Law Clerk - Legal Research Assistant (0676)

LAW CLERK

LEGAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT

(Class Code 0676)

Open only to graduating law school students & law school graduates.

One-year appointments.

The Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, is actively seeking third-year law students and law school graduates interested in a temporary one-year law clerk position with the Court. The Court law clerk position provides a great opportunity to sharpen research and writing skills while being exposed to a wide variety of legal issues and offers insight into the judicial process. Law clerks perform legal work, legal research, and legal consultation for Court judicial officers and staff and perform other job-related duties as required. 

FINAL FILING DATE:          12:00 PM, January 27, 2025

COMPENSATION:               $88,554 annually ($3,405.94 biweekly)*

The Court offers a generous benefits package including a variety of health and dental insurance plans, paid sick leave, floating holidays, and holiday pay.

*Appointments are made at the first step of the salary range with subsequent increases annually up to the top step of the salary range. All salaries are subject to payroll deductions.

POSITION OVERVIEW

Legal Research Assistants are generally assigned as law clerks in the Criminal Division or Civil Division (including the departments of the Presiding Judge, Probate, Family, Law and Motion, Asbestos, Complex Litigation, general Civil, the Housing Court, and the Appellate Division). Incumbents provide legal research, briefing memos, and statements of decision to applicable bench officers.

Work is performed in an office environment; continuous contact with other staff; may have contact with the public or attorneys appearing before the court.

Physical Requirements: Sit for extended periods; frequently stand and walk; normal manual dexterity and eye-hand coordination; lift and move objects weighing up to 25 lbs.; corrected hearing and vision to normal range; verbal communication; use of office equipment, including computer, telephone, calculator, copiers, and FAX.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants must be in their third year of law school with the expectation of graduating from law school prior to June 30, 2025, or otherwise be a law school graduate by that date. Applicants must take the July 2025 California Bar exam or be an active member of the State Bar of California. Applicants must be skilled in legal writing and research; and should be able to type, use computer equipment, and be familiar with the use of Lexis and Westlaw.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested individuals must apply online and include a valid email address where the applicant can receive future correspondence regarding the position. To be considered for the position, applicants must submit ALL the following required documents:

• Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, online employment application (fully completed). 

•       Resume, including law school activities and related work experience.

•       Law school transcripts.

•       Three letters of recommendation.

•       A writing sample of not more than five pages in length.

The required documents are very important to the selection process. It is recommended that applicants review the information in this announcement and on the application very carefully. Once the application has been submitted, it cannot be corrected, changed or resubmitted. All applications must be submitted online by the final filing date and time indicated in this announcement.

The Court strongly prefers that all the required documents listed above, including law school transcripts and letters of recommendation, are submitted with the application so that all the required documents are submitted by the applicant as one complete package. However, law school transcripts and letters of recommendation that are being submitted separately must also be submitted electronically and received by the Court by the final filing date and time indicated in this announcement. The Court will not be responsible for individually submitted documents that become separated from the application package from an applicant. Failure to comply with the submission of all these required documents may result in automatic disqualification from consideration.

Law school transcripts and letters of recommendation that must be submitted separately from the application package can be emailed to cstrand@sftc.org. All documents must be submitted electronically.

SELECTION PROCESS

Initial Screening:

Applications received by the final filing date and time will be evaluated to determine if the application package is complete, as required, and that the applicants meet the minimum qualifications. Only those applicants who submit a complete application package and who meet the minimum qualifications will be considered for an oral interview. The Court will further evaluate applications and select for interview only those applicants it deems may best meet the needs of the Court. Not all applicants will be scheduled for an interview.

Written Exercise and Oral Interview:

Selected applicants will take a written exercise and be interviewed by representatives of the Court to determine their relative knowledge, ability, and skill levels in job related areas. It is anticipated that the written exercise and interviews will be conducted in March 2025.

The written exercise and interviews will be conducted remotely or in-person.

Qualified applicants with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodation to participate in the selection process should complete the relevant section of the employment application.

APPOINTMENT INFORMATION

Appointments to these temporary positions are for one year only.

It is anticipated that selected candidates will begin working on September 2, 2025.

Employment is subject to security clearance. Any false statement or omission of material fact may cause forfeiture of employment. Information presented on employment applications, resumes, attachments, and during the selection process is subject to verification. Employees are prohibited from engaging in activities which conflict with the interests of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. 

Immigration laws require that all employees hired after November 6, 1986, must provide proof of work eligibility. At the time of appointment to a position, all applicants must possess a valid Social Security number and will be required to present original documents which verify citizenship or legal alien status as well as identity (such as a social security card and driver's license, or a green card and a driver's license, or a valid U.S. passport).

THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO, IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. APPLICANTS SHALL NOT BE FAVORED OR DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BECAUSE OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, GENDER, NATIONAL ORIGIN, ANCESTRY, CITIZENSHIP, AGE, MARITAL STATUS, PHYSICAL DISABILITY, MENTAL DISABILITY, MEDICAL CONDITION, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENETIC INFORMATION, UNION ACTIVITY, POLITICAL AFFILIATION, OR OTHER NON-MERIT FACTOR.

For questions on the above information, contact the Human Resources Office of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, (415) 551-0381.