Attorney - Civil, Bakersfield - 024

Attorney - Civil Metro, Bakersfield - 024

Associate Attorney: $4,233.59 - $5,168.33 biweekly Senior Attorney: $4,608.20 - $5,625.65 biweekly This regular, full-time recruitment closes on August 31, 2026 at 5:00 PM.

Associate Attorney:

Under general supervision, this professional level position performs research assignments on behalf of the Superior Court, some involving new concepts in the law or issues lacking applicable prior legal precedents. Reviews pleadings, motions, writs, and legal briefs submitted to the Superior Court and prepares memoranda for the judicial officers.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

This is the intermediate journey level of the Attorney series. This class is distinguished from the Deputy Attorney class in that it performs under less supervision and is given a higher volume caseload with more complexity. This class is distinguished from the higher level Senior Attorney class in that the latter performs the more difficult and complex legal duties and/or may serve as a lead worker, mentoring and coordination the duties of attorneys and other legal staff.

Senior Attorney:

Under limited direction, this professional level performs the most complex, legal work of the court; acts a legal advisor and provides technical research assistance to the court judges, executive, and managerial staff, may plan, assign, and review the work of other attorneys.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

This is the advanced journey/lead worker level of the Attorney series. Incumbents may serve as a lead worker, mentoring and coordinating the work of attorneys and other legal staff. This class is distinguished from the lower level Attorney class in that it performs more complex legal research work demanding a higher degree of resourcefulness and knowledge. This class is distinguished from the higher level Supervising Attorney class in that the latter has full supervisory authority regarding hiring, firing, discipline, performance assessments, training, etc., for a staff of attorneys, senior attorneys, and other legal staff.

Essential Functions:

• Researches difficult legal questions and prepares memoranda, documents and summary of alternatives for judicial officer's consideration.
• Advises the court on difficult legal questions regarding specialized areas of law.
• Responds to judicial officer inquiries and prepares memoranda, documents and summaries of alternatives for the judicial officer's and executive staff's consideration.
• Reviews cases on appeal, researches pertinent issues and law, and prepares preliminary opinion for the courts' consideration.
• Confers with judicial officers with respect to procedural and substantive legal issues and requirements of individual cases.
• May serve as legal adviser to the judicial officers, judicial committees, or executive officers on specific matters before the court.
• May assist with the drafting of legislative measures and other legal work required by the court.
• May train, review work, and schedule assignments of the Deputy Attorney or other staff.
• May preside over various Court proceedings as a hearing officer on a pro tem basis.
• Perform other job-related duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications:

Associate Attorney: Active membership in the State Bar of California, and work experience of (3) years as a practicing licensed attorney OR any combination of training, education and experience equivalent, as determined by the Court, that would provide the required knowledge and abilities for the position.

Senior Attorney: Active membership in the State Bar of California and work experience of (2) two years in the class of Associate Attorney or (4) four years in the practice of law OR any combination of training, education and experience equivalent, as determined by the Court, that would provide the required knowledge and abilities for the position.

Selection Procedures:

All applicants are required to submit an updated online application. Résumés will not be accepted in lieu of the required application. Status Notifications: You will be notified by email through the governmentjobs.com site during the process of this recruitment. Some email accounts have been known to place these emails in the spam/junk file. Please check your email folders and/or accept emails ending with governmentjobs.com and kern.courts.ca.gov If your email address should change, please update your profile at To learn more about how to create an application click here. Equal Opportunity Employer