Job Description

ABOUT THE COMPLEX AND AFFIRMATIVE LITIGATION TEAM: The Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team handles affirmative and defensive matters in both state and federal court, at all stages of litigation, from the initial pleadings to appeals.  The matters often involve novel legal issues, large amounts of documents, and significant collaboration with attorneys both on the Team as well as across the office.  The Complex and Affirmative Litigation Team is made up of 10 attorneys, four paralegals, and three secretaries.  We are recruiting to fill a vacant paralegal position.

Qualifications

PARALEGAL POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Paralegals work under the direction of attorneys and provide a variety of paraprofessional legal duties in a fast-paced, high-volume litigation practice.  The responsibilities listed below represent the range of duties assigned and are not intended as an exhaustive list.

• Assist with drafting and implementing litigation holds across various City departments.
• Assist in preparing and reviewing contracts, legislation, responsive pleadings, various discovery documents, subpoenas, legal memoranda and correspondence.
• Assist with discovery, particularly electronic discovery, and the organization, case management, collection, review and production of large datasets obtained from litigants and City departments and maintained in electronic databases.
• Conduct database searches in IPRO Eclipse Relativity, CaseMap and Text Map, and review documents within these programs for relevance, responsiveness and privilege.
• Organize and prepare documents, exhibits, and other materials for use in discovery, hearings or trials, including preparing and running Trial Director.
• Assist in preparing various motions and ensuring that filings are accurate, properly formatted and filed in a timely manner.
•  Assist on appeals, including assembling the record and conducting fact and legal cite checking.
• Correspond and communicate with vendors, attorneys and representatives of City departments regarding case status and discovery.
• Manage multiple projects and prioritize work for several different attorneys.
• Mentor and train legal assistants and paralegal interns (if any) in the Office. This includes training on legal procedures, as well as litigation support software.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Paralegal certificate from an ABA-approved program, or other significant work experience that satisfies statutory requirements (i.e., Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6450 compliant).
•  Minimum five years of experience as a paralegal or legal assistant.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

•  Excellent verbal and writing skills, and an ability to work independently, as well as collaboratively with attorneys, other paralegals, secretaries and others. 
• Ability to analyze legal problems, and perform detailed analytical work with accuracy and initiative. 
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines, accept and implement written and oral instructions, and communicate effectively and tactfully with attorneys, office personnel, court personnel, vendors and representatives of other governmental departments/entities and the general public. 
• Working knowledge of civil legal procedures, legal terminology and court rules.
• Adept in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience with Adobe Professional, Cisco WebEx, Microsoft Teams, TextMap, IPRO Eclipse, CaseMap, Trial Director, or other similar software.  Experience with Relativity a plus.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a positive attitude.
• Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
• Desire and ability to work successfully as part of a team.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

VERIFICATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at http://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

NOTES:

1. Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.
2. Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

APPOINTMENT TYPE: PERMANENT EXEMPT (PEX) – This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer

Additional Information

SALARY AND BENEFITS: The position has a five-step salary scale ranging from $107,718 - $130,884.  The successful candidate will be placed at a salary step based on years of experience and additional relevant degrees, certifications, credentials or skills. 

The City offers robust health, retirement and other benefits.  For more information please visit: https://sfdhr.org/benefits-overview.  Paralegals are represented by the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, Local 21, which has a Memorandum of Understanding with the City that can be found at MOU.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

FILING DEADLINE: Interested Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as this announcement may close at any time after December 13, 2021.

QUESTION: If you have any questions regarding this job, please contact Marylou.Remo@sfcityatty.org or Lillian Chow at Lillian.H.Chow@sfcityatty.org.

APPLICATION OPENING: 11/29/21

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 12/13/21

ANALYST NAME: Marylou Remo

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIRED AS A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT

The City and the Office are committed to the health and safety of our employees.  Under the City’s Vaccination Policy, all City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how this condition applies to your employment, please click here.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment.  For details on how it is applicable to your employment, please click here.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.