Graduate Legal Assistant

Job Description and Duties
Under the close supervision and direction of the Deputy Chief Counsel (DCC) and/or Assistant Chief Counsel (ACC) and attorneys, the Graduate Legal Assistant provides legal and policy support, studies, interprets and applies laws, court decisions, and other authorities in the preparation of moderately difficult and/or complex cases, opinions, and briefs; prepares and presents cases for trial; and/or does a variety of transactional work.
Practice areas include: Tort, Eminent Domain, Inverse Condemnation, Environmental Law, Employment, Construction Contract Disputes, Appellate Practice, in-house transactional work and more. Our attorneys represent the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in State and Federal courts in all phases of litigation, including trial and appellate work. They also advise and assist the Department in delivering projects. Junior attorneys and Graduate Legal Assistants are assigned to a practice group and trained in all aspects of the practice. They are given early exposure to discovery and trial preparation as well as legal research and drafting pleadings. Mid-level attorneys are expected to handle all aspects of a case including taking and defending depositions, taking cases to trial as first or second chair counsel, and appellate work. All employees receive training in Caltrans’ policies and practices along with continuing legal education.
The position is in our Los Angeles Legal Office. The Los Angeles Legal Office is one of five offices comprising the Caltrans Legal Division (Sacramento/HQ,Bay Area/Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego and Fresno). All five offices work together as one Caltrans Legal Division. We have statewide administrative (legal support) committee with members from each office to facilitate information sharing and networking. Our overall environment is both supportive and challenging where employees are given substantial responsibility at every stage of their career.
As an employee of the State of California the total compensation and benefits are excellent. This includes holidays, vacation and sick leave (or annual leave) and health, dental, vision and pension benefits.
Eligibility for hire may be determined by your score on the Graduate Legal Assistant Exam. For those who do not have current eligibility (e.g., transfer, permissive reinstatement, or voluntary demotions) and/or who will be new to state civil services employment, you must be on the state examination list to be eligible for these positions. The Graduate Legal Assistant Exam is located here: CalCareers
The Human Resources Contact is available to answer questions regarding the application process. The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position.

CANDIDATES THAT MEET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS BASED ON POSSESSION OF EDUCATION, LICENSE, OR CERTIFICATE MUST INCLUDE A COPY OF YOUR DEGREE/TRANSCRIPTS, LICENSE, OR CERTIFICATE, ALONG WITH YOUR STATE APPLICATION (STD. 678), TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION.

NOTE: Do not submit the “Equal Employment Opportunity” questionnaire (page 5) with your completed State application (STD. 678). This page is for examination use only. Do not include any confidential information on any documents you submit for this job vacancy, such as your state application, resume, or educational transcripts. Confidential information that should be excluded or removed from these documents includes, but is not limited to, your Social Security Number, birth date, driver’s license number, examination results, LEAP status, marital status, and age. The job application packet checklist is not required to apply for this position. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your application not being considered for this position.
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