Senior Associate Tax Attorney

Brotman Law; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision benefits

401(k) match

Continuing education budget

Mentorship from managing attorney

Job summary

Brotman Law in San Diego is seeking a junior tax associate who will be client-facing from day one. You will be on cases, join examinations and meetings, and contribute to tax matters across IRS and state audits. The role offers a hybrid work arrangement with a focus on developing your own book of business over time.

Ideal candidates bring 8–15 years of practice, a strong track record, and a self-starter mindset. California bar is a plus; reciprocity is supported if licensed elsewhere.

Qualifications

• 8–15 years of practice.
• California bar is a plus, not required. Reciprocity if licensed elsewhere.
• Personable, calm, and confident with clients.
• Strong law school performance and a track record of outperforming.
• Self-starter who moves things forward in ambiguous situations.

Responsibilities

• Client-facing from day one; work includes meetings and calls with clients.
• Work spans IRS and California audits across income, employment, and sales tax; appeals and litigation.
• Shadow initially, then run matters with supervision and grow your own book of work.

Skills

Client-facing

Multi-tasking

Job description

Brotman Law is a San Diego tax law firm. Since 2013, we have represented over 400 clients in IRS and California audits, defended matters at every level up through federal litigation, and saved our clients over $1B in taxes. We are growing, and we are hiring a junior tax associate to grow with us into a senior, client-facing attorney over the next several years.

This is a client-facing role from the start. You will be on cases from day one — on the phone with clients, in meetings, sitting in on examinations and appeals, and running pieces of matters as you ramp up.

About the Firm

Brotman Law is a fast-paced, collaborative practice built around the idea that great client work and a great life can go together. We hire attorneys who value challenge, who care about results, and who genuinely enjoy the people they work with. Most importantly, our people like the work and like working with each other.

Our clients are business owners, investors, and other successful people who have a tax problem the IRS, FTB, or CDTFA has put on their desk. They are sophisticated, and they want someone who can see the whole playing field, address their broader challenges, and get them a result. We built Brotman Law to meet them at that level.

About the Position

• Client-facing from day one. You will be in front of clients regularly. The first six months are heavy on shadowing, learning our systems, and ramping up. After that, you start running matters with supervision and growing into your own book of work.
• The work spans the practice. IRS and California audits across income, employment, and sales tax. Collections work, including installment agreements, Offers in Compromise, and CDP hearings. Appeals. Tax Court. ERC defense. Transactional work and entity structuring. Tax optimization and planning for business owners and high-net-worth individuals. Clients typically come to us with one issue and have three more by the end of the engagement, so flexibility, multi-tasking, and adaptability all matter.
• Hybrid out of our San Diego office. Usually two or three days a week in, the rest from wherever you work best.
• 1,750 annual billable hours, based on a 48-week year and an 85% utilization rate — about a nine-hour day. Through our Brotman Law: Your Way Program and Unlimited Vacation system, you design your own week. We trust our people to manage their own time and to deliver.
• 50 hours of formal professional learning annually. We pay for it. We encourage our attorneys to be multi-disciplinary — tax, business, finance, communication, whatever sharpens your edge.
• Long-term upside. Our compensation and equity model is built to reward the people who grow into senior attorneys here. We are building a firm that lasts, and we want the people we hire to build it with us.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a junior version of the senior attorney you would like to become — the kind of attorney a client asks for by name.

• 8–15 years of practice. California bar is a plus, not required. We will support reciprocity if you are licensed elsewhere.
• Personable, calm, and confident. You enjoy people. You can hold a room. Clients should feel steadier after a call with you, not more anxious. This is the most important quality on the list.
• A track record of outperforming. Strong law school performance, internships, prior work, things you have built. In the past, you have run circles around the people around you, and you can point to specifics, not just credentials.
• A self-starter. You bring a recommendation, not just an issue. You handle ambiguity well and move things forward.
• Hungry to learn. You read about tax law in your free time because you find it interesting. You want to be excellent, not adequate.
• Comfortable with pace. Our environment is fast. Deals close, examinations open, deadlines move. If you prefer a slow, predictable pace, this is probably not the right fit.
• Multi-disciplinary curiosity. You are interested in business, in psychology, in how clients actually think, in how the firm itself runs. The best tax attorneys are good advisors first and narrow technicians second.
• Confident without being arrogant. You can be the youngest person on a call and still earn the trust of the partner and the client. You can disagree productively, and you can be wrong gracefully.
• Genuinely ambitious. You are looking at this job because you want to become a really good lawyer over the long run.

Compensation

• $175,000–$250,000 starting salary, based on experience and the value you can bring to the Firm.
• Performance bonuses, typically 10–20% of base.
• Hybrid work and flexible scheduling.
• Industry-leading health, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) match.
• Real continuing-education budget and direct mentorship from the managing attorney.

We look forward to meeting you and speaking with you soon.