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Job Description
Job Summary
LEGAL ASSISTANT - Municipal Division
The Santa Monica City Attorney’s office seeks a legal assistant with 5 years of experience to join its Municipal Division. The Municipal Division advises City Council, the City’s Boards and Commissions, and all City Departments on a wide range of municipal law issues. The Division is also responsible for drafting resolutions, ordinances, and ballot measures, reviewing and drafting contracts, and drafting legal pleadings and responses.
The ideal candidate requires substantial civil litigation experience in Los Angeles County, including, proficiency in preparing documents for service and filing with the Courts including formatting, editing, and proofreading and preparing discovery request and responses. The candidate must demonstrate experience managing executive assistant duties as the candidate will also assist the City Attorney, Assistant City Attorney, and Chief Deputy of the Municipal Law Division with calendaring, file management, City Council Agenda management/preparation which includes processing agenda reports, preparing resolutions/ordinances for City council meetings, and various other administrative duties. The position reports to the Chief Office Administrator.
Duties will include but are not limited to:- Formatting, editing, proofreading, and finalizing documents, including, but not limited to, contracts, legal research, pleadings, discovery, motions, briefs, trial documents, and jury instructions.
- General administrative duties such as calendaring appointments, court dates, and deadlines, making travel arrangements when necessary, and drafting and editing correspondence.
- Producing TOCs and TOAs for motions and briefs.
- Serving and filing, including e-filing, documents with state, federal, and appellate courts, and with State and local agencies, boards, and commissions.
- Coordinate City Council agenda preparation process, including processing agenda reports and preparing or finalizing resolutions, ordinances, and reports for City Council meetings.
- Interacting with City personnel, other government agencies, and the public.
- Assisting with processing invoices, expense reimbursements, and check requests.
- Managing attorneys' calendars and schedules.
Qualifications:
Must have at least 5+ years of litigation experience, ideally in a mid-sized or large law firm or government legal department. Experience as a legal assistant in the areas of civil litigation, employment, civil rights and/or municipal law preferred.
Must have knowledge of court filing requirements and deadlines, including experience with e-filing in state and federal courts.
Must possess strong software skills with high proficiency in the use of legal software and macros, preferably MS Office Suite, Adobe Pro, Prolaw, and Westlaw.
Must possess exceptional communication skills to communicate with attorneys, staff, clients, expert witnesses, and opposing counsel and staff.
Must possess strong organizational skills.
To be considered for this position you must at least meet the basic qualifications. Overtime may be required.
Work assignments are subject to change based on the operational needs and workload of the City Attorney’s Office overall. The hours of the position are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on alternate Fridays. This is a 9/80 work schedule. Hybrid remote work schedule is currently available but not guaranteed. In office workdays are Tuesday through Thursday.
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and the names of three references (will not be contacted prior to interview) to Chief Office Administrator, Diana T, Burger. These materials should be submitted in a single pdf document by email to CAO.Opportunities@santamonica.gov with the subject line: “Application - Legal Assistant, Municipal Division.” Candidates must apply by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2026, when consideration of applicants will begin.
A background check will be required prior to beginning employment. Salary is dependent on qualifications and experience, excellent benefits. S alary range is
Salary dependent on experience; excellent benefits. S alary range annually for Legal Assistant, Step 1 $92,208 to Step 5 $113,832. This position is part of the Public Attorneys Legal Support Staff Union. E qual Opportunity Employer. See the EEO Policy on the City Attorney’s Office website.
The City's liberal fringe benefits for full-time employment include sick leave, holiday and vacation pay, the Public Employees Retirement System, medical, dental and vision insurance, credit union, deferred compensation, tuition reimbursement, Dependent Care Assistance Plan and priority enrollment consideration at Hill & Dale Family Learning Center, Marine Park Child Development Center, and Santa Monica Early Childhood Lab School.
Closing Date/Time: 4/27/2026 12:00 PM Pacific -
Special Instructions
Please mention you found this employment opportunity on the CareersInGovernment.com job board. -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Santa Monica
Show moreSanta Monica is a beachside city of 8.3 square miles on the westside of Los Angeles County. Offering an environment of unparalleled natural beauty, the city is home to a mix of residential communities, commercial districts, and recreational venues. Recently named by National Geographic as one of the Top "10 Beach Cities in the World" and by TIME as one of the "Best Places to Live", Santa Monica features three miles of Pacific beaches and the Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica’s residential population is approximately 93,000, increasing to an estimated 250,000 during the day with tourists, shoppers, and employees. Tourism attracts over 8 million visitors annually.
The City of Santa Monica was incorporated on November 30, 1886 and subsequently adopted a City Charter in 1945. In 1947, a City Council-City Manager form of government was established. The City Council consists of seven members elected by the community at large to four year terms.
The City of Santa Monica is a full-service city. City departments provide police, fire, a regional transportation network, water, refuse and recycling, streets, parking, planning, building, engineering, free public wifi, a high speed fiber optic network, parks, affordable housing, economic development, library, rent control, recreational, cultural, and educational services to the community.
The City-operated Big Blue Bus regional bus service provides over 16.5 million rides for customers each year, all powered by renewable natural gas. Breeze Bike Share was Southern California's first bike share system with 500 bikes at 85 locations. In 2016, the Metro Expo Line opened connecting Santa Monica to Downtown Los Angeles in under an hour.
The City of Santa Monica is a national leader in environmental, economic and social sustainability. The City is working toward aggressive climate action goals including: water self-sufficiency by 2020, zero waste by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050.
The highly-rated Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District serves both Santa Monica and Malibu residents. Santa Monica College (SMC), one of the state's top two-year community colleges, serves over 30,000 full-time and part-time students on several campuses and offers more than 90 fields of study. Santa Monica's strong education institutions are complemented by the 5-star rated Santa Monica Public Library system.
Public safety is a top priority in the City of Santa Monica. Santa Monica Fire Department continues to maintain a Class 1 ISO rating, the highest possible rating.
Santa Monica has a strong and diverse economy. Known as “Silicon Beach,” local businesses are at the leading edge of the nation’s creative economy and startup scene.
Sana Monica is also home to three renowned and respected health facilities, Providence Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente.
Connect with the City of Santa Monica by visiting www.santamonica.gov, follow @santamonicacity on Twitter, or sign up for the City's newsletter and emergency alerts at www.smgov.net/newsletter.
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