Legal Assistant 3 - Legal Services

Title: Legal Assistant 3 - Legal Services

Location: Olympia United States

Job Description:

GENERAL SERVICE

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Legal Assistant 3 

$49,428 - $66,372   annually

Closing September 10, 2025

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) seeks to fill a Legal Assistant 3. This full-time permanent position is based in Olympia, Washington. This position may be eligible for partial to near full-time teleworking. Telework is a combination of in-building and off-site days. We encourage interested candidates to visit the OSPI website to gain insight into our agency.

About OSPI and our initiatives

OSPI is the primary agency charged with overseeing public K-12 education in Washington state. Working with the state's 295 public school districts and 8 state-tribal education compact schools, OSPI allocates funding and provides tools, resources, and technical assistance so every student in Washington is provided a high-quality public education.

At OSPI, we recognize that our employees are the key to the success of the agency. We are committed to our work but value the balance with our personal lives. We demonstrate our commitment to employees by providing an environment that stimulates professional growth and values them for their expertise. OSPI is a great place to work and has several initiatives to help create a great working environment, including:

• We support a healthy work/life balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules and mobile and telework options. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
• We have an Infant at Work Program that is based on long-term values of newborns and infant-parent bonding. Eligible employees who are new parents or legal guardians can bring their infant (six weeks to six months) when returning to work. (Depending on job duties and work location.)
• We value and are actively involved in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within OSPI by way of cross-divisional, collaborative committee. The focus of the committee includes employee engagement and education; reinforcing OSPI values; and maximizing the value of diversity and identifying strategies for inclusion.

Vision, Mission, and Values 

Vision: All students prepared for post-secondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement.

Mission: Transform K-12 education to a system that is centered on closing opportunity gaps and is characterized by high expectations for all students and educators. We achieve this by developing equity-based policies and supports that empower educators, families, and communities.

Values: Ensuring Equity, Collaboration and Service, Achieving Excellence through Continuous Improvement, Focus on the Whole Child

Equity

Each student, family, and community possess strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity:

• Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations.
• Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision-making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools.

Position Overview

The position is to support multiple facets of the Office of Legal Affairs.  It will support the Chief Legal Officer and the Deputy Legal Officer in their various tasks and duties, as well as each of the following programs: Equity and Civil Rights, Office of Professional Practices, and Public Records and Records Management.  The position will also be the primary point of contact for tracking work and deadlines within the division and will receive and help respond to correspondence. These tasks and duties will help the Office of Legal Affairs manage an increased workload and responsibility arising from increased litigation and federal actions.  The position will also assist the Chief and Deputy Legal Officers in their efforts to de-silo and facilitate a more generalist legal division that is more flexible and adaptive to meet the new legal needs of OSPI.   

Key Responsibilities

Legal Support 

Tasks include:

Performs legal, technical and administrative work requiring independent judgement and action. This would include but is not limited to:  

• Monitoring and updating cases in various stages of the investigative and legal process.  
• Develops and maintains a consistent, centralized, and organized system for tracking legal tasks.   
• Monitors, tracks, and updates status of legal tasks and cases, including due processes and complaints.  
• Tracks and ensures deadlines are adhered to.  
• Fact checking evidence in legal documents for division attorneys to verify for accuracy.  
• Proofreading and editing legal documents for content and grammar. 
• Transmits legal documents to other parties and files legal documents with administrative tribunals or courts, as directed by Chief or Deputy Legal Officer.   
• Remains flexible to adjust caseload and timelines as new requests are assigned and urgent matters arise.
• Analyzes data to seek standardization in current workflow processes to gain efficiency within current disclosure processes.
• Prepares memoranda, recommendations, bulletins, and other reports that support the work of the department and agency. 

Process and Respond to Correspondence 

Tasks include:

• Timely receives and scans correspondence, maintains records of correspondence, and tracks responses.

• Drafts, proofreads, finalizes and transmits correspondence, as directed by Chief or Deputy Legal Officers

Public Records and Records Management Support

Tasks include: 

Provide support for public records requests as directed by Chief or Deputy Legal Officer.  Tasks could include but not limited to:   

• Assists with compliance with paper/electronic retention and archiving requirements.  
• Tracks, routes, and verifies fulfillment of public records requests.
• Provides customer service to the public; responds to questions about availability of public records, requesting records, etc.
• Communicates with records requestors; clarifies requests, availability of records, timelines, etc. 
• Assists agency-wide staff in identifying records that are responsive to requests.
• Proactively identifies public record requests that require clarification and communicates effectively and professionally with both staff and the public to facilitate the clarification. 
• Research agency records, both current and historical, to locate and compile requested records, and promptly responds to disclosure requests in compliance with the PRA.

Required Qualifications:

• High School diploma or equivalent and four years of experience in legal environment in support of an attorney, administrative law judge(s), industrial insurance appeals judge(s), review judge(s) or equivalent OR  
• One year as a Legal Assistant 2 OR 
• A two-year degree in Legal Secretary Studies, Paralegal Studies or related field of study plus two years of legal office experience OR   
• Bachelor's degree may substitute for the Legal Secretary or Paralegal degree.  
• The ability to work independently and in a team setting. 
• Strong skills in the use of technology for drafting, proofreading, data collection, and communication. 
• Note: Candidates may be required to demonstrate skills in keyboarding, filing, proofreading, grammar, spelling and use of office equipment through agency specific skills testing. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Knowledge of and familiarity and experience with the Washington K-12 educational system 
• Experience with administrative or civil litigation 
• Experience responding to public records requests 
• Experience providing legal support and processing and responding to correspondence, particularly in a governmental setting 
• Ability to work remotely while maintaining effective communication with OSPI colleagues and participation in department and agency initiatives, as well as effective external communication with parents, LEA staff, and other interested parties

Compensation

The annual compensation for the position is $49,428 - $66,372 per year and depends upon experience, educational background and qualifications. Geographic differentials may be applied based on work location of successful candidate. Washington State offers a generous benefit package including health, dental and life insurance, retirement and an optional deferred compensation program. Please visit Health Care Authority for information regarding health benefits and the Department of Retirement Systems for retirement plan information. This is a general service position. This position is not represented by a bargaining unit.

Application Process

Those interested in this position must apply through Careers.wa.gov. Applications must include the following documents in MS Word or PDF format:

• A letter of interest specifically addressing the qualifications listed in this announcement; 
• A current résumé, and; 
• A list of three or more professional references.   

NOTE: Your resume and letter of interest must be attached to your application. Please confirm they are attached before you submit.

Please address any questions to:

Sal Salazar, Human Resources

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

 600 Washington Street Southeast 

 Olympia, Washington 98504-7200

360-725-6278: sal.salazar@k12.wa.us 

Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 725-6270 or (360) 725-6066, or e-mail hroffice@k12.wa.us.

New Jobs Alert Service

OSPI offers a subscription service, which regularly notifies subscribers of new OSPI employment opportunities on careers.wa.gov. Subscribers are notified via text or email alert. If you are interested in this service, then please subscribe at this location. 

OSPI is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from job seekers who will contribute to our diversity. OSPI provides equal access to all programs and services without discrimination based on sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation including gender expression or identity, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. If you would like, please include your name and gender pronouns in your application, to ensure we address you appropriately throughout the application process. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the human resource consultant listed in "Application Process."