Capital Habeas Paralegal: Post-Conviction Litigation Leader

Federal Public Defender, Central District of California; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Retirement benefits

Job summary

The Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California seeks a full-time paralegal for its Capital Habeas Unit in Los Angeles. The role supports attorneys in capital and noncapital federal post-conviction work and requires handling discovery, ESI, and case management across multiple databases.

Ideal candidates hold a bachelor's degree with substantial paralegal experience in complex litigation; ABA paralegal certification is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required with five+ years of paralegal experience in complex litigation.
• Paralegal certificate from ABA-approved program preferred but not required.
• Experience with ESI, legal databases, and document management is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Assist attorneys in case preparation for filings, depositions and hearings.
• Maintain high-volume cases using various databases and programs.
• Identify documents to support investigation plans and legal claims.
• Prepare, organize, and track discovery requests and responses.
• Prepare expert productions, including reports and declarations.
• Cite check briefs and summarize research and procedural history.
• Create, maintain, and update case databases and witness files.
• Travel to courts and agencies to reproduce records.
• Review ESI and present to case teams; use forensic tools to extract data.
• Edit and ingest load files; tag and export content; use digital tools in court.

Skills

Paralegal experience

Civil litigation

Criminal litigation

Case management

Legal research

EDiscovery/ESI review

Discovery management

Office 365

Data organization

Education

Bachelor's degree

ABA-approved paralegal certificate

Tools

PACER

Westlaw/LexisNexis

dtSearch

Adobe Acrobat

Office 365 suite

Job description

The Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California seeks a full-time paralegal for its Capital Habeas Unit in Los Angeles. The role supports attorneys in capital and noncapital federal post-conviction work and requires handling discovery, ESI, and case management across multiple databases.

Ideal candidates hold a bachelor's degree with substantial paralegal experience in complex litigation; ABA paralegal certification is preferred.