Stevens County Attorney's Office outlines duties, staff roles and path from intern to permanent legal assistant

The county attorney's office in Stevens County provided an overview of its legal responsibilities and staffing structure during a briefing. "The role of the county attorney is, to represent the county legally," Speaker 1 said, adding that much of the work involves prosecuting criminal cases and handling child-protection, juvenile delinquency and adult-protection matters.

The office also represents the county and its agencies in civil legal matters, Speaker 1 said. "Other than that, the county attorney does represent, the entirety of the county and all its agencies in civil legal matters," the speaker added, noting the office works with law enforcement and social services "to address public safety and, just human safety concerns" within the county.

Speaker 1 described the office's staff structure, saying there are three defined roles. "We have the assistant county attorney who's another lawyer in the office who really, splits a lot of the duties, the casework of the county attorney," the speaker said. Legal assistants, Speaker 1 said, "are responsible for essentially keeping, the paperwork together, maintaining the case file, sending things out, and, receiving documents for the file." The office also employs a victim services coordinator who works "primarily with the victims of crime to make sure, that we are communicating with them, getting them the information they need, pointing them to any other services, that they would qualify for."

A staff member who described their own career path said they began as an intern while attending the University of Minnesota Morris and were later hired. "So I initially started interning at Stevens County, Attorney's Office while I was still actually attending the University of Minnesota Morris ... they offered me a temporary position, which then turned to a permanent position working as the legal assistant and office manager," Speaker 2 said.

Both speakers stressed workplace qualities the office seeks. "On my team, teamwork is very important," Speaker 1 said. Speaker 2 echoed that emphasis, describing a "very small office" where employees collaborate throughout the day. Speaker 1 closed by urging adaptability: "You need to, understand that things may change ... The way we do things, especially with technology, will change how some tasks are done and you need to be able to roll with it."

There were no formal motions, votes, or policy decisions recorded in the briefing. The presentation functioned as an informational overview of responsibilities, typical staffing roles, and desired staff attributes.