Catastrophic Injury Defense Associate

Distinct | North America; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Catastrophic Injury Defense Associate role in hybrid San Francisco neighborhood is seeking a California-licensed attorney with 2–6 years of litigation experience. This position handles catastrophic injury, premises, product, and general liability defense for insurers, with a salary range of $160,000 to $200,000 and a bonus potential.

The role requires managing multiple cases, timely discovery, depositions, and defense strategy, with a hybrid work model in San Francisco and a focus on

Qualifications

• 2–6 years in litigation or related defense work.
• Licensed to practice law in California.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Picking up a new claim at the start and setting the plan for it.
• Taking and defending depositions.
• Written discovery and document review.
• Arguing motions and handling mediation or trial with the carrier kept in the loop.

Skills

Litigation

Education

California Bar

Job description

Catastrophic Injury Defense Associate | Hybrid, San Francisco | $160,000 to $200,000

A juggler with three balls looks like someone having a nice afternoon in the park. Give them five and the face changes, the eyes lock on a spot about a foot above their head and the tongue comes out at the corner of the mouth. At seven the people watching start to feel a bit nervous for them, and a few wander off toward the ice cream truck. Keep adding and at some point it stops being a performance and becomes an incident, with somebody from the city walking over holding a clipboard.

Plenty of defense associates in California are carrying sixty files and the clipboard never turns up. This seat runs at ten to twenty matters. At that number you get through the medical records on your own, handwritten pages and all, and you know whose deposition is next Thursday without having to open anything to check.

It's catastrophic injury, premises, product and general liability defense for insurers, hybrid out of San Francisco, at $160,000 to $200,000 with a bonus on top. They want somewhere between two and six years in litigation, the California Bar, and someone organized enough that none of the twenty ever gets forgotten about.

• Picking up a new claim at the start and setting the plan for it


• Taking and defending depositions


• Written discovery going both ways, plus the document review that nobody ever puts on their LinkedIn


• Arguing your own motions, then taking the file to mediation or trial with the carrier kept in the loop the whole way

The firm's a big defense name with serious insurer clients, so the files have some weight to them and the benefits are decent.