Job Description

Posting number: 2026-12521

Department: Court Wide

Job classification: SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY

Posting type: Open

Categories: Administration, Court Administration, Legal, Professional, Miscellaneous, Customer Service, Attorney

Summary

Carol Miller Justice Center has expanded its business hours to 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and is closed on Fridays.

The selected incumbents will work a 4/10 schedule:

7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Monday through Thursday.

Under direction, the Staff Attorney series performs a variety of complex professional legal work, including research and consultation for Court staff and self-represented litigants; provides legal and administrative support related to self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs; provides legal assistance and education services to self-represented litigants and assists them in gaining effective access to the legal system. Incumbents facilitate the effectiveness of, and expedite proceedings by assisting and/or teaching self-represented litigants how to plan and prepare matters for Court hearings.

Distinguishing Characteristics

These professional-level attorney classifications are responsible for assisting in the operation of self-help legal services and/or mediation and advisory services programs, providing day-to-day administrative support, and ensuring the efficient delivery of program services. Incumbents are responsible for providing legal assistance to self-represented litigants.

The Staff Attorney is a journey-level professional. Staff Attorneys receive general supervision from a higher-level professional or management position and may provide direction, training, and/or instruction to paralegals, clerical personnel, interns, and volunteers.

A Senior Staff Attorney is an advanced journey-level professional. Senior Staff Attorneys receive general supervision from a higher-level professional or management position. Senior Staff Attorneys are distinguished from Staff Attorneys by providing lead direction and training to attorneys, paralegals, clerical personnel, interns, and volunteers, and personally performing the more complex and/or specialized assignments requiring thorough analysis, extensive research, original solutions, and coordination with divisions.

Examples of duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

Staff Attorney

1. Reviews court files, documents, and related materials to assess cases; drafts legal correspondence and/or documents necessary to effectuate legal resolutions.
2. Researches legal authorities and statutory and case law; examines legal documents for compliance with legal and procedural requirements.
3. Advises self-represented litigants on the status of cases; provides legal and procedural information, answers inquiries, and explains processes; assists individuals in locating materials and information.
4. Meets with self-represented litigants and provides assistance in the preparation of forms, complex orders, and judgments; reviews paperwork and examines documents to ensure cases are prepared for the Court.
5. Holds pre-hearing conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues; assists parties to develop a shared understanding of the conflict and to work toward building a practical and lasting resolution; offers multiple and flexible possibilities for resolving a dispute.
6. Develops, updates, and maintains educational and instructional materials; provides legal information on specific areas of the law through workshops, clinics, and educational materials.
7. Provides procedural instructions, legal information, and referrals to other court-based services, legal service providers, and community agencies.
8. Establishes and maintains quality working relations with community agencies and resources that provide services for parties involved.
9. Reviews the work completed by paralegals.
10. Performs administrative functions, including tracking and collecting daily, monthly, and yearly statistics on services provided.
11. Performs related duties as assigned.

Senior Staff Attorney

In addition to the duties of the Staff Attorney identified above, the Senior Staff Attorney performs the following duties:

1. Plans, develops, recommends, and implements operational procedures ensuring maximum utilization of available staff, financial resources, and compliance with grant requirements.
2. Coordinates the activities of the program with related court programs and other community resources.
3. Provides lead direction and trains attorneys, paralegals, clerical personnel, interns, and volunteers.

Qualifications

A typical way of obtaining the required knowledge and abilities is equivalent to:

Staff Attorney

Education: Graduation from an accredited school of law.

-And-

Active membership in the State Bar of California.

Senior Staff Attorney

Education: Graduation from an accredited school of law.

-And-

Experience: One (1) year of full-time equivalent experience as a licensed attorney.

-And-

Active membership in the State Bar of California.

Knowledge of:

Staff Attorney

Civil procedures; rules of evidence; scope and role of local court rules and procedures; legal knowledge in the area of work to be performed; legal terminology; conduct of proceedings in trial courts; legal ethics; the California judicial system, and local court operations and procedures; principles and practices relating to providing legal self-help services; resources and community agencies providing services relevant to program clientele; principles and techniques of preparing effective oral presentations and written reports; problem solving, mediation and other conflict resolution methods and techniques; principles of interviewing and interpersonal communication.

Senior Staff Attorney

In addition to the knowledge of the Staff Attorney identified above, the Senior Staff Attorney should possess knowledge of:

Specialized legal knowledge in the area of work to be performed; research methods and principles of program evaluation; principles and practices of lead work direction and training.

Ability to:

Staff Attorney

Analyze problems and legal issues and identify solutions; research statutes and case law; conduct independent research of legal issues; apply legal principles to case facts; advise self-represented litigants, paralegals, interns, volunteers and Court staff on procedural and substantive legal issues; handle sensitive matters with tact and discretion; conduct mediations in an impartial manner; empathetically assist individuals who are in stressful situations; establish and maintain professional working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work; listen to arguments/discussions and understand underlying problems/questions; apply problem solving and conflict resolution methods and techniques; recognize and respect limit of authority and responsibility; work in an environment with conflicting priorities; use computer for legal research, word processing, spreadsheets, forms completion and communication.

Senior Staff Attorney

In addition to the abilities of the Staff Attorney identified above, the Senior Staff Attorney should possess the ability to:

Exercise independent judgment and initiative; perform difficult, complex and/or specialized assignments; train and provide direction to administrative, professional, technical, and clerical staff.

Supplemental information

Must be able to pass a criminal history information background check.