Classification Standard - LA - Law

INTRODUCTION

This standard describes the plan to be used to classify positions allocated to the Law Croup. It consists of an introduction, definitions of the Scientific and Professional Category and the occupational group and descriptions of levels of responsibility.

The level description method of classification is a non-quantitative method of determining the relative difficulty of jobs. A classification plan of three levels, representing significant differences in the difficulty of work, has been established for this group. The descriptions of successive levels define those characteristics that indicate significant differences in job demands. In progressing from the lowest to the highest level in a level description plan, the job demands tend to be cumulative, and the description of a particular level usually includes only characteristics of a higher order than those of the preceding level.

Descriptions of Levels of Responsibility

Descriptions of levels of responsibility are used to illustrate levels of jobs. Each description is a brief summary of the complexity of the work and the managerial and specialization expertise required.

Use of the Standard

Four steps are to be followed in applying this classification standard.

1.  The position description is studied to ensure understanding of the position a;, a whole. The relation of the position being evaluated to positions above and below it in the organization is also studied.

2.  The allocation of the positions to the category and the group is confirmed by reference to the definitions and the descriptions of inclusions and exclusions.

3.   The position is tentatively assigned to a level by comparing the duties and responsibilities of the positions with the descriptions of levels of responsibility. The position is tentatively assigned to that level that best corresponds, on the whole, with the duties and responsibilities of the position.

4.   The description of the position being evaluated is compared with already classified position descriptions above and below (if applicable) the position being evaluated to ensure the validity of the level selected.

CATEGORY DEFINITION

Occupational categories were repealed by the Public Service Reform Act (PSRA), effective April 1, 1993. Therefore, the occupational category definitions have been deleted from the classification standards.

GROUP DEFINITION

For occupational group allocation, it is recommended that you use the Occupational Group Definition Maps, which provide the 1999 group definition and their corresponding inclusion and exclusion statements. The maps explicitly link the relevant parts of the overall 1999 occupational group definition to each classification standard.

DESCRIPTIONS OF LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY

LA-1

Legal officers at this level perform legal work that provides progressive training and opportunities to acquire experience which will permit consideration for employment at a superior level,

OR

Work consists of cases or legal problems that can normally be completed or solved by the application of well-established or readily determinable legal principles or procedures. The applicable laws or regulations may be numerous but are normally not difficult to interpret.

LA-2

Legal officers at this level are capable of performing in a number of fields or sub-fields of law and undertake complex assignments. Work is performed with considerable freedom of action.

OR

Legal officers are at the first level of management in the Law Group, or the first level specialist.

This level is intended to provide an introductory level for managers and to enable credit to be given to those who are required to accept minor managerial responsibilities in addition to practitioner duties. It is also intended to provide senior managers with greater flexibility for increasing the effectiveness of the unit.

Also assigned to this level are the senior legal officers of legal services units in departments and agencies where the program size and legal complexity are moderate. Specialist positions allocated to this level encompass senior level advisory or operational roles in which the legal officer receives general direction from a senior legal officer. Specialists have a depth of legal knowledge and expertise in a particular field of legal specialization and are recognized within the legal community as experts in their field.

LA-3

Legal officers at this level are responsible for the management of an organization providing legal services:

(a) to a number of client departments or agencies and involving work in one or more fields of law, or

(b) to a single department or agency where, because of the nature, scope, variety and national or regional significance of the department's or agency's programs and activities, the legal work is characterized by a high degree of complexity, variety or specialization, and creativity.

This level is intended to provide for Heads of the more demanding and complex legal units, Heads of smaller Regional Offices, Group Heads (or equivalents) in larger Regional Offices, and Heads of comparable groups or sections at Headquarters.

Individuals performing a legal specialist role at this level receive only minimal direction in the application of their clearly recognized expertise and experience. Such employees are those identified as experienced and competent barristers and specialists in a field.

OR

Legal officers responsible for the management of an organization providing legal services to a number of client departments or agencies and involving legal work in each of four or more fields of law, where the volume of work and consequent size of the organization presents substantial administrative and operational problems. This level is intended to provide for Heads of the larger administratively complex Regional Offices, Heads of the most demanding legal units and Heads of the most demanding sections in Headquarters.

This is also the select level for senior practitioners.

For a position to be at this level, the practitioner must have a record of continued exceptional contributions to the development of the law. Such achievement may be evidenced by any of the following:

• exceptional achievement in creative lawyering, for example, in the development of legal argumentation, case law, practice, policy, advisory services, or legal scholarship and writing;
• equivalent contributions in other forms of productivity.

OR

Legal officers who occupy positions at the Assistant Deputy level in the Department of Justice or an equivalent level of responsibility in a department or agency.