Deputy City Attorney - Trial/Litigation Team - City Attorney's Office (8177) - City and County of San Francisco

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX) position; individuals who are appointed to Exempt Positions are appointed at the pleasure of their appointing officer and are considered to be "at-will."

• Application Opening: November 9, 2023. Reopened February 21, 2024. Reopened May 7, 2024
• Application Deadline: Continuous, earliest close 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, 2024
• Compensation Range: $145,366- $254,696
• Recruitment ID: RTF0140135-01077120

NOTE: If you applied for this position when it was first posted (11/9/23 - 12/5/23) or reposted (2/21/24-4/26/24), you are still in the applicant pool and there is no need to reapply.

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated litigator to join its Trial Team.

About the Office

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is an innovative, nationally-recognized municipal law office working to protect and advance the rights and interests of the City and County of San Francisco and its residents. With just over 300 talented and dedicated employees, the Office provides exceptional legal services to the City’s Mayor, Board of Supervisors, officials, and departments. Our work empowers City leaders with effective, responsive, and creative legal solutions and representation so they can deliver critical public services, and our affirmative advocacy enhances the lives and wellbeing of San Francisco’s residents and visitors.

The Office recognizes that diversity in the backgrounds, identities, ideas, and lived experiences of our employees enriches our workplace and enhances our work. We aspire to recruit, employ, retain, and promote talented individuals representing the full spectrum of our community, and welcome all candidates, including candidates of any race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and age, and candidates with disabilities. We have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of people want to come and stay, grow professionally, and find purpose and engagement, and where all employees feel welcomed and respected for their full authentic selves, and valued for their work and contributions to the Office and the City. To learn more about the Office’s efforts to provide a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where employees feel they belong and can meaningfully contribute, please click here.

The Office offers a hybrid remote work to eligible employees, with three days onsite and up to two days remote work.

To learn more about the City Attorney’s Office please visit: https://www.sfcityattorney.org/

About the Trial Team

The Trial Team is a collaborative, nimble, and dynamic group of 22 attorneys, 7 paralegals and legal assistants, and 6 legal secretaries. The Team primarily defends lawsuits filed against the City and County of San Francisco and its employees in state and federal court, handling all phases of litigation, from case intake and assessment, litigation strategy, discovery and document review, motion practice, settlement evaluation and negotiation, trial, and appeal. The Team’s docket is broad, and ranges from personal injury accidents to taxation, land use to constitutional torts. The Trial Team represents employees from all City departments and touches every aspect of the City’s operations, from transit to sewer, law enforcement to public health. Trial Team deputies may also handle affirmative matters, including restraining orders based on workplace harassment or the threat of gun violence.  Trial Team members also work on cross-team assignments on an as-needed basis, including helping City departments assess litigation risks, respond to third-party discovery, and respond to crisis situations.

Deputy City Attorney Position and Responsibilities

Attorneys on the Trial Team are assigned defensive matters, primarily involving accidents or injuries involving City operations, but also including constitutional claims, tax matters, and contractual disputes. Most cases can be handled independently, but some require team members to work collaboratively with other lawyers and staff across the Office.

Minimum Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law in California.

Desired Qualifications

• Three or ideally more years of civil litigation experience, including trial experience.
• Ability to assume responsibility quickly, work both independently and collaboratively, and identify and assess substantive and procedural legal issues.
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently, meet multiple competing deadlines, manage workload changes, and dive into new assignments quickly.
• Excellent written and oral communication and advocacy skills.
• Ability to manage, investigate, and litigate multiple matters in both state and federal courts.
• Ability to handle all phases of litigation, including intake and investigation, written discovery, depositions, motion practice, settlement negotiation, trial, and appeal.
• Experience handling court appearances and oral argument.
• Familiarity with state and federal rules of civil procedure and local rules of court.
• Experience with e-discovery.
• Demonstrated interest, comfort, and good working knowledge of sophisticated document review tools.
• Ability to work effectively with paralegals, legal assistants, investigators, and other colleagues.
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, adapt to changes, and be curious.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a positive attitude.
• Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
• Interest and ability to work successfully as part of a team.

Verification

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 https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements”

Note: 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.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures

The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the oral/performance interview.

To apply for this position, please submit your resume and cover letter. Applicants who advance in the selection process must submit at least two references and at least one writing sample.

Salary and Benefits

The Deputy City Attorney position has a 16-step salary scale ranging from $145,366 - $254,696.  The successful applicant is appointed to a salary step based on years of experience as a lawyer. The City offers robust health, retirement, and other benefits. For more information please visit: https://sfdhr.org/benefits-overview.  Attorneys are represented by the Municipal Attorneys Association. Information about compensation and benefits can be found by entering Classification Code 8177 at https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

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

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Human Resources Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please send your inquires to Asa Nojd, HR Analyst, at asa.nojd@sfcityatty.org.

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.