Salary : $103,280.32 - $125,536.84 Annually
Location : City Attorney's Office, 740 State St., Suite 201, Santa Barbara, CA
Job Type: Full-time Unclassified
Job Number:
Department: City Attorney's Office
Division: City Attorney - Administration
Opening Date: 07/10/2026
Closing Date: Continuous

DESCRIPTION
Senior Litigation Paralegal

THE POSITION

The City Attorney's Office is seeking an experienced and highly skilled Litigation Paralegal III to provide advanced paralegal support for complex administrative, civil, and criminal matters.

The Litigation Paralegal III is the advanced journey-level classification in the Paralegal series. The successful candidate will exercise a high degree of independent judgment and perform the most complex and difficult paralegal assignments requiring extensive legal knowledge, proficiency, and skill.

The position assists attorneys with the preparation, coordination, and management of all stages of litigation and transactional work. Responsibilities include legal research, discovery coordination, document preparation, case management, witness coordination, and trial preparation.

The Litigation Paralegal III may act as a project lead and provide task-related direction, procedural guidance, and coordination to lower-level paralegal and support staff. This classification is distinguished from the Paralegal I and Paralegal II classifications by its technical specialization, lead responsibilities, independent judgment, and the complexity and scope of assignments performed.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Assisting attorneys with the preparation and coordination of complex and highly sensitive cases through all phases of litigation
• Coordinating and implementing case-management and discovery-related assignments
• Conducting complex legal research involving issues that are not readily defined and require the use of multiple legal references
• Drafting complex legal documents, pleadings, correspondence, memoranda, and reports requiring substantial original writing
• Reviewing, analyzing, organizing, and summarizing legal, technical, and evidentiary information
• Interviewing clients and witnesses and gathering facts and information relevant to legal matters
• Preparing for depositions, arbitrations, administrative hearings, and trials
• Preparing affidavits and maintaining case files, discovery materials, exhibits, and other legal records
• Filing pleadings and other legal documents with courts and administrative agencies
• Investigating the status of cases and locating witnesses, defendants, interested parties, or relevant records
• Scheduling and preparing witnesses for trials, hearings, depositions, and other legal proceedings
• Preparing case files, exhibits, documents, and information for attorney use in court
• Assisting attorneys during trials, hearings, depositions, and other legal proceedings
• Communicating with clients, opposing counsel, court personnel, City staff, witnesses, and members of the public
• Establishing internal procedures to improve the organization, processing, and efficiency of legal work
• Providing lead direction, procedural guidance, and coordination to subordinate staff to ensure case priorities and deadlines are met
• Providing exemplary customer service by being attentive, responsive, fair, courteous, and respectful
• Performing other related duties as assigned

SALARY & BENEFITS

• CalPERS retirement
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Deferred compensation (457 plan)
• Flexible spending account
• Life and disability insurance
• Continuing legal educations and professional development opportunities

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
The successful candidate will have substantial experience defending federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983, including cases involving law enforcement use of force, wrongful arrest, and other constitutional claims.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS - REQUIREMENTS

• Active membership in good standing with the State Bar of California
• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school
• Minimum of twelve (12) years of litigation experience
• Extensive experience handling complex litigation in federal court
• Significant experience defending claims brought under 42 U.S.C. §1983
• Demonstrated experience serving as lead counsel in jury trials
• Strong motion practice experience, including summary judgment and qualified immunity motions
• Excellent legal writing, research, and oral advocacy skills
• Ability to independently manage complex litigation while working collaboratively with attorneys and City departments.

Experience representing public entities, law enforcement agencies, or large institutional clients is highly desirable.

SELECTION PROCESS

Applications and supplemental questionnaires will be reviewed, and the most qualified candidates will be invited for an interview. Applications should fully describe relevant education, training, and experience. Final candidates will undergo a background investigation and meet all pre-employment requirements.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
COMMUNICATION
Applicants will receive updates via the email address listed on their application. Please check email and spam folders regularly. Status updates may also be viewed by logging into your governmentjobs.com account.

OPEN & CONTINUOUS RECRUITMENT
This recruitment is open until filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply early, as the filing period may close at any time.

THE SALARY RANGE consists of five steps, each representing an increase of approximately five percent. STEP INCREASES, through the top salary step, are tied to job performance with annual performance reviews. Employees receive annual performance reviews.
THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS may vary and are subject to collective bargaining:

Note: Part-time employees receive pro-rated benefits, e.g., 50%, 60%, etc.

• Confidential Pay: Employees receive an additional 2.5% of salary.
• The City is a member of the Coastal Housing Partnership, which offers home loan assistance and rental reductions.
• A standard 9/80 schedule is observed, with most offices closed every other Friday.
• Flexwork/Telecommutingis available.
• Bilingual paymay be available at a rate of $64 / pay period.
• Vacationis accrued at 96 hours / year, increasing with City service.
• Personal leave(32 hours) is provided each July 1st at the start of the fiscal year (pro-rated the first year).
• Sick leaveis accrued at the rate of 96 hours / year.
• Holidays: 12 holidays are observed / year. Paid holiday time is awarded at the employee's applicable schedule, i.e., 9/80, 4/10, etc.
• Retirement: The City does not participate in Social Security.
  • PERS Miscellaneous Formula: "Classic" members: 2.7% @ 55; City contributes 12.03% and employee contributes 8% of salary. "New (PEPRA)" members: 2% @ 62; City contributes employee 12.03% and employee contributes 7.75% of salary.
• Insuranceincluding medical, dental and vision benefits are available under a group plan. Click here for the benefits rate sheet: Confidential Unit Rate Sheet
• Cafeteria 125 Plan: Employees who opt-out of the group insurance coverage or who select employee only coverage may be eligible for a cash pay-out of up to $362.38 / month.
• Life and AD&D Insurance: City-paid term life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment ($50,000 each) are provided.
• Employee Assistance Program: A City-paid EAP is available for employees and members of their household.
• Long-term DisabilityInsurance is provided.
• State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) is provided. Employee pays 1.1% of salary. For 2025, the anticipated SDI/PFL rate is 1.2% of salary.

• Deferred Compensation Savings Plans(457) are available to employees through a deferred compensation program.
• Uniformswill be provided by the City to those employees required to wear a uniform.
• Employee must pay an amount equal to 1.45% of salary toward Medicare. An equal amount is paid by the City.

Revised 12/1/2024
01

Are you currently qualified under California Law Business & Professions Code 6450 as a paralegal?

• Yes
• No

02

Describe your experience drafting and preparing a variety of legal documents, correspondence, and reports that are complex and require extensive original writing. In your response, be sure to describe the types of documents you have worked on, name the employer(s) where you acquired the experience, and indicate your years of experience preparing such documents. If you do not have any such experience, type "no experience."
03

Describe your experience performing legal research in civil litigation matters. Indicate your years of experience conducting such research and provide one example of research you have conducted which highlights your skills in this area. If you do not have any such experience, type "no experience."
04

Describe any education, training, certificates, or professional development programs which you have completed and contributed to your skills as a paralegal. Please list each item and include a description of program you completed.
Required Question