The posting
Company Description
Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX) position; individuals who are appointed to Exempt Positions are appointed at the pleasure of their appointing officer and are considered to be "at-will."
- Application Opening: October 9, 2026
- Application Deadline: Continuous, earliest close 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 23, 2026
- Compensation Range: $158,548-$277,810
- Recruitment ID: RTF0157346-01097720
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for an experienced and motivated civil litigator to join its Labor Team to represent the City in employment litigation matters in state and federal court and administrative tribunals.
About the Office
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is an innovative, nationally recognized municipal law office working to protect and advance the rights and interests of the City and County of San Francisco and its residents. With over 350 talented and dedicated employees, the Office provides exceptional legal services to the City’s Mayor, Board of Supervisors, officials, and departments. Our work empowers City leaders with effective, responsive, and creative legal solutions and representation so they can deliver critical public services, and our affirmative advocacy enhances the lives and wellbeing of San Francisco’s residents and visitors.
The Office recognizes that diversity in the backgrounds, identities, and experiences of our employees enriches our workplace and enhances our work. We aspire to recruit, employ, retain, and promote talented individuals representing the full spectrum of our community, and welcome all candidates, including candidates of any race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and age, and candidates with disabilities. We have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of people want to come and stay, grow professionally, and find purpose and engagement, and where all employees feel welcomed and respected, and valued for their work and contributions to the Office and the City.
The Office offers a hybrid work schedule for eligible employees.
To learn more about the City Attorney's Office, please visit our website.
Job Description
About the Labor Team
The Labor Team is a collaborative and dynamic group of 20 attorneys, six paralegals and legal assistants, and six legal secretaries. The Team defends the City in state and federal civil litigation (through trial and appeals), in administrative proceedings involving employment and labor matters, and provides proactive advice and risk management strategies to its client departments on all aspects of the City’s labor and employment relationships. The Team advises and represents the City in its on-going relationships with the more than 30 unions that represent City employees, including collective bargaining, labor grievance arbitrations, and defending unfair labor practice and other administrative charges.
Deputy City Attorney Position and Responsibilities
For this recruitment, the Office seeks an experienced attorney to represent the City in employment litigation and administrative matters. The attorney will handle all aspects of their cases, including case assessment, litigation strategy, client communication and coordination, conducting and responding to discovery, all motion practice, settlement evaluation and negotiation, trial and appeal.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualifications
- Licensed to practice law in California
Desired Qualifications
- Five or more years of civil litigation experience
- Three or more years of employment litigation experience
- Ability to handle all phases of litigation, including intake and investigation, written discovery, depositions, motion practice, settlement negotiation, trial, and appeal
- Ability to manage, investigate, and litigate multiple matters in both state and federal courts and administrative proceedings
- Experience handling court appearances and oral argument
- Familiarity with state and federal rules of civil procedure and local rules of court.
- Experience with e-discovery
- Demonstrated interest, comfort, and good working knowledge of sophisticated document review tools
- Ability to work effectively with paralegals, legal assistants, investigators, and other colleagues
- Ability to assume responsibility quickly, work both independently and collaboratively, and identify and assess substantive and procedural legal issues
- Ability to work effectively and efficiently, meet multiple competing deadlines, manage workload changes, and dive into new assignments quickly
- Excellent written and oral communication and advocacy skills
- Ability to exercise excellent judgment, adapt to changes, and be curious
- Excellent interpersonal skills and a positive attitude
- Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment
- Interest and ability to work successfully as part of a team
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.
Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.
All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.
Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.
Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.
Selection Procedures
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the oral/performance interview.
Additional Information
Salary and Benefits
The Deputy City Attorney position has a 16-step salary scale ranging from $158,548 to $277,810. The successful applicant is appointed to a salary step based on years of experience as a lawyer. The City offers robust health, retirement and other benefits. For more information please visit: https://sfdhr.org/benefits-overview. Attorneys are represented by the Municipal Attorneys Association. Information about compensation and benefits is available by entering Classification Code 8177 at https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/.
Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:
- Information About the Hiring Process
- Conviction History
- Employee Benefits Overview
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Disaster Service Worker
- ADA Accommodation
- Right to Work
- Copies of Application Documents
- Diversity Statement
HOW TO APPLY
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.
- Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen
- Make sure to include your CA Bar Number in the education section on your application
- Upload a Cover Letter and a Resume
Applicants who advance in the selection process must submit at least two references and at least two writing samples including at least one significant and substantive filed brief.
Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfcityatty.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).
Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.
Human Resources Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please send your inquires to Jumy Dang, Senior Human Resources Analyst, at [email protected].
The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.
