Personnel committee approves creating "advanced paralegal" classification in law department

At a June meeting of the City of Green Bay Personnel Committee, members voted to approve reclassifying an existing paralegal position to an "advanced paralegal," a new classification intended to absorb higher-level legal work and ease pressure on attorney hiring.

Committee members and law department staff said the change responds to recruitment challenges and expanded duties taken on by existing non-attorney staff. A staff member described the new classification as intended to “push some of that work down, so we don't need to keep hiring attorneys.”

The reclassification was proposed after one assistant city attorney position became vacant about a year ago; staff said the advanced paralegal had taken on additional responsibilities while the office operated with several vacancies. A staff member explained that the advanced paralegal would take on matter management, work with outside counsel, draft documents and communications, and perform reviews and audit letters — functions some departments previously assigned to attorneys. The staff member said the city has not previously hired into an "advanced paralegal" classification and that the role is being created to provide a tiered structure in the law office.

Alder Hinkfuss pressed on qualifications, asking whether the recommended experience range (initially 3 to 5 years in the draft) would be sufficient to hire for an advanced role. The staff member said qualifications combine experience and education and suggested adjusting to about 4 to 7 or 5 to 7 years would be reasonable. The staff member also noted some legal assistant positions in the office already hold paralegal degrees and that the department has started training and legal research access for non-attorney staff.

Committee members discussed recruitment difficulties across city hiring, saying recent recruitments typically drew far fewer applicants than in earlier years. The staff member referenced an internship program with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and other schools designed to develop a local pipeline of legal assistants and paralegals.

The committee moved to approve the classification change and related personnel actions; the motion passed unanimously. The staff record indicates the department will continue recruitment for vacant assistant city attorney positions and consider whether future staffing should include additional paralegals or attorneys depending on recruitment outcomes and workload.

The change is administrative; the committee did not adopt new ordinances or cite external legal constraints. Staff said they would follow up with any necessary classification details and possible future adjustments such as making the role supervisory if workload or recruitment conditions warrant.