Career Opportunity

Legal Assistant (8173) - Citywide - (C00414)

Recruitment: REF60030W

Published: February 13, 2026

Accepting applications until: February 20, 2026

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

This is a Citywide Exam posting. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam.

If you pass the exam, you will be emailed your score and ranking on the eligible candidate list. When a department has an open position with this job classification they will use this eligible list to hire for that position. Departments will contact candidates from this list to gauge interest in their specific roles. Learn more about the City’s hiring process here: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/

Application Opening: Friday, February 13, 2026

Application Deadline: Apply Immediately. Application filing will be open at least through Friday, February 20, 2026 and will close any time thereafter. 

Salary Range: $101,348 - $132,600

San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city, on the forefront of economic growth & innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues & change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our City's commitment to heighten the quality of life for the diverse population of San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our City what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco.

Role description

Under supervision of an attorney, performs a variety of paraprofessional legal duties for one of the legal departments of City government; engages in legal research assignments; interviews clients; and assists in the preparation of legal documents and instruments.

Essential duties:

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job code/class and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

• Investigates, collects, and compiles case materials and documentary evidence in criminal and civil cases, including contract and personal injury litigation.
• Drafts Complaints, Affidavits, Motions, Interrogatories and other pleadings connected with trial preparation and discovery; interviews witnesses and assists the attorney at trial or at depositions.
• Performs legal research and assists in the preparation of contracts, leases, briefs and legal opinions; may perform statistical research required for litigation.
• Assists in the preparation of legislation, including research of existing statutes and regulations, review of existing legislation for possible conflicts with proposed legislation and analysis or digesting of proposed legislation.
• As assigned, maintains a tracking system for adjusting claims against the City, coordinates investigation and departmental review of claims and communicates with members of the public and departmental representatives relative to claims against the City.
• Corresponds and communicates with attorneys, representatives of other governmental agencies and the general public.
• As assigned, reviews and analyzes discovery, depositions, exhibits, and pleadings to extract facts pertinent to issues argued in the brief; may organize and assemble exhibits, affidavits and other legal documents for use in preparing hearings and trials.
• Interviews citizens with complaints and obtains information for appropriate City legal department; may observe a variety of legal conferences and proceedings; when assigned, attends and observes court room activities.

How to qualify

Certificate of completion of a paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association.

Substitution: The required education may be substituted by other qualifying combinations of education and experience as described in the California Business and Professions Code Section 6450 for Paralegals.

Verification of Education and Experience:

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.  

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://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/. 

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.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedure: After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Legal Assistant Examination (100%): Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to take a multiple-choice exam to determine your relative knowledge, skill and ability level in one or more of the following job-related areas.  These areas may include, but not be limited to:

• Knowledge of legal procedures, legal terminology, and legal research techniques
• Ability to manage large databases and information
• Ability to write effectively and prepare legal documents and forms
• Ability to analyze legal problems
• Ability to perform legal research with accuracy
• Ability to deal tactfully with attorneys, office and court personnel, representatives of other governmental entities and the general public.

This is a standardized multiple-choice examination. In accordance with Civil Service Rule 111.11.4, inspection privileges do not apply to the questions and answers in this examination.

The multiple-choice exam will be administered remotely. This computer-administered exam can be taken at home. Candidates must have access to a computer and reliable internet connection to participate in this exam. Candidates will be scheduled for a specific time and date to complete the examination.

The score you achieve on this examination shall be valid and "banked" for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time period, you will not be required to take this test again should you apply and be found eligible for a future announcement for which this particular test is used. If the test for this future announcement is held within one year of the date of this examination, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after one year, you have the option to either (a) apply your test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the test. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the examination and only in association with your eligibility for another announcement for which this test is used. Please note that, should you re-test, your re-test score would become your official score since it is the most recent (even if it turns out to be lower than your original score).

If a significant modification is made to this exam in the future, the application of “banked” scores may no longer be appropriate. In such a rare circumstance, candidates with “banked” scores would be required to re-take the exam sooner than the three-year period specified above.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the examination in order to be placed on the resulting eligible list.

Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

Eligible List/Score Report:
A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’s Position Counts by Job Codes and Departments.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/.]

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4.  Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at https://sf.gov/departments/civil-service-commission.

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
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Where to Apply 

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.  

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110. 

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues. 

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@smartrecruiters.com 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. 

If you have any questions, you may contact Casey Botkin at casey.botkin@sfgov.org. Recruitment ID: REF60030W

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.