Litigation Attorney II/III/IV*
Salary
$114,712.00 - $227,843.20 Annually
Location
San Bernardino, CA
Job Type
Full-time
Job Number
26-04105LIT/04100LIT/04095-01
Department
County Counsel
Opening Date
02/28/2026
The Job
Come join a team that serves and protects San Bernardino County, its treasury, and its governing body, by providing timely and accurate legal services and aggressively representing the County in litigation.
Applications submitted by Friday, March 13th, will be sent to the department for Priority Review.
SALARY INCREASES
Employees are eligible for merit-based step increases within the salary range, up to the maximum step.
Refer to the Exempt Employee Ordinance for details.
BENEFITS
14 Paid Holidays & 1 Floater per year
80 hours of Administrative Leave per year; Up to 160 hours of Vacation Time; Up to 95 hours of Sick Time per year
RECRUITMENT BONUS
Newly hired employees from this recruitment may be eligible to receive bonus payments up to $3,000!*
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE
Attorneys may have the opportunity to work a flexible schedule after six months of employment, which may include a 9/80 schedule and/or partial remote work option.
LOAN FORGIVENESS
San Bernardino County Counsel employees may be eligible for student loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. For more details/application information, review here. Employees may also be eligible for The Countys Tuition Loan Repayment Program. Review here for details.
The County Counsels Office is recruiting for a Litigation Attorney. These positions provide legal advice, assistance and representation in civil legal matters to the County and its departments. The assignment may include representation in a variety of areas including: civil rights; torts; personal injury; public entity liability; employment law; eminent domain; environmental/land use; workers' compensation; and administrative law proceedings.
Duties include: meeting with and advising County Departments regarding litigation; drafting pleadings, discovery, and motions; determining case strategy and representing the County in trials, depositions, mediations, and hearings; researching and writing legal opinions on risk mitigation and litigation outcomes; and advising boards, departments, special districts, school districts and commissions.
Note: The current vacancy is to provide legal services to County Departments with an emphasis on civil litigation in state and federal court; employment; dangerous conditions of public property; personal injury; public entity/employee immunities; police practices; civil rights; defense of civil lawsuits including discovery, motion preparation, mediation, arbitration, trials, and appeals. The position also includes advising on litigation questions and issues, and presentation of some matters to the Board of Supervisors, Department heads, and the County Risk Management Department.
Initial Appointment
Applications are being accepted for the II, III, and IV levels - please click on job title below to review job description and salary for each level listed. Your application will be reviewed for the appropriate level of placement. Job offers for the initial appointment may be made at any level based on qualifications and department needs. Candidates advance within the series in accordance with criteria established in the Exempt Compensation Ordinance (see page 81-82).
Deputy County Counsel II
$114,712.00 - $152,339.20
Deputy County Counsel III
$135,345.60 - $180,128.00
Deputy County Counsel IV
$156,166.40 - $227,843.20
EXCELLENT BENEFITS
To review job-specific benefits, refer to:
Summary of Benefits
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
The County also offers an alternative Modified Benefits Option (MBO) that provides a wage differential.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Background: Applicants must pass a background investigation, including fingerprinting, prior to appointment.
Sponsorship: San Bernardino County is not able to consider candidates who will require visa sponsorship at the time of application or in the future.
Minimum Requirements
License: Active membership and in good standing with the State Bar of California. (Members who have an assigned license number but have inactive membership status, as well as candidates licensed out of state pending California Bar Exam results/license, are welcome to apply. Active California Bar license will be required prior to hire and maintained to remain employed in this classification.)
AND
Experience:
Litigation Attorney II: Twelve (12) months of civil litigation experience as an attorney.
Litigation Attorney III: Thirty (30) months of civil litigation experience as an attorney.
Litigation Attorney IV: Forty-eight (48) months of civil litigation experience as an attorney.
Please Note: Family Law, Juvenile Dependency, and Criminal Law experience will not be considered. Law Clerk, Intern, or Volunteer Attorney experience is not qualifying.
If you are interested in Juvenile Dependency, please refer to our Juvenile Dependency II-IV Recruitment.
Desired Qualifications
Experience as an Attorney practicing civil litigation in state and federal courts is desired. First chair jury trial experience in public agency law and motion defense experience is highly desired.
Selection Process
There will be a competitive evaluation of qualifications based on the information provided in the Application and the Supplemental Questionnaire. You are encouraged to include detailed descriptions of your qualifying experience and skills, as only the most highly qualified applicants will be referred to the Department.
Application Procedure: Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as this recruitment may close at any time. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of the application and/or supplemental questionnaires.
