SENIOR LEGAL STENOGRAPHER
New Jersey treats Senior Legal Stenographer as a competitive-class job, so the gate is an examination and the ranked list it produces rather than a direct offer.
Eligibility comes down to 1 year of relevant experience.
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This title is filled by competitive examination.
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Senior Legal Stenographer is a local service title. It is filled by the counties, municipalities, authorities and other employers that have adopted civil service under Title 11A, not by State departments. Those employers set pay by ordinance or contract rather than from a State salary schedule, which is why most local titles carry no salary range here.
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Official job specification
The text below is the official specification published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The plain-language summary and analysis above are derived from it by NJ Civil Service Navigator. Source: the official specification page at NJ CSC.
Definition
Under direction, performs specialized legal stenographic work involved in taking and transcribing legal dictation and other varied clerical work and takes lead in a small legal clerical unit; does other related duties.
Examples of work
- Takes and transcribes complex legal dictation.
- Performs responsible work involved in taking and transcribing dictation of legal briefs which will require the looking up of relevant laws, statutes, rules, quotes, and cases cited in legal briefs.
- Takes and transcribes statements from witnesses, defendants, and complainants.
- Answers inquiries pertinent to the assigned legal clerical work.
- Composes replies to correspondence requiring the exercise of independent judgement.
- May train new clerical employees, takes the lead in a small legal clerical unit.
- Maintains, classifies, indexes, and cross reference records and files.
- Organizes assigned stenographic, secretarial, and other related work and develops effective work methods.
- Reviews and checks reports, applications, and other documents for accuracy.
- Interviews and transacts business with visitors who call at the office.
- Establishes and maintains records and files.
- Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
Experience
Three (3) years of clerical experience, one (1) year of which shall have included experience as a legal stenographer.
License
Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform essential duties of the position.
Knowledge, skills and abilities
- Knowledge of office methods, practices, and equipment.
- Knowledge of legal stenography, typing, and clerical procedures, of legal terminology, and of office methods, practices, and equipment.
- Knowledge of approved English usage, correct spelling, sentence structure, and paragraphing.
- Ability to take and transcribe legal dictation.
- Ability to look up statutory citations.
- Ability to comprehend established office routines and regulations of complexity.
- Ability to organize assigned work and develop effective work methods.
- Ability to work harmoniously with attorneys and other concerned persons.
- Ability to maintain records and files.
- Ability to take technical and rapid dictation and to transcribe material which is difficult to arrange and tabulate.
- Ability to do typing work from varied types of copy and/or recording equipment accurately, neatly, quickly, and in accord with the requirements for the department.
- Ability to use approved English, spell correctly, sentence and paragraph structure.
- Ability to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
- Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
- Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodation is made to their known limitations. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.
Note
The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.
Successful completion of a clerical training program with a minimum of 700 classroom training hours or thirty (30) semester hour credits in secretarial science from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one (1) year of the experience indicated above. Course work must include typing skills, methods, and procedures; other courses may include, but not be limited to, office procedures, word processing, and business English.