COM 0124.029 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Honorable Gary Safarik Honorable Virginia Isbell March 28, 2005 Page 3 4. Please justify the department's need for a new employee? The value of good legal secretaries cannot be overstated. The Legal Clerk III's at the Office of the Corporation Counsel are knowledgeable of the Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of the Hawaii Supreme Court, Federal Court rules of practice and procedure, Third Circuit Court filing requirements, and specialized rules relating to Bankruptcy Court and the Bureau of Conveyances, to name just a few. The Legal Clerks III's perform citation verification of all legal documents, Shepardize legal citations, and ensure proper formatting. There are; presently 13 attorneys in our main office (including the Corporation Counsel). Five (5) Legal Clerk III's support 12 of the attorneys. The recommended law office ratio of two attorneys per one secretary is not met. This results in a burden to the existing Legal Clerk III's, and their supervisor who must set aside her supervisory and special project responsibilities in favor of assisting with the day-to-day legal clerical work, just to get it done. The increase in the number of legal demands placed on our office, together ~roith the increase in the number and magnitude of claims and lawsuits facing the County has been well documented, and is again presented below. Failing to have adequate staff to address these needs is 1:antamount to malpractice.' In 1987, when I began as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the County, there were an equal number of deputy prosecutors as there were deputy corporation counsels. Today, the prosecutors have over 39 attorneys (with more positions being submitted with their budget), and a staff of over 80 island-wide. The Corporation Counsel has only 12 main office attorneys, and five legal secretaries. The Prosecutors perform a very vital function in our community, and are staffed by dedicated and talented attorneys and public servants. No question about that. The Corporation Counsel's present request of adding just one legal secretary is modest in light of the County's desire and need to have both their legal offices adequately staffed. Due to the shortage of legal clerks, our Supervising Legal Clerk II has been tasked with responsibility of handling legal clerical matters for our bankruptcy cases. Other duties of our legal clerks which may not be apparent are the servicing of the Board of Ethics, coordinating travel and other arrangements for the attorneys and witnesses in litigation cases, and work with the County Clerk's Office in the updating of the Hawaii County Code.