Clinical Law Office Administrator

About the Opportunity

This position is accountable for providing complex, independent and confidential administrative staff support to the Directors of the litigation practice clinics in the clinical law program at the West Virginia University College of Law. Functions include performing various and numerous administrative duties that relieve the Directors of administrative details. This position manages all daily operations of the litigation practice clinics which includes supervisory duties and client services. This position requires independent judgment and discretion in carrying out responsibilities with a high degree of professionalism, accuracy and confidentiality.

What You'll Do

Client Services

• Serve as a key liaison, communicating daily with clients, attorneys and court systems for all clinical practice groups in the clinical law program. These interactions often involve referrals, issue resolution, policy development, and the determination and dissemination of critical information.
• Exercise independent judgment when assessing potential clients for the law clinics practice groups and accurately apply threshold eligibility criteria for legal clinic services. Screen client applications received by phone, e-mail, and/or mail on a daily basis. Direct inquiries that do not meet the eligibility guidelines of the clinic to other services throughout the state that may be more suitable for services needed.
• Review and process prospective legal client applications and maintains the list of prospective clients. Understand legal systems, legal issues, and legal deadlines and alerts Law Clinic Directors, faculty, and adjuncts to prospective clients with urgent matters or other special legal situations. Able to triage legal applicants between those in true emergency situations and those whose cases can await normal processing.

Administrative Duties and Operations

• Serve as office manager for the litigation practice groups, Directors, and staff attorneys within the Clinical Law Program, including General Litigation Practice, West Virginia Innocence Project, Veterans Assistance, Immigration Law, Supreme Court Clinic, and any future clinics that may be created or revised.
• Review and process all incoming mail and directs such mail to the appropriate clinic. Compose standard letters, memorandum, and reports for the Directors. Advise the directors regarding timely responses to specialized requests. Establish and maintain a complex filing system to support the directors' operational procedures. Exercise considerable care in the collection, compilation, and protection of such information.
• Provide strategic input to the program Directors on clerical, administrative, and operational aspects of the clinical law program. Answer the telephones, screen calls, and communicate messages to directors, law student attorneys, and clinical attorneys by determining the nature of the calls and responding to the inquiry or by referring the call to the appropriate clinical personnel.
• Monitor e-mail accounts associated with the clinical law program, disseminate the information as appropriate, and/or responds accordingly.
• Oversee Pcard purchases and monthly reconciliations in compliance with university policies. Ensure compliance with college purchasing procedures and supports procurement activities. Act as liaison with Business Planning Officer for all financial management of the clinical program funds.
• Manage the physical space of the clinical law program including organizing the use of the clinical space and responding to maintenance issues. Liaison with the College of Law Building Manager as needed for clinical law space issues.
• Monitor and maintain security measures to protect the safety of clients and Law Clinic personnel. Assure that any new University procedures that may be developed are put into place and followed (i.e., ongoing changes and requirements due to the Campus Self-Defense Act, i.e., Campus Carry).

Software and Case Management

• Serve as the manager for all law clinic software used to maintain critical and confidential client information and legal documents for all litigation clinic practice groups. Maintain and control setup and permissions access within the databases for all student attorneys, directors, faculty, and adjunct faculty. Work with the College of Laws IT personnel when software issues arise and is the direct contact for vendors that provide software used in the clinic program.
• Maintain the primary Law Clinic software database system (Clio) for all litigation practice groups by creating new client files/matters and entering initial information within the system. Coordinate with Directors regarding necessary data collection fields for individual practice groups crucial for accurate data collection for grant reporting requirements. Correct and update data entries and backs up the database.

Supervisor and Student Attorney Liaison

• Supervise, train, and assign work and responsibilities to a team of student workers and volunteers to ensure that daily tasks are completed and program policies, procedures, and legal guidelines are followed. Responsible for accurate student worker time records and schedules.
• Develop and maintain the clinic's office manual. Initiate student workers, volunteers and student attorneys to the operation procedures and policies that must be maintained as outlined in the clinic office manual. Update the manual as needed and communicate changes to all entities while monitoring that the manual is being followed and taking corrective actions as needed.
• Facilitate onboarding and systems training for law students who will be student attorneys in the clinical program, including preparing and processing documents necessary to support law students' temporary admission to the practice of law for approximately 60 student attorneys.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for student attorneys. Communicate specialized knowledge of the legal system as a whole and, specifically, the legal problems confronting law clinic clients. Direct student attorneys on the correct legal forms, online records, and contacts that can best serve the legal needs of the client cases.
• Maintain online log sheet for student attorney office hours, meetings, and hearings.