Senior Paralegal

NACBA; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 63,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Senior Paralegal in San Diego to support DOJ matters in the Southern District of California. The role focuses on witness management, trial preparation, and travel logistics to ensure timely appearances and reimbursements.

Ideal candidates will have a paralegal certificate or JD, plus experience with Lexis/Westlaw, and familiarity with ESI tools. U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance are required.

Qualifications

• Paralegal certificate, JD, or currently attending an ABA-accredited law school, with at least one year of study.
• One year of legal training or legal experience or two years of college can substitute for the paralegal certificate; litigation/paralegal experience preferred.
• Strong legal knowledge and ability to cite check motions/memoranda with standard legal citations; basic research using Lexis/Westlaw.
• Excellent written and oral communication; proficient with common office software and file management systems.
• Familiarity with ESI tools and eDiscovery procedures.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance.

Responsibilities

• Provide witness management assistance before, during, and after trial for fact witnesses.
• Arrange travel, lodging, and reimbursements; prepare vouchers and related documentation.
• Coordinate with Court, Probation, U.S. Marshals Service, and other agencies as needed.
• Prepare and compose correspondence from templates and maintain witness files and calendars.
• Handle general office procedures and maintain electronic and physical files.

Skills

Paralegal knowledge

Legal research

Written & oral communication

ESI tools

Public Trust clearance

Education

Paralegal certificate

JD

ABA-accredited law school

Tools

LEXIS

Westlaw

Document management systems

Word processing

Spreadsheets

Imaging

Job description

The Litigation Support Team at Leidos currently supporting the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in San Diego, CA has an opening for a Senior Paralegal to work at the US Attorney’s Southern District of California office performing litigation support duties. This is an exciting opportunity to use your experience helping the U.S. Department of Justice achieve their mission.

Typical Responsibilities include:

• Provide witness management assistance prior to, during, and after trial. Typical assignments include working directly with fact witnesses, providing assistance and support to ensure appearance for court, pre-trial conferences, and grand jury.
• Receive visitors, field phone calls, questions and other inquiries from fact witnesses seeking information pertaining to court, pre-trial conferences, grand jury appearances and expense reimbursement. Obtain pertinent information for files and documents necessary to arrange witness travel and reimbursements.
• Initiate contact/notify fact witnesses concerning travel arrangements, appearance date/time, and determine any special circumstances or needs of the fact witness. Use judgment to determine when Assistant U.S. Attorney should be notified of special circumstances or needs of fact witnesses.
• Confer with AUSA concerning fact witness appearance and special circumstances regarding witnesses (special authorizations, international witnesses, military/federal employee witnesses, or hostile witnesses).
• Complete and submit proper documentation for special authorizations and obtain prior approval before proceeding with travel arrangements.
• Prior to fact witness’ appearance, ensure all travel documents and appearance date and time have been provided to witness.
• Make necessary arrangements for fact witness travel and lodging according to Department of Justice and USAO policies and procedures.
• Prepare and submit documentation for fact witness reimbursement, i.e. witness vouchers and other required documentation for fact witnesses. Furnish requested information concerning pending and completed fact witness vouchers. Gather required documentation and reconcile Government Travel Accounts.
• Obtain information, confer, and coordinate with the Court, Probation, Pretrial, U.S. Marshals Service, investigative agencies, and other counterparts, when necessary.
• Complete variable aspects of recurring documents in conformance with the rules governing their style and format. Compose letters from templates that do not require legal interpretations but require a good working knowledge of legal procedures and specialized terminology relevant to fact witness laws and regulations.
• Perform general office procedures pertaining to fact witness management, including, but not limited to: establish and maintain a variety of fact witness files, documents and databases; assemble documents and other information for fact witness file material and retention in accordance with established procedures and Department of Justice regulations; if requested, establish and maintain calendar and/or database of active and pending fact witness appearances; track hearings, trial dates, grand jury and scheduling conferences; perform other administrative and logistical fact witness management related duties as required/assigned.

Overtime and travel may be required as needed with proper authorization.

Individual may support any division/section depending on the needs of the office at time of hire.

Basic Qualifications:

• Requires paralegal certificate, JD, or currently attending an ABA-accredited law school, having completed at least one year of study.
• One year of legal training or legal experience or at least two years of college education may be substituted for the paralegal certificate. Additionally, at least one year of litigation paralegal experience or project experience (as related to the task order) is required; trial experience very helpful.
• Must have basic legal knowledge, including knowledge of standard legal citation to cite check legal motions and memorandum and must have sufficient experience with legal research tools such as LEXIS and Westlaw to perform basic legal research.
• Requires excellent written and oral communication skills, thorough knowledge and hands‑on familiarity with a variety of computer applications, including word processing, databases (such as document review and file management systems), spreadsheets, imaging, and hardware systems.
• Role also requires basic familiarity with ESI tools and knowledge of eDiscovery procedures and resources.
• Must be a US Citizen and able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.

This position is covered under the Service Contract Act and is subject to minimum requirements. Leidos ensures that all provisions are satisfied.

The pay for this position will be $30.48/hr.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

August 21, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:

Pay Range -

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos’ name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at [e-mail].

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.