Deputy City Attorney - Trial/Litigation Team - City Attorney's Office (8177) — San Francisco, CA

About the Trial Team

The Trial Team is a collaborative, nimble, and dynamic group of over 40 attorneys and support staff and the largest team at the City Attorney’s Office. 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 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 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 and contractual disputes. Attorneys are assigned their own caseloads and have primary responsibility for all aspects of their cases, from responding to lawsuits, filing and arguing motions, trying cases before a jury, all the way to appeal. Attorneys should expect to make regular appearances in court and depositions as the first chair on all of their cases. The Trial Team regularly schedules weekly meetings for attorneys to roundtable and discuss their cases before the entire team. Attorneys are also supported by direct supervisors, the Assistant Chief, and the Chief Trial Attorney for significant decisions on cases.

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.

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.

Salary and Benefits

The Deputy City Attorney position has a 16-step salary scale ranging from $158,548 - $277,810. 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/.

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

HOW TO APPLY

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen
• Make sure to include your CA Bar Number in your application
• Upload a Cover Letter and a Resume

Applicants who advance in the selection process must submit three references and one writing sample.

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, @sfcityatty.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.

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