Deputy Legislative Counsel Series

California State Personnel Board Specification

SALARY INFORMATION

Description of Series

The classes in this series are used in the Legislative Counsel Bureau to perform a wide variety of legal work concerned with preparing legislative measures, analyzing and rendering opinions on such measures, and in codifying and revising statutory laws.

Incumbents study, interpret, and apply laws, court decisions, and other legal authorities in the preparation of legislation; confer with persons, legislative committees, and other groups interested in drafting legislative measures, and assist them in preparing such legislation; prepare or review opinions for members of the Legislature and State officers regarding the legal effect and constitutionality of proposed legislative measures and provisions of existing laws; compile, codify, annotate, and index the legislative measures; and advise regarding legislative rules and procedures during sessions of the Legislature. The series includes classes which are nonsupervisory in nature.

This series is available for use only in the Legislative Counsel Bureau. Similar class series exist for experienced attorneys in the Office of the Attorney General and in the Department of Transportation. Entry into this class series would typically be made by State employees from the class of Deputy Legislative Counsel which requires membership in the California State Bar. The class of Graduate Legal Assistant, which requires eligibility to take the California Bar examination, is also used to recruit those interested in pursuing legal careers in the State service.

Incumbents in this series generally perform similar duties. Differences between classes are essentially differences in the level of service and expertise incumbents can be expected to provide and in the difficulty of assignments which they receive.

Deputy Legislative Counsel

This is a recruitment and developmental class for persons qualified to practice law in the State of California. Incumbents assigned to Range A perform the least difficult professional legal work in the Legislative Counsel Bureau. Based upon the appropriate alternate range criteria, incumbents advance to Ranges B, C, and D and are assigned progressively more difficult professional legal work as their competence increases. Incumbents assigned to Range D are assigned the more complex and sensitive legal work in this class.

Deputy Legislative Counsel III

Incumbents in this class are well-experienced attorneys who have developed the expertise necessary to capably perform the most complex and sensitive work of the Legislative Counsel Bureau on an independent basis. A Deputy Legislative Counsel III studies, interprets, and applies laws, court decisions, and other legal authorities in the preparation of the more difficult legislation; confers with persons, legislative committees, and other groups interested in drafting complex legislative measures, and assists them in preparing the more difficult legislation; prepares or reviews difficult and complex opinions for members of the Legislature and State officers regarding the legal effect and constitutionality of proposed legislative measures and provisions of existing laws; drafts, reviews, compiles, codifies, annotates, and indexes legislative measures; advises regarding legislative rules and procedures during sessions of the Legislature; may review and approve drafts of proposed legislation, opinions, and letters written by other deputies; and may assign work and special projects to other deputies.

Deputy Legislative Counsel IV

Incumbents in this class are the most experienced attorneys who are experts in a broad or specialized area of law and have demonstrated their ability to independently perform assignments consisting of the most complex and sensitive legal work of the Legislative Counsel Bureau and to consistently produce favorable results on these projects. A Deputy Legislative Counsel IV studies, interprets, and applies laws, court decisions, and other legal authorities in the preparation of the most difficult legislation; reviews and approves drafts of proposed legislation, opinions, and letters written by other deputies; assigns work and special projects to the other deputies; confers with persons, legislative committees, and other groups interested in drafting the most complex legislative measures, and assists them in preparing the most difficult legislation; prepares or reviews the most difficult and complex opinions for members of the Legislature and State officers regarding the legal effect and constitutionality of proposed legislative measures and provisions of existing laws; drafts, reviews, compiles, codifies, annotates, and indexes the most complex legislative measures; and advises regarding legislative rules and procedures during sessions of the Legislature.

Minimum Qualifications

All Levels

Experience: Experience applicable to one of the following patterns may be combined on a proportional basis with experience applicable to the other to meet the total experience requirement. Experience in the California state service applied toward Pattern II must include the same number of years of qualifying experience as required in Pattern I performing the duties of a class with a level of responsibility not less than that described in Pattern II.

In addition, all candidates must have membership in the California State Bar. (Applicants must have active membership in the California State Bar before they will be eligible for appointment.)

Deputy Legislative Counsel

Membership in the California State Bar. (Applicants must have active membership in the California State Bar before they will be eligible for appointment. Applicants who are not members of the California State Bar, but who are eligible to take the California State Bar examination or are in their final year of law school, will be admitted to the examination but will not be considered eligible for appointment until they are admitted to the California State Bar.)

Candidates applying promotionally for Deputy Legislative Counsel must be in the class of Graduate Legal Assistant.

Deputy Legislative Counsel III

Experience: Six years of legal experience in the practice of law in a governmental jurisdiction or in the private practice of law.*

(Applicants will be admitted to the examination upon completion of five and one-half years of legal experience, but must complete six years of such experience before they will be eligible for appointment.)

Deputy Legislative Counsel IV

Experience: Ten years of experience performing legal duties*, four years of which must have been at a level of responsibility equivalent to a Deputy Legislative Counsel III. (The four years of experience at the Deputy Legislative Counsel III level must be obtained in the California state civil service.) (Applicants who have completed nine years and six months of the required total legal experience, including three years and six months of the required experience comparable to the Deputy Legislative Counsel III class, will be admitted into the examination but must complete 10 years' total legal experience including at least four years of experience at the Deputy Legislative Counsel III level before they will be eligible for appointment.)

* Experience in the “practice of law" or “performing legal duties" is defined as: (1) only that legal experience acquired after admission to any State Bar, or (2) experience as a judicial clerk for a federal court, California's state courts, or any other state's courts, or (3) legal experience acquired while practicing under a provisional license to practice law issued by the State Bar of California's Provisional Licensure Program, to constitute experience in the practice of law. For an individual's judicial clerkship to qualify as experience in the “practice of law" or “performing legal duties," the experience must have been gained after receipt of a Juris Doctor or equivalent degree.

Knowledge and Abilities

All Levels:

Knowledge of: Scope and character of California statutory laws and provisions of the California State Constitution, including their relationship to judicial precedents and Federal constitutional provisions and laws, rules, organization, and operation of the California State Legislature; purposes, organization, procedures, and work of the Legislative Counsel Bureau; tables and indexes used in drafting legislation and in preparing opinions; legal terminology and correct English; performing legal research; and legal principles and precedents and their application to difficult, complex, and novel legal problems.

Ability to: Use correct English; perform and direct legal research; present statements of fact, law, and argument clearly and logically; perform difficult statute drafting and codification work; dictate and review a large volume of legal correspondence; work effectively under high pressure and unfavorable conditions; analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action; and follow instructions. A greater degree of these Knowledge and Abilities is required at each higher level.

Preferred or Desirable Qualifications

All employees shall have general qualifications as described by California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 172.  

Class History