The Freeborn County Attorney’s Office is expanding.

In January, the county will be advertising for an additional assistant county attorney — bringing the total number of assistants to four.

County Attorney Craig Nelson said the extra assistant attorney is needed because of the high workload of his office.

County commissioners approved the addition at its meeting last week.

Nelson said he and the three current assistant attorneys — Erin O’Brien, David Walker and Karyn Sackis Lunn — have been handling more appellate and civil commitment cases, along with other duties, than in years past.

The new position will allow the office to get things done quicker.

“I’m very excited about this,” Nelson said. “This is a very good thing. I want my office to be able to do things quickly, efficiently and practically.”

The person hired must be licensed to practice law in Minnesota and should be able to handle a mixed caseload, including social service, criminal and general county legal advice. He or she will be both in the courtroom and in the office.

How the duties will be split up has not yet been determined.

Presently, Nelson handles adult felonies, civil commitments and adult protective services. O’Brien handles juvenile cases, child protective cases and forfeitures; Sackis Lunn handles adult misdemeanors and family court; and Walker handles adult felonies and gross misdemeanors.

The expected salary of the new position was unavailable as of press time.