Paralegal

The City of Santa Rosa announces an exciting opportunity to serve City residents and make a difference in the community as a Paralegal.

*Note: the posted salary range includes a scheduled Equity Adjustment and Cost of Living Adjustment of 9% effective July 13, 2025.*


The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.

THE BENEFITS OF CITY EMPLOYMENT: In addition to offering a rewarding work environment, opportunity for career growth, and competitive salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave accrual package, excellent health plan options, and top of the line employer paid vision and dental coverage. The City is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) qualifying employer.

• 12 paid holidays annually, plus 2 to 3 'floating holidays' per year, depending on years of service
• 4% cost of living increase approved for July 2026
• $500 annually for wellness
• Unlimited free bus rides on CityBus and Sonoma County Transit
• Paid Family Leave

More Benefit Information can be found at this link. 

ABOUT THE POSITION: The City of Santa Rosa is seeking an experienced litigation paralegal.  This is a rare opportunity for a skilled litigation paralegal to join the City of Santa Rosa's City Attorney's Office due to an upcoming retirement. Under supervision of an attorney, paralegals perform a wide variety of complex technical and administrative legal tasks. This position will be primarily dedicated to providing civil litigation support. The litigation paralegal supports attorneys with claims, all phases of litigation (pleadings, discovery, motion work, trial, post-trial and appeal), code enforcement matters, receiverships, and short-cause matters including Pitchess motions, GVROs, weapons confiscation petitions, and animal petitions. Additionally the paralegal provides support to Department staff including responses to questions related to subpoenas and Public Records Act requests.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Three years of increasingly responsible paralegal experience in a public law office, private law firm or court environment
• Experience drafting complex legal documents
• Experience performing investigative and background work in civil litigation matters, particularly during discovery and trial
• Excellent interpersonal skills and an effective collaborative style
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Effective and creative problem-solving skills

Successful candidates must have completed a paralegal certificate program approved by the American Bar Association or demonstrate any other method to meet the qualifications of a Paralegal as outlined in California Business and Professional Code Section 6450(c).

THE DEPARTMENT:
The Santa Rosa City Attorney’s Office is comprised of highly skilled attorneys with significant public agency experience. It is a collegial and forward-looking office, highly regarded by local judges, the legal community, the City Council and City employees. The Office is committed to providing excellence in legal services and support for elected and appointed City officials, departments, boards, and commissions, as well as representing the City efficiently and effectively in litigation and administrative proceedings. The Office is integrally involved in shaping the future of the City and community of Santa Rosa. Teresa Stricker began as the City Attorney in November 2023 and reports directly to the City Council. Under her leadership, the Office is organized with the following positions:

• Chief Assistant City Attorney (1)
• Assistant City Attorney (5) 
• Deputy City Attorney (2) 
• Administrative Team: 
  • Office Administrator (1)
  • Legal Secretary (2)
  • Administrative Secretary (1)
  • Paralegals (2) 

HOW TO APPLY:
Please complete a thoughtful, thorough Supplemental Questionnaire submission. As part of the selection process, your responses to these questions will be scored using criteria specific to this position. Incomplete responses, or responses such as "See Resume" can result in disqualification from the selection process. 

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/srcity/jobs/4979520/paralegal

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter.
SELECTION PROCESS: Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of the application materials and supplemental questionnaire will be invited to continue in a selection process that may consist solely of an application screening, or may include an oral appraisal interview, or another activity selected by the Human Resources Department. An eligible list will be established as a result of this selection process and may be used to fill future vacancies.

Examples of Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of an attorney, paralegals:
 

• Perform a wide variety of complex, legal and administrative tasks and other confidential duties for attorneys in the City Attorney's Office, including assisting in client interviews, investigation/fact gathering, drafting of general pleadings and discovery requests and responses, and trial preparation and attendance;
• organize litigation files and review and organize records;
• cite check motions and Shepardize cases;
• perform legal research;
• review contracts and insurance certificates;
• administer ordinances;
• provide support and assistance to various City Departments, Boards and Commissions;
• organize and package informational materials;
• collect monies due to the City;
• research and analyze a variety of sources such as statutes, ordinances, court decisions, legal documents and articles for use in preparing legal documents, opinions, contracts, ordinances, resolutions, briefs and pleadings;
• draft and review legal documents for form and completeness, including proofreading and cite checking;
• perform investigation, organization and research and background work as needed for claims and lawsuits from inception through discovery and trial;
• interview witnesses and work with property owners and title officers on special assessment collections.
• prepare printed materials;
• deliver documents and materials;
• and perform all other related duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Knowledge of: Basic legal concepts, principles, terminology and procedures; general legal reference materials; operation of computers and word processing equipment; business English, spelling, grammar, punctuation; modern legal office practice and procedures; and legal filing systems. Ability to: Formulate a plan to reach an objective without direction or supervision; understand statutes, court decisions, ordinances, resolutions and legal documents; do legal work under supervision of an attorney; conduct a wide variety of research work involving significant initiative, discretion, critical thinking analysis and judgment; prepare routine legal documents without the assistance of an attorney; read, interpret and apply laws, rules and directions; communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; operate a word processor/computer terminal; maintain regular office hours and be available on call as needed to meet deadlines; understand the organization and operation of municipal government and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities; deal effectively with other employees, departments, attorneys, the public and outside agencies; work independently, under pressure, to organize and prioritize work loads so as to keep several projects progressing to completion simultaneously with little or no direction; and identify problems, evaluate alternatives and make logical decisions. Experience and Education: Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain knowledge and abilities would be: Experience - one year performing paralegal work in civil litigation in a public law office similar to the Santa Rosa City Attorney's Office or two years performing paralegal work in civil litigation in a private law office; Education - equivalent to completion of twelfth grade.

Additional Information

Note: Successful candidates must also meet the qualifications of a Paralegal as outlined in California Business and Professional Code Section 6450(c).

The City does not discriminate on the basis of disability in employment. Requests for reasonable accommodations needed to participate in the recruitment process may be made by submitting a Request for Reasonable Accommodation Form within five (5) business days of being noticed that an event requiring accommodation is occurring. 

Please mention you found this employment opportunity on the CareersInGovernment.com job board.

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• City of Santa Rosa

• 707-543-3060