ATTORNEY V

State of California; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 157,000 - 188,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent health benefits

Retirement options

Sick leave and vacation accrual

Paid state holidays

Job summary

The Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) of the State of California seeks an Attorney V/IV to act as the top litigation expert, managing the OLC's litigation portfolio and providing high-level legal advice to the Legislature and clients. This role involves drafting pleadings, representing clients in court, coordinating with outside counsel, and supervising complex litigation matters.

Salary ranges from $14,051 to $16,883 per month, with a telework/hybrid work setup in downtown Sacramento.

Qualifications

• Civil litigation experience including drafting legal pleadings, motions, briefs, and memoranda of law in support of litigation matters; conducting legal research and analysis; familiarity with the discovery process; and participation in oral arguments before state and federal courts.
• Experience in representing clients in state administrative proceedings.
• Knowledge of scope and character of California statutory laws and provisions of the California State Constitution, including their relationship to judicial precedents and federal constitutional provisions and laws, rules, organization, and operation of the California State Legislature; rules of civil procedure; court rules; principles of legal research; purposes, organization, procedures, and work of the Office of Legislative Counsel; and legal principles and precedents and their application to difficult, complex, and novel legal problems.
• Perform and direct legal research; present statements of fact, law, and argument clearly and logically; draft and review a large volume of legal correspondence; work effectively under high pressure, tight deadlines, and long hours; analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action; and follow instructions.
• Experience in a leadership role providing legal representation and advice on difficult, complex, and sensitive legal matters.
• Experience working with outside counsel, and/or managing the work of contract attorneys.
• Demonstrated ability to handle multiple assignments with accuracy and prioritize work to meet short deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal representation and advice to the OLC, Assembly, Senate, and other clients in difficult, complex litigation matters, focusing on pre-litigation advice, evaluation of claims, case-strategy development, and motion practice.
• Draft, review, and revise pleadings, motions, writs, briefs, memoranda, and correspondence; appear in state and federal trial and appellate courts and administrative proceedings.
• Coordinate with and oversee the work of outside counsel; monitor pending litigation matters; prepare responses to subpoenas and records requests under LORA; maintain case files and status reporting.
• Perform administrative tasks such as scheduling, filing, document review, and ongoing communication with clients, supervisors, and colleagues.

Job description

$14,051.00 - $16,883.00 per Month
New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Final Filing Date: 9/18/2026

Job Description and Duties

The Litigation Specialist serves as the OLC's top expert in litigation, acting as the primary attorney managing the OLC's litigation portfolio. This includes providing legal representation and advice to the OLC, Assembly, Senate, and other clients in difficult, complex, and sensitive litigation matters, focusing on pre-litigation advice, evaluation of claims, case-strategy development, and motion practice. The Litigation Specialist is responsible for drafting, reviewing, and revising legal documents such as pleadings, motions, writs, briefs, memoranda, and correspondence; appearing in state and federal trial and appellate courts and administrative proceedings; coordinating with, and overseeing the work of, outside counsel; monitoring pending litigation matters; tactfully and effectively communicating with clients, supervisors, colleagues, opposing counsel, or others; preparing responses to subpoenas and requests for records submitted under the Legislative Open Records Act (LORA); and performing various administrative functions such as scheduling, filing, document review, case status reporting, and maintaining appropriate case files. The position is also responsible for performing other legal work commensurate with the scope and level of responsibility of an Attorney V and the work of the OLC's Legislative Services Branch, which includes but is not limited to preparing legal advice and providing consultation to clients on difficult, complex, and sensitive issues in a variety of legal areas.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement .

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

• ATTORNEY V
• ATTORNEY IV

ATTORNEY V $14,051.00 - $16,883.00 New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Shall Consider:

ATTORNEY IV

$13,313.00 - $16,096.00

# of Positions:

1

Work Location:

Telework:

Hybrid

Job Type:

Permanent, Full Time

Work Shift:

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Work Week:

Monday - Friday

Department Information

The Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) is a small civil service department whose mission is to provide responsive nonpartisan and confidential legal services and information technology support services to the California State Legislature and in support of the legislative process. This position is located in the heart of downtown Sacramento. The State of California provides excellent health benefits and retirement options, sick leave and vacation accrual, and paid state holidays. OLC employees are excluded from collective bargaining and, therefore, receive enhanced benefits and do not contribute fair share.

Special Requirements

Do not include any confidential information on any documents you submit for a job vacancy, such as your STD 678, resume, or school transcripts. Confidential information that should be excluded or removed from these documents includes, but is not limited to, your social security number, birthdate, student identification number, driver license number (unless required), examination results, LEAP status, marital status, and age. (Note confidential information on the first page of the application submitted online through your CalCareers account will be redacted automatically upon submission).

Examination and Employment Application (STD 678):
Applicants must submit the required documents in order to be considered for this position. Failure to complete the STD. 678 in its entirety may result in disqualification.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Civil litigation experience including drafting legal pleadings, motions, briefs, and memoranda of law in support of litigation matters; conducting legal research and analysis; familiarity with the discovery process; and participation in oral arguments before state and federal courts.
• Experience in representing clients in state administrative proceedings.
• Knowledge of scope and character of California statutory laws and provisions of the California State Constitution, including their relationship to judicial precedents and federal constitutional provisions and laws, rules, organization, and operation of the California State Legislature; rules of civil procedure; court rules; principles of legal research; purposes, organization, procedures, and work of the Office of Legislative Counsel; and legal principles and precedents and their application to difficult, complex, and novel legal problems.
• Perform and direct legal research; present statements of fact, law, and argument clearly and logically; draft and review a large volume of legal correspondence; work effectively under high pressure, tight deadlines, and long hours; analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action; and follow instructions.
• Experience in a leadership role providing legal representation and advice on difficult, complex, and sensitive legal matters.
• Experience working with outside counsel, and/or managing the work of contract attorneys.
• Demonstrated ability to handle multiple assignments with accuracy and prioritize work to meet short deadlines.

All OLC employees are excluded from collective bargaining, and therefore, receive enhanced benefits, such as CoBen benefit allowance, employer paid life insurance, additional vacation/annual leave, and are not subject to State Disability Insurance payroll withholding. Additional information can be found on CalHR’s website under State Employee Benefits and Programs .

Contact Information

The Human Resources Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position or application process.

Human Resources Contact:
OLC Human Resources
[phone]
[e-mail]

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s)to the Department's EEO Office.

EEO Contact:
OLC Human Resources
[phone]
[e-mail]

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice) TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.