Temporary Probate Law Attorney (approximately 6-8 months)

Full-Time, Exempt

Hybrid (three to four days in-person minimum)

About Us:

“It always seems impossible until it's done.” - Nelson Mandela

We believe that even the biggest problems can be broken down into small, achievable steps. Poverty and access to justice are part of the same problem. And to solve this, we just need to discover what the steps are. At Open Door Legal (ODL), we're pioneering the country's first system of universal access to civil legal representation to dramatically reduce poverty and prove that the law really can belong to all of us. To achieve this ambitious goal, we've created an award-winning and best-in-class legal aid organization full of passionate, motivated, gritty, thoughtful, and team-oriented people.

We believe that injustice is the heart of poverty, and we're looking for someone to join us in having a systemic impact on how we, as a society, ensure justice for all.

Overview of Position:

We have seen many members of our community threatened with homelessness and housing uncertainty because of issues around the estate of a deceased family member. Private attorneys take a percentage of the estate; thus, many times a home has to be sold to pay the attorney and court fees. We're hiring a Temporary Probate Law Attorney for the Probate Law Team who will help us keep long-standing families in the community. We are assisting people whose homeownership status is in flux. Probate court in San Francisco has so many procedural rules that make navigating it impossible for the pro-per client. Open Door Legal provides an invaluable service to the local community by navigating SF probate court for families and elders who are the stewards of a community's wealth and legacy.

In addition to estate planning, probate, and trust administration, The Probate Law team also represents clients in conservatorships and elder abuse restraining orders,. The work is fast-paced and will require you to be organized, think critically and dynamically, and demonstrate empathy and awareness in understanding the needs of our community. If you want to make a difference in clients' lives with us, we encourage you to apply!

Overall, this position is intended to be a challenging yet extremely rewarding experience for someone with substantive probate court knowledge who is interested in using that knowledge to make a difference in clients' lives with an innovative, results-oriented, and fast-growing organization. You will report directly to the Managing Family Law Attorney and work closely with the Probate Paralegal.

Responsibilities:

• Embrace and embody our mission of universal access to civil legal aid and ensure that everyone in our service area with a viable probate law issue gets appropriate help, including legal advice and representation.

• Directly represent clients, which may require court appearances.

• Litigate cases at San Francisco Superior Court in the Probate, Civil, and Elder Abuse Restraining Order departments, both solo and with pro bono attorneys as co-counsel.

• Maintain a full caseload (as per team needs) while opening and closing cases in an efficient manner.

• Perform probate law intakes across multiple physical Open Door Legal locations and be available for hospital and home visits for the elderly who can't come in.

• Provide services and support to our low-income clients with sensitivity and awareness to cultural, socio-economic, and disability barriers to service and skillfully navigate difficult or tense situations.

• Embrace and embody our values of teamwork, grit, caring, passion, and dynamism.

Requirements:

• Membership in good standing with the California State Bar.
• California superior court civil procedure knowledge and experience appearing in a courtroom.
• Must genuinely enjoy and be motivated by working with low-income clients, the vast majority of whom are people of color, and be able to work effectively with clients impacted by trauma (emotional, mental, and physical).
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills, with the ability to be detail-oriented.
• High level of comfort learning and using technology and cloud-based case management systems. We use Salesforce, Dropbox and the Google Suite.
• Strong time management skills and the ability to handle quick timelines, manage diverse activities, organize case tasks, manage diverse activities, and meet critical deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Must actively demonstrate cultural humility and sensitivity to barriers low-income residents face when attempting to access the justice system.
• Authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship.
• Hybrid position: minimum of three days in-office in one or more of our Open Door Legal office locations.

Bonus Points:

• Comfortable translating and interpreting from English to Spanish or Cantonese and vice versa legal information without assistance.
• Experience practicing in San Francisco probate court.
• Experience working with low-income and vulnerable populations.
• Experience working in a high-volume legal aid or similar environment.
• Having lived a significant period of your life in San Francisco proper.

Starting compensation (annually) for a staff attorney is $83,500-$99,500.

Benefits:

• Loan Repayment Assistance - for staff pursuing 10-year public interest debt forgiveness, we will pay the minimum payment on all qualifying loans so that you don't need to worry about student loan debt (this is a conditional benefit).
• Medical/Dental/Vision Plan offerings at 100% coverage
• Generous paid time off (four weeks vacation and two weeks sick/care)
• Flexible work hours
• Generous paid parental leave
• 401K/Retirement Account
• We believe everyone is always learning. We financially invest in individual professional development for each staff member and provide many internal and external mentorships, coaching, and learning opportunities (conferences, workshops, etc.).
• We are a fun and hard-working office with best-in-class technology solutions for anyone who's passionate about making a meaningful and measurable difference.

Ideal Start Date: September 2025, Temporary role 6-8 months

Applications submitted prior to July 24, 2025 will receive priority consideration.

To apply, submit your cover letter and resume. You may type your cover letter into the text box or combine your cover letter and resume into one PDF document for upload.

Open Door Legal is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local law including the San Francisco Fair chance Ordinance.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance or accommodations due to a disability, please let us know at whitney [at] opendoorlegal [dot] org.