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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 just over 300 talented, dedicated, and diverse 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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Office recognizes that diversity in the backgrounds, ideas and lived experiences of our employees enriches our workplace and enhances our work.  We aspire to recruit, employ, retain and promote capable 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, age and candidates with disabilities.  We have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and stay, and where employees feel welcomed, engaged and valued for their work and contributions to the Office and the City.  To learn more about the Office’s efforts to provide a welcoming, diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace please click here.

Current Opportunities

Deputy City Attorney, Worker Protection Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated Deputy City Attorney to join its Worker Protection Team.

The mission of the Worker Protection Team is to protect the rights of workers in San Francisco and California with an emphasis on combatting systemic business practices that exploit marginalized workers. Building on the Office’s longstanding leadership in affirmative litigation, the Team investigates and litigates instances of wage theft, employee misclassification, and other abusive workplace practices. The Team also advises and supports the City’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE), which enforces more than two dozen local workplace protection ordinances, including ordinances that establish rights to a minimum wage, paid sick leave. paid parental leave, and healthcare benefits. The Team also drafts relevant legislation and amicus briefs, and performs other duties consistent with the Team’s mission.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Deputy City Attorney, Labor Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated Deputy City Attorney to join its Health & Human Services Team.

The Labor Team is a collaborative and dynamic group of 19 attorneys, five 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.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Deputy City Attorney, Business/Tax Litigator, Tax Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated litigator to litigate tax disputes along with subject matter experts on its Tax Team.

This position would work with tax advice attorneys on the City’s Tax Team to defend the City in tax suits filed by taxpayers, including high-value cases and cases of first impression.  The position would involve significant law and motion practice, bench trials, and all levels of appellate review.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Deputy City Attorney, Government Litigation Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated Deputy City Attorney to join its Government Litigation Team.

The Government Litigation Team is a collaborative and dynamic group of four attorneys, two paralegals, and two legal secretaries. The Team handles litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts, principally on the defense side. The Team’s docket is broad, and generally focuses on defending the legality of City ordinances, regulations, and programs and of quasi-judicial decisions made by City administrative agencies challenged through administrative mandamus. The Team is experienced in litigating issues of federal and state preemption and all manner of federal and state Constitutional claims, focusing particularly on issues of free speech, free exercise and/or establishment of religion, equal protection, and due process. The Team also litigates issues arising under California constitutional or statutory provisions limiting the enactment of local taxes and fees, as well as under state and local open meeting and public records laws. Most of the Team’s cases involve principally legal rather than factual issues.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Deputy City Attorney, Government Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated Deputy City Attorney to join its Government Team.

The Government Team provides legal advice and serves as general counsel to San Francisco’s Mayor, Board of Supervisors, City Administrator, and an array of other City officials and agencies. This includes City agencies that protect public safety, such as the Police Department, Fire Department, and Department of Emergency Management; those that promote equality and human dignity, such as the Human Rights Commission, Immigrant Rights Commission, and Office of Labor Standards Enforcement; those that enhance the quality of life in the City, such as the Recreation and Park Department, Arts Commission, and Public Library; those that promote good government and accountability, such as the Controller, Civil Service Commission, and Department of Police Accountability; and those that ensure careful review of agency decisions directly affecting the interests of the public, such as the Board of Appeals and the Assessment Appeals Board.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Deputy City Attorney, Workers’ Compensation Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated Deputy City Attorney to join its Workers’ Compensation Team.

The Workers’ Compensation Team is a collaborative group of ten attorneys, two legal secretaries and one paralegal.  This team represents City departments in all workers’ compensation matters at the Workers Compensation Appeal Board and within the City’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program (carve-out).  This team engages in extensive discovery, negotiation, settlement, litigation, trial, and appellate work. This team advises the Department of Human Resources, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and other departments on developing workers’ compensation issues, including recent legislative changes and other legal developments.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Legal Secretary, Land Use and Real Estate & Finance Teams

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated legal secretary to join and jointly support its Land Use and Real Estate & Finance Teams.

Land Use Team

The Land Use Team is a group of twelve attorneys, two paralegals, and one legal secretary. The Team’s practice includes advice work, drafting and advising on legislation, and litigation. Members of the team serve as general counsel for the City’s Planning, Public Works, and Building Inspection departments, and advise the oversight commissions for those departments.

The Team works on public and private project land use entitlements. Attorneys advise City agencies on projects that involve planning and zoning laws; housing requirements, including affordable housing issues; environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act; building permits and Building Code matters; subdivision and condominium maps; streets and sidewalks, including encroachments, street closures and street vacations; takings law and eminent domain; development impact fees and nexus studies; and historic preservation. Attorneys also draft legislation that addresses these kinds of land use issues for the Board of Supervisors as well as specific client departments, as requested.

Real Estate & Finance Team

The Real Estate & Finance Team is a group of eleven attorneys (nine real estate and two public finance attorneys), two paralegals, and two legal secretaries. The Team oversees the legal aspects of real estate, debt financing, and other business transactions for the City. The real estate attorneys work on a wide range of real estate transactions and property management issues for the City – from large, complex development projects, such as mixed-use commercial developments and affordable and supportive housing projects, to purchases and sales, leases, loans, legislation, easements and other real estate matters. The finance attorneys represent the City on various bond and debt transactions, funding all of the capital required to build, operate and maintain City functions and services. Attorneys draft a wide range of documents and legislation for client departments, as well as legislation for the Board of Supervisors.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Legal Secretary, Trial/Litigation Team

The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office is looking for a qualified and motivated legal secretary to join its Trial/Litigation Team.

Under supervision, the Legal Secretary I on the Litigation/Trial Team supports a high-volume, busy litigation and trial practice. The duties associated with the position include but are not limited to:  preparing and editing a wide variety of legal documents in proper format such as briefs, correspondence, subpoenas, jury instructions, notices, exhibit lists and verdict forms; filing (including E-Filing) documents with State and Federal trial courts and courts of appeal; maintaining attorney calendars and case calendars; creating and maintaining files; answering requests for information from attorneys, opposing counsel, court staff and members of the public; and performing related duties as required.

If you are interested in the position, more information about the job and application process is available here.

Applying

Prospective candidates for all city government positions—including the City Attorney’s Office—are encouraged to visit the Careers with Purpose page of the City’s website to learn more about employment with the City and County of San Francisco.