Description:

Job Summary:
Supervises, coordinates and monitors the legal activities pertaining to child support, paternity, guardianships, termination of parental rights, mental commitments and related matters for A Government Entity; supervises subordinate attorneys. Maintains a work load of primarily child support and paternity cases.

Essential Duties:

Plans, schedules, and assigns work to subordinates; approves and schedules vacation and leave requests; instructs and trains employees in proper methods and procedures; develops and enforces policies and procedures; inspects work in progress and upon completion; conduct performance evaluation; ensures continuing legal education (CLE) credits are earned; ensures the smooth day-to-day operations of the staff attorney activities.
Coordinates calendars to ensure all court proceedings are covered; reviews cases to decide cases to be appealed and whether to contact the State Child Support Office; ensures compliance with departmental policies and procedures.
Serves as liaison with Child Support Supervisor, Corporation Counsel, Human Services, Court Commissioner's office and the Judiciary. Coordinates and implements policies and procedures with above individuals/offices.
Maintains a caseload and represents the State in paternity, Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), and family law court actions; participates in initial hearings, conferences, pre-trials, trials, final hearings, stipulations on the record, and post judgment motions hearings; ensures compliance with accepted legal practices and procedures and local, State and Federal laws.
Reviews case files by reading information in file to determine whether legal action should be taken or whether additional information is required; reviews pertinent statutory language and case law while researching current law; ensures that case review and research is thorough and professional.
Conducts discovery by collecting necessary information to pursue a legal matter; drafts correspondence, interrogatories, and subpoenas to opposing attorneys or litigants; confers with attorneys and unrepresented parties by phone or in person prior to hearings; responds to interrogatories, requests to produce documents, offers of settlement, open records requests and other correspondence; ensures the accuracy, completeness
and timeliness of the same.
Prepares cases for hearings and trials, including the preparation of witnesses and other evidence; drafts affidavits and stipulations; discusses case files with case workers, child support coordinator and staff attorneys in order to plan strategy for presentation of case; ensures quality and timeliness of work in order to effectively represent cases; ensures compliance with accepted legal practices and procedures.
Reviews correspondence and determines whether action is appropriate; responds to questions of case workers and other attorneys; advises case workers of legal and systemic implications of actions; ensures accuracy and completeness of the same.
Advises parties of their legal rights regarding paternity; explains legal ramifications of the paternity stipulation and negotiates payment of expenses.
Completes documents such as income assignment fact sheets; ensures all case work is in case file; documents division of work time between child support activities and non-child support work.
Attends meetings, conferences and seminars to obtain and maintain current information concerning paternity and child support, termination of parental rights, guardianships and protective placements; serves as a resource person to community agencies and programs; addresses community groups regarding services available through the Child Support Agency.
Participates in interviews and makes recommendations for prospective candidates to be hired.
Performs related functions as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications Required:
Education and Experience:
Doctorate of Jurisprudence from an accredited law school, plus three years experience in the practice of law and exposure to paternity and child support cases; mental commitment, guardianship/protective placement and termination of parental rights; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Licenses and Certifications:
Licensed and in good standing to practice law in the state of Wisconsin

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

Knowledge of family, paternity, guardianship, protective placement, mental health commitment, and child support laws.
Knowledge of law affecting minors.
Knowledge of judicial procedures and rules of evidence.
Knowledge of established precedents and source of legal reference.
Knowledge of personnel management and labor laws.
Knowledge of and ability to utilize a computer and the required software.
Ability to analyze and prepare a variety of legal documents.
Ability to conduct research on legal problems and prepares cases.
Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with associates, peers, officials, caseworkers and the public.
Ability to instruct child support staff and social workers regarding laws relevant to their case loads.
Ability to delegate work to others.
Ability to be flexible and approach cases differently based on individual case and circumstances.