What are the responsibilities and job description for the Legal Assistant - Municipal Division position at City of Santa Monica?
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. Salary range is
Salary dependent on experience; excellent benefits. Salary 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. Equal Opportunity Employer. See the EEO Policy on the City Attorney’s Office website.
Salary : $92,414 - $113,838