Research Attorney - Civil Litigation

  

ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT

The Orange County Superior Court is the third largest court of general jurisdiction in California. We have courthouses throughout the county, including locations in Orange, Westminster, Fullerton, Newport Beach, and Santa Ana. We have a staff of about 1,500 and an operating budget of nearly $250 million. The Court's Judges, Commissioners and employees are recognized for their high standards of achievement, integrity, and diversity. The Court is committed to ensuring equal access to court services and enhancing public confidence in the court system.

To learn more about the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, visit our homepage at www.occourts.org.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Research Attorneys work under the direction of the Judges and the General Counsel. They are required to carefully review pleadings, petitions, and law and motion papers and thoroughly research and analyze the law. They also prepare concise and organized memoranda with recommendations to the Court. These positions are responsible for a high volume of work with short deadlines.

A research attorney assigned to Civil Litigation will work directly with one or more Judicial Officers assigned to the Civil Panel.  The work will primarily involve drafting recommended rulings on all law and motion matters that come before the Court in civil matters, such as demurrers, motions to strike, summary judgment/adjudication motions, anti-SLAPP motions, administrative writs, and a wide range of discovery motions.  
 
The ideal candidate has exceptional analytical ability and extensive research and writing experience, preferably in a large law firm environment.

Note: Attorneys may be reassigned at any time to General Civil, Complex Civil, Criminal, Family Law, Juvenile, Probate or Appellate Departments, depending on the needs of the Court.

To learn more about the duties of this position, click HERE to view the job description.
Bar Membership
Active membership in good standing with the California State Bar.

Experience
At least three (3) years of post-California Bar civil litigation experience is required.

Writing Sample
Applicants must submit a self-edited writing sample with their application.

Desirable Qualifications
At least five (5) years of experience practicing in one or more of the following areas:

• Civil litigation with an emphasis in law and motion
• Civil legal research

Skills
Be proficient in online and Windows-based legal research applications, MS Word and Adobe. Excellent research and writing skills are essential, along with the ability to work independently on a wide variety of legal issues of varied complexity, to effectively manage one's time in order to meet stringent time constraints, and to interact professionally with Judicial Officers, colleagues and court staff.

Application Process
All applicants are required to submit a completed online application, supplemental questionnaire and a self-edited writing sample. To learn more about how to create an account/application, click HERE.

Résumés will not be accepted in lieu of the required application and supplemental questionnaire.

Human Resources will review applications to identify candidates who meet the minimum qualifications; therefore, it is to your benefit to include all current and previous related work experience.

Selection Process

• Step 1: Applications will be reviewed to identify candidates who meet the minimum qualifications and/or desirables; those candidates will be referred to step 2 in the selection process.
• Step 2: Candidates' supplemental question responses may be evaluated and ranked. Depending on the number of applications, assessments and/or screening interviews may be conducted. If any part of the assessment process consists of proctored, in-person tests, candidates will be required to appear in person regardless of where they reside. Note: Though candidates may live outside of the State of California while participating in a recruitment process, individuals must reside within the State to be eligible for Court employment.
• Step 3: Those candidates who are successful in the review/assessment may be placed on the eligible list. Placement on the eligible list is not a guarantee of interview or employment.

All candidates will be notified via email of their status at each step of the process. Additional steps for the selection process will include a local background and reference check.

Background Check
A thorough background check will be conducted, including but not limited to work experience, education, certifications, driving record, criminal record, litigation judgment or verdict, and financial/credit information. Fingerprints of candidates are also taken as part of our background check process.

Reasonable Accommodations
Orange County Superior Court provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities, upon request. Please contact the Human Resources Department at HRStaffing@occourts.org if you feel that you will need a reasonable accommodation for any aspect of the selection process.

Eligible List
This recruitment will be used to establish an eligible list for current and future vacancies. The eligible list will remain active until the list is exhausted or a new recruitment opens.

Status Notifications
You will be notified by email during the process of this recruitment through governmentjobs.com. Please check your email spam/junk folders and accept emails ending with governmentjobs.com and occourts.org. If your information changes, please update your profile at www.governmentjobs.com.

eVerify
Superior Court of California, County of Orange participates in the eVerify program.

Questions?
For questions on this recruitment, please contact Monica Budd at mbudd@occourts.org.  For general employment information, please click HERE.
 

Salary : $126,776 - $161,554