Legal Executive Assistant

Salary : $106,312.96 - $142,977.12 Annually
Location : Kearny Mesa, CA
Job Type: Full Time
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 2026-10-1206
Department: General Counsel's Office
Opening Date: 10/01/2026
Closing Date: 10/25/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

The Position
The Position:

The position serves as a key executive support to the General Counsel and office staff, managing office activities and staff, and helping to ensure the agency's legal processes, including Board governance support, Brown Act-compliant meeting procedures, Public Records Act responses, contracts administration, recordkeeping, and general legal office management are carried out efficiently and in compliance with laws, regulations and policies governing the administration of a public utility in the State of California.

The Ideal Candidate:

• Extensive legal support experience, with deep knowledge of law office practices and legal procedures, including familiarity with legal terminology, documents, research (both internal and external) and court/administrative filing requirements.
• Demonstrated supervisory experience, with history of experience in supervising other legal support staff and independently overseeing complicated legal affairs.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to interact tactfully and effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including attorneys, executives, Board members, colleagues, outside counsel, and the general public, while providing outstanding customer service and demonstrating diplomacy and professionalism at all times.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple responsibilities, calendars, and deadlines in a fast-paced legal environment.
• Meticulous attention to detail and confidentiality, with the ability to prepare clear, error-free documents and records, spotting and correcting inconsistencies, and maintaining strict confidentiality with sensitive legal information.

Distinguishing Characteristics:
A Legal Executive Assistant provides highly responsible and confidential secretarial, administrative, supervisory, and office management services in the Office of the General Counsel that requires thorough knowledge of office functions, procedures, and practices. This position requires in-depth knowledge of and experience with legal terminology, court procedures, procedures for conducting legal and historical research, preparing legal documents, and following system and legal protocols. An incumbent is expected to perform difficult, diverse, and sensitive duties in support of the General Counsel and legal staff with a significant degree of independence, judgment, and accountability for results.
Legal Executive Assistant is distinguished from Administrative Assistant and other administrative and office support classes in that an incumbent in the former class performs a variety of complex and difficult secretarial and legal functions and supervises the work of administrative and clerical support staff, in addition to providing general secretarial and office management services.

Representative Duties:
The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the class.

• Types, formats, edits, revises, proofreads and prints a variety of legal analyses, opinion letters, ordinances, resolutions, board letters, correspondence, memoranda, agreements, contracts and amendments, deeds, easements, overheads and presentation materials and other business and legal documents and materials ranging from routine to complex; types from rough notes, drafts, dictation, modified standard formats and brief oral instructions; creates forms, charts, tables and spreadsheets involving limited data manipulation; edits and revises materials; reviews documents for clerical accuracy, completeness and compliance with Water Authority requirements; develops, revises and maintains standardized and master forms and documents; composes correspondence and compiles reports; copies and binds reports for internal and external distribution.
• Researches and assembles information from a variety of sources for the preparation of records and reports; makes arithmetic or statistical calculations; conducts special studies and recommends organizational, procedural or other changes.
• Supervises the performance of assigned administrative and clerical staff; establishes performance requirements and personal development targets; monitors performance and provides coaching; recommends compensation adjustments and provides other rewards to recognize performance; participates in disciplinary action up to and including termination to address performance deficiencies in accordance with Authority policies and procedures.

Review the for more information on the essential duties assigned to the position.
Optional Hybrid Work Schedule:
The Water Authority has embraced a hybrid work schedule to offer employees flexibility and work-life balance. An option to telework up to 1 day per week and work onsite 3-4 days per week is available for this position. Employees authorized to telework must be able to report to Water Authority facilities as needed, depending on the operational needs of the department and/or area of assignment. Additionally, employees assigned to work at the Kearny Mesa office work a 9/80 schedule, where the entire facility is closed every other Friday. While onboarding and training, the successful candidate may be required to work primarily onsite before establishing a hybrid work schedule.

Qualification Guidelines
The qualification guidelines generally describe the knowledge and ability required to enter the job in order to successfully perform the assigned duties. Any combination of experience and training that would provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities will be considered.
Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade supplemented by six years of increasingly responsible office administrative, or secretarial, and supervisory experience, including three years in a law office or legal department and two years of supervision. A bachelors degree and experience in a government or utility setting are highly desirable.

Application Procedure
To be considered for this position, please submit an employment application and supplemental questionnaire by Sunday October 25, 2026 11:59 p.m. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application and supplemental questionnaire. All applications and supplemental questionnaires will be evaluated in relation to the criteria outlined in this job announcement.
Examination Process

Applicants considered most qualified after the application review process will be invited to participate in an oral panel interview (in-person). The oral panel interview is anticipated to be scheduled the week of November 2, 2026 or November 9, 2026.

Department Interview
The top candidates will be invited to a department interview following the oral panel interview. The Department interview is anticipated to be scheduled the week of November 9, 2026 or November 16, 2026.
To ensure timely and successful navigation, please consider applying early if you are new to the application system. For technical assistance with the online application system, please review the , or contact their toll-free applicant support line at (855) 524-5627. If you have questions regarding the position, please contact Cristina Lever-Santos, Principal Human Resources Analyst at 858-522-6661 or
Health Insurance: The Water Authority maintains four employee health plan options, inclusive of dental and vision. Currently, the "basic" plans are the Kaiser HMO plan and Aetna Value Network HMO, and the "premium" plans are the Aetna Full Network HMO and PPO Healthcare plans. All medical plans feature a chiropractic benefit. Employees and eligible dependents are covered through Aetna Dental for dental services, and Aetna for vision services. The Water Authority pays 100% of the monthly premiums for full-time employees and their dependents for the basic plans, inclusive of dental and vision. Employees pay 50% of the cost that exceeds the "basic" medical plan Kaiser family coverage premium. All health benefits are effective on the first of the month following date of hire. Employees who waive Water Authority medical, dental, and vision benefits receive $41.66 per month, deposited into a Flexible Spending Account (Healthcare or Dependent Care) and $42.33 per month deposited into the deferred compensation plan.
Retirement: All regular Water Authority employees are members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). Employees are enrolled in one of the following retirement formulas based on date of hire. Additional benefits are provided in accordance with the Water Authority's CalPERS contract.

Classic (Hired on or before December 31, 2012)

• 2.5% @ 55
• 8.0% Employee Contribution
• 1 Year Final Compensation Period

New Members (Hired on or after January 1, 2013)

• 2% @ 62
• 7.75% Employee Contribution
• 3 Year Final Compensation Period

*Membership Category - CalPERS will identify each new member as either a "Classic" or a "New" member of the system based on the prior work history of the individual.

Classic Member: New employees who are current members of CalPERS or an agency with CalPERS' reciprocity, or who have less than a six month break in service between employment in a CalPERS (or reciprocal) agency and employment with the Water Authority will be enrolled in the 2.5% @ 55 benefit formula and contribute 8% of salary to CalPERS. CalPERS contract provisions for "Classic" members include:

1. Employer-Paid Member Contribution (EPMC): The Water Authority pays 7% of the employee's share of retirement contributions to CalPERS and the value of the 7% member contribution is reported to CalPERS as additional compensation.
2. Military Service Credit as Public Service.
3. Annual Cost-of-Living Allowance (Maximum 3%).
4. Pre-Retirement Optional Settlement 2W Death Benefit.

New Members: As defined by the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), "New Members" have never been a member of any California public retirement system, were hired by a CalPERS agency after January 1, 2013, moved between public retirement systems lacking reciprocity, or moved between employers in the same public retirement system with a break in service of more than six months. New members are enrolled in the 2% @ 62 benefit formula and contribute 6.75% of salary to CalP