Career Opportunity

LEGAL SECRETARY I (1458)- Citywide- (C00441)

Recruitment: REF60367A

Published: May 04, 2026

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

About:

THIS IS A CITYWIDE EXAM
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.

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:
•    Application Opening: May 4, 2026
•    Application Deadline: . The job ad will unpublish at 12:00 AM PT on May 12, 2026.
•    Salary:  $95,784 - $116,402 (compensation information: Click here
•    Recruitment ID:   CBT-1458-C00441

Department: Citywide
Job class: 1458 Legal Secretary I
Role type: Permanent Civil Service What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time
Exam type: Class Based Test
Cert Rule: Rule of List: (All candidates that are placed on the eligible list may be considered for a job opening, not just those at the top of the list. Hiring managers can choose from any of the qualified candidates on the list, regardless of ranking.)

List type: Entrance

Role description

Under supervision, the 1458 Legal Secretary I class provides legal secretarial and clerical services of a difficult, responsible and confidential nature for an attorney's office; and performs related duties as required. Supervision exercised: May supervise clerical support staff.

1458 Legal Secretary I 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.

1. Word Processes and edits a wide variety of legal documents in proper format including pleadings, briefs, correspondence, subpoenas, contracts, jury instructions, complaints, resolutions and ordinances utilizing multiple word processing systems, to prepare a variety of legal documents.

2. Abstracts information from various sources to put general information into proper legal form.

3. Transcribes legal dictation from dicta-phone or longhand notes, minutes, interviews and telephone messages; or takes and transcribes dictation from shorthand notes at a rate of 110 wpm, to prepare legal documents and correspondence.

4. Opens, maintains, monitors and closes legal case files and maintains correspondence and record files.

5. Maintains attorney appointment calendars; keeps abreast of important court dates and files legal documents with courts as mandated; assures complaints are responded to in a timely manner.

6. Provides information when possible by personally assisting callers, and exercises considerable judgment and discretion in dealing with confidential matters.

7. Prioritize duties and deadlines to accommodate work schedules of a large number of attorneys.

8. Performs related duties as required.

How to qualify

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification. Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

Experience:  Two (2) years of verifiable experience as a legal secretary transcribing dictation and typing legal documents including petitions, motions, briefs, complaints and other legal forms AND

The ability to type 55 net WPM

NOTE: The ability to transcribe legal matters accurately from a transcribing machine with no more than a 2% error rate may be required by some departments as a special condition.

Substitution: A certificate of completion in legal secretarial skills from a recognized college, university, or training program, which involved learning legal terminology and legal formats and forms, may substitute for six (6) months of the required legal secretarial experience. Proof of satisfactory completion must be submitted at the time of filing.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

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 a lower score.

VERIFICATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
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/.

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications. 

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.

SELECTION PROCEDURES:  

Application and Preliminary Questionnaire - Complete the application and preliminary questionnaire thoroughly to avoid disqualification. After you complete the application, you will be prompted to complete the preliminary questionnaire.

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): Candidates whose applications are determined to meet the minimum qualifications, may be required to complete a MQSQ. This is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position.

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

Exam Component: Multiple Choice - Legal Secretary I Exam (weight - 100%) Candidates whose applications are determined to meet the minimum qualifications will participate in a multiple-choice written exam. The exam will assess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities: Knowledge of: legal office practices, procedures, terminology and business English; knowledge of filing systems. Ability and Skill to: operate modern office equipment; ability to take transcription; ability to independently compose correspondence; ability to understand and follow directions; ability to proofread and solve problems including mathematical computations; type to complete 55 net words per minute; communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on Legal Secretary I Exam in order to be placed/ranked on the eligible list. This is a standardized multiple-choice examination and in accordance with Civil Service Rule 111.11.4, inspection privileges do not apply to the questions and answers in this examination. The hiring department may administer additional positions-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions. Candidate scores on these examinations may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

Qualified applicants will be notified by email of the exact time and date of the examinations. Requests for an alternate test date may be considered in limited circumstances and must be submitted to the analyst listed in this announcement within five (5) calendar days of the announcement of the test date.

What else should I know?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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/

Banked Score: The score that you achieve on the examination shall be valid and "banked" for three years, starting from the date you take 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 a future announcement is held within 1 year of the date of this examination, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after 1 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 twelve months from the date you last took 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 going forward since it is the most recent. If the exam is modified, your “banked” scores may no longer be valid. In such circumstance, candidates with “banked” scores would be required to re-take the exam sooner than the three-year period specified above.

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 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification Rule (Rule of List): This means that all candidates who are placed on the eligible list for this recruitment may be considered for a job opening, not just those at the top of the list. Hiring managers can choose from any of the qualified candidates on the list, regardless of ranking. To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’s Position Counts by Job Codes and Departments.

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, i.e., Mary Jackson (Mary). 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. 

Important Email Contact Information: Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that your registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that emails from CCSF are not blocked on your computer by a spam filter. Applicants should add our emails to your contacts to avoid delays in updates: SFHR Email Extensions 

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
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

If you have any questions, you may contact Hana Mendoza at hana.mendoza@sfgov.org. Be sure to include the recruitment ID: 1458 (C00441) in the subject line. 

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.