Standing Master at State of Montana in Bozeman, MT

This posting will be open until filled. Please submit the following required documents on the State of Montana Careers website:

• Resume - Please include dates of employment and your supervisor’s name/phone number for each position.
• Cover Letter
• Three Professional References
• Writing Sample

When submitting the required documents, you must check the “relevant document” box to ensure your attachments are uploading correctly to the specific application for this position. Documents not requested will not be considered in the recruitment process. The Judicial Branch is an equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The Montana Judicial Branch offers a variety of opportunities to help you make a difference in your community, and further your career. As a service-oriented employer, we seek employees with a passion for customer service to help us fulfill our mission to provide an independent, accessible, responsive, impartial, and timely forum to resolve disputes; to preserve the rule of law; and to protect the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitutions of the United States and Montana.

Benefits of working for the Judicial Branch:

• Work/life balance
• Family friendly policies
• Dedicated and caring colleagues
• Health coverage
• Retirement plans
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and Holidays (combination of up to 38 per year)
• Opportunities and room for professional growth
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness - Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF

This position is in Bozeman, MT. Bozeman exists as a crossroads between past and present, tame and untamed, mountainous wilderness and hometown warmth. A place where you can hike for miles without seeing a soul, stroll through our charming downtown, and enjoy breweries with breathtaking views—all in the same day.

Learn more by visiting https://www.visitmt.com/

­Job Overview:

This is legal and administrative office support and judicial process coordination work under the direction of the Judges of the 18th Judicial District in Bozeman, Montana. This is a highly responsible professional legal work in adjudicating a variety of cases in the Eighteenth Judicial District Court of Bozeman, Montana.

Work includes responsibility for hearing and ruling on proceedings, researching issues, and writing findings of fact, conclusions of law, and orders. The Standing Master may require the production of evidence, rule on the admissibility of evidence, put witnesses on oath and examine them, call the parties to the action and examine them on oath, and issue temporary orders. The Standing Master must interpret and apply statutes, case law, and regulations applicable to each case as it is heard or briefed. The primary case types include family law, orders of protection, and other cases as assigned. Work is reviewed by a judge only when specific objections to findings of fact and conclusions of law are filed with the District Court. Work assignments are carried out with a substantial degree of discretion and independent judgment within the framework of state laws and rules of procedure.

Job Duties: (Any one position may not include all the duties listed, nor do the examples cover all the duties which may be performed.)

• Conducts temporary and final hearings as well as modification hearings in domestic relations matters including parenting plans, property distribution, maintenance, and family support.
• Mediates and conducts settlement conferences in civil matters; conducts discovery conferences, and rules on discovery motions; conducts civil trials and renders judgments.
• Conducts preliminary proceedings in criminal cases, including arraignments, initial appearances on warrant, probation revocation hearings, and bail hearings; conducts plea change hearings.
• Sets and revokes bail and determines release conditions; orders persons detained pending trial.
• Conducts preliminary and detention hearings in juvenile matters, hearings on delinquent youth petitions, preliminary hearings in abuse and neglect cases and civil commitment proceedings; conducts trials in child abuse and neglect matters.
• Conducts contested hearings in domestic relations cases and dependent neglect proceedings; calculates child support amounts in original proceedings and in modification proceedings; may conduct adoption proceedings, and sanity hearings.
• Conducts status conferences, scheduling conferences, modification hearings, and intervention proceedings.
• Performs legal research and writes findings of fact and conclusions of law.
• Performs administrative work as required by the area of assignment.
• Supervises one administrative support person.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (Behaviors):

• Extensive knowledge of federal and state laws and court rulings as they pertain to the area of assignment.
• Extensive knowledge of established precedents, and sources of legal reference.
• Extensive knowledge of court procedures, rules of evidence, and courtroom procedures.
• Ability to apply legal principles and specialized knowledge to individual cases and problems.
• Ability to prepare for hearings and hear difficult cases and present material clearly and logically in oral and written form.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Ability to deal with unhappy, unstable litigants.
• Ability to counsel persons on sensitive problems.
• Skill in the operation of a personal computer.

Working Conditions:

• Work is performed in an office or courtroom with extensive public contact. Work may involve exposure to potentially dangerous situations from unpredictable litigants or parties.

Physical Demands:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk, and listen. Work is essentially sedentary with occasional walking, standing, bending, and carrying items under 25 pounds such as papers and files.

Qualifications:

• Graduation from an accredited law school, with 3 years of practicing law in Montana prior to the date of appointment.

Licensure and Certification Requirements:

• Possession of a current Certificate of Admission to the Bar of the State of Montana; eligibility to practice law before the courts of the State of Montana. Completion of required continuing legal education courses.

Anyone who needs to request a reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the HR staff identified on the job listing or by dialing the Montana Relay at 711. Montana Job Service Offices also offer services including assistance with submitting an online application.

State government does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, creed, political beliefs or affiliation, veteran status, military service, retaliation, or any other factor not related to merit and qualifications of an employee or applicant.