Senior Litigation Paralegal

Esquire Recruiting, LLC; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious global law firm in San Francisco is seeking a Senior Paralegal to provide high-level legal support throughout complex litigation phases. The role entails managing, mentoring junior paralegals, drafting legal documents, and ensuring compliance with court procedures. Candidates should have at least 5 years of litigation experience in an AmLaw 100 firm, strong organizational skills, and a proficient understanding of legal technologies. This hybrid position requires in-office presence at least four days a week.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience as a litigation paralegal in an AmLaw 100 or specialized litigation firm.
• Expert knowledge of Federal and State procedural rules, with strong familiarity with electronic filing requirements.
• Proficient in drafting pleadings, motions, and responses with compliance to legal standards.

Responsibilities

• Assist attorneys in all stages of complex litigation matters.
• Prepare legal documents and organize electronic case files.
• Supervise, mentor, and train junior and midlevel paralegals.

Skills

Leadership skills

Legal cite-checking

Organization

Analytical abilities

Communication skills

Education

5+ years as litigation paralegal

Tools

CompuLaw

PACER

Microsoft Office

Relativity

Job description

HOURS: 9:00 to 5:00 WFH up to 1 day per week

COMPENSATION: $120,000-$175,000

Senior Paralegal| Global Law Firm | San Francisco, CA

Our highly prestigious full-service AmLaw 100 law firm client is hiring an experienced Senior Paralegal. As part of the Talent and Career Strategy team, the Senior Paralegal provides advanced legal support throughout all phases of complex litigation and investigations while overseeing and directing the work of junior and midlevel paralegals. This role combines high-level case management responsibilities with team leadership, workflow coordination, and quality oversight. The Senior Paralegal will also play a critical role in fact development, evidence preservation, regulatory response, and risk mitigation. The Senior Paralegal operates with a high degree of autonomy, manages multiple matters at once, and serves as a key liaison between attorneys, clients, courts, and external vendors. This position demands exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, strong analytical abilities, and proficiency in litigation support technologies. Extensive knowledge of court procedures, discovery processes, legal cite checking, and trial preparation is required, as the Senior Paralegal will serve as a subject matter resource to ensure compliance with court rules and internal procedures while helping to drive operational efficiency across matters.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Assist attorneys in all stages of large, complex litigation matters from inception through post-trial, including attending and supporting depositions, hearings, trials, and arbitrations.
• Apply advanced knowledge of federal and state procedural rules and electronic filing requirements; implement and maintain case calendaring and docketing systems, ensure accuracy of key dates, and provide guidance on court-related procedural questions.
• Prepare templates and draft pleadings, motions, discovery requests and responses, and related legal documents; assist with proofreading, legal cite-checking, Bluebook compliance, and case law retrieval.
• Organize and maintain electronic case files in accordance with firm protocols; manage high volumes of documents, including client and third-party communications, client collections, productions, deposition materials, exhibits, and trial materials.
• Assist attorneys with document collection, Relativity database setup, and management, including document production.
• Perform complex data analysis, tracking, and discovery management within Relativity, including document review and database searches.
• Prepare, organize, and manage exhibits and trial materials, including pleadings, witness preparation materials, trial notebooks, deposition designations, demonstratives, and digital courtroom presentations (e.g., Trial Director, OnCue).
• Assist attorneys with internal investigations, regulatory inquiries, and compliance reviews.
• Assist attorneys with preparing materials for witness interviews, including pulling documents from Relativity and organizing materials into binders for witness interviews.

Leadership & Training Responsibilities

• Supervise, mentor, and train junior and midlevel paralegals assigned to your matters.
• Review documents and filings of other teams members for accuracy and compliance.
• Assist with paralegal onboarding, training, and performance feedback.
• Identify stretch assignments for more junior members of the team to build advanced litigation or investigative skills.
• Provide guidance, training, and mentorship to junior paralegals, including instruction on firm litigation procedures and best practices.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum 5 years of experience as a litigation paralegal in an AmLaw 100 or specialized litigation firm, with demonstrated leadership and mentorship skills appropriate for a senior-level role.
• Expert knowledge of Federal and relevant State procedural rules and electronic filing requirements, with strong familiarity with Federal and State court rules, case management systems, and e-filing databases.
• Experience drafting pleadings, and discovery requests and responses, with proficiency in legal cite-checking and Bluebook standards.
• Working knowledge of docketing applications (e.g., CompuLaw, PACER), litigation support and transcript management tools (e.g., TextMap, CaseMap, Opus2, NetDocuments), and document review/e-discovery platforms (e.g., Relativity).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), legal research platforms (e.g. LexisNexis, Westlaw), and document management/PDF tools (e.g. Kofax, Adobe Acrobat).
• Excellent organizational, prioritization, and multitasking skills with strong attention to detail; ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound judgment in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Availability to work overtime, travel, and handle after-hours filings and deliverables as needed.
• This is a hybrid role requiring in-office presence at least four days per week (Monday–Thursday).