draft memorandum and reports for consideration by the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee and the Judicial Council. This includes writing a memorandum entitled “Invitation to Comment”, which announces the proposal to the public and aims to garner public feedback; and writing a “Report to the Judicial Council”, which includes the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee’s recommendation with respect to the proposal.
 Interact with, and orally present drafts of the proposal to, members of the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee, Rules Committee, and the Judicial Council.
• Assist with certification and recertification of child support calculation computer programs:
 Conduct legal review of computer programs, determining if calculators accurately apply relevant statutes, rules, and procedures in the calculation of child support.
 Provide information to organizations creating and modifying child support calculators and answers questions on approval process.
 Provide information to organizations creating or modifying child support calculators and answers questions on approval process.
• Coordinate legal aspects of the legislatively mandated Statewide Uniform Review of Child Support Guideline:
 Analyze the legal requirements the quadrennial guideline study and draft Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit an economic researcher to conduct the required economic evaluation.
 Analyze the legal requirements the quadrennial guideline study and draft a contract for subject matter experts to ensure that the legal aspects of the study are timely completed.
 Analyze court files and review the work of other legal analysts to gather data regarding the extent to which the child support guidelines are followed or are deviated from.
• Review and update online legal content on AB1058 child support page and new Self-Help Guide, including creating content for all child support pages and information regarding remote appearance:
 Conduct a legal review of the Judicial Council’s AB1058 on-line content to ensure that it is legally accurate.
 Conduct a legal review of the Judicial Council’s Self-Help Guide AB1058 on-line content to ensure that it is legally accurate.

PAYMENT & BENEFITS
$12,248.00 - $14,695.00 per month
(Starting salary will be $12,248.00 per month)

Some highlights of our benefits package include:
• Health/Dental/Vision benefits program
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year
• Choice of Annual Leave or Sick/Vacation Leave
• 1 personal holiday per year
• Up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying commuting costs
• CalPERS Retirement Plan
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
• Flex Elect Program
• Pretax Parking
• Long Term Disability Program (employee paid/optional)
• Group Legal Plan (employee paid/optional)

The Judicial Council of California Is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Supplemental Questions

To better assess the qualifications of each applicant, please provide a response to the following questions:

1. Please describe your experience working on projects related to AB1058 child support or project related to other issues faced by children and families.

2. Describe your experience performing legal research and writing using the California Rules of Court, Family Codes, etc. Give an example of a time when you were required to research a legal issue and explain how you interpreted and/or applied the information you obtained.

3. Please describe your experience providing legal advice and counsel, including legal research and analysis experience.

4. Please describe experience, if any, that you have had writing or developing content for self-study online, computer based, or paper-based legal education programs.