To ensure timely and successful submission of your online application, please allow ample time to complete and submit your application before the posted filing deadline. Applicants will be automatically logged-out if they have not submitted the application and all required materials prior to the posted deadline. Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive an onscreen confirmation and an email. We recommend that you save and/or print these for your records. Please note, if you do not receive an onscreen confirmation and an email acknowledging our receipt of your application we have not received your application.
All communications regarding the selection process will be via email. Applicants are encouraged to check their e-mail frequently to learn additional information regarding this recruitment. Check your GovernmentJobs account for notifications. Update your firewalls to allow e-mails from San Bernardino County through governmentjobs.com. Update your Spam, Junk, and Bulk settings to ensure it will not spam/block/filter communications from email addresses with the following domain "@hr.sbcounty.gov". Finally, be sure to keep your personal information updated. Taking these steps now will help ensure you receive all communications regarding this recruitment.
EEO/ADA: San Bernardino County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant employer, committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants.
ADA Accommodation: If you have a disability and require accommodations in the testing process, submit the Special Testing Accommodations Request Form within one week of a recruitment filing deadline.
Veterans' Preference: Eligible veterans and their spouses or widows/widowers who are not current County employees may receive additional Veterans Preference points. For details and instructions on how to request these points, please refer to the Veterans Preference Policy.
If you require technical assistance, you may use this link to review the Government Jobs online application guide or contact their Toll-Free Applicant Support line at (855) 524-5627. Please note that Human Resources is not responsible for any issues or delays caused by the internet connection, computer or browser used to submit the application.
Please click HERE for important Applicant Information and the County Employment Process.
Exempt Unit-Group C
San Bernardino County offers a range of benefit programs for employees and their eligible dependents. These include health, dental, vision, and life insurance, as well as a variety of other voluntary benefits. Programs and benefit amounts vary and are based on bargaining unit, family size, hire date, plan selection, and number of hours worked.
Please review the appropriate Summary of Benefits* for more information
Refer to the appropriate MOU, contact the County's Employee Benefits and Services Division at (909) 387-5787 or visit the Employee Benefits website for more detailed information.
01
Specify the level(s) for which you wish to be considered:
02
License: Are you an active member in good standing with the State Board of California?
03
License Number: If you answered YES to the question above, provide your license number.
04
INSTRUCTIONS: The information on the Application and your responses to the following Supplemental Questions will be used in a competitive evaluation. Accurate responses should be provided for each question, and all experience must be clearly detailed in the work experience section of your application in order to ensure qualifications are properly considered.
05
Public Sector Civil Law: Do you have direct Public Sector Civil Law Experience as an attorney, such as with County Counsel, City Attorney, Attorney General or similar?
06
If you answered "Yes" to the question above, describe your experience and provide the name of employer and dates of employment for all work experience. (Do not include internships, clerkships or volunteer attorney experience). If no experience, indicate "N/A".
07
Private Sector Civil Law: Do you have civil law experience as an attorney, excluding family law and juvenile dependency law in the private sector?
08
If you answered "Yes" to the question above, please describe your experience and provide the name of employer and dates of employment for all work experience. (Do not include internships, clerkships or volunteer attorney experience). Separate general civil litigation experience from transactional experience. If no experience, indicate "N/A".
09
Trial Practice: Do you have civil trial experience, excluding family law or juvenile dependency law?
10
If you answered "yes" to the question above, please describe your trial experience, including a discussion of judges in state and/or federal court you have tried cases before, novel or complex motions in limine you presented, worthy opponents, and any winning strategies you employed. Include case numbers or court numbers for cases tried. If no experience, indicate "N/A".
11
Litigation Experience: Do you have litigation experience with Section 1983 cases?
12
If you answered "yes" to the question above, describe your litigation experience, including a discussion of any hearings or civil service matters you handled. Also describe any employment law advisory work with clients, for example: changes in practices resulting from litigation or claims. If no experience, indicate "N/A".
13
Experience: Indicate the experience in which you have at least 12 months of full-time work experience as an attorney. (Do not include internship, clerkship or volunteer attorney experience). Check all that apply.
14
If you have checked any boxes above, please list employer(s) where experience was obtained and the total months of experience you have in that area. (Do not include internships, clerkships or volunteer attorney experience). If you do not have any employers to list, please indicate "N/A".
15
ATTENTION GMAIL USERS
We have become aware of an increase in Gmails spam filter sensitivity. Due to this change, it is possible that emails coming from San Bernardino County Human Resources may be marked as spam and will not make it into your Gmail inbox.
For your convenience, the attached PDF document contains a step-by-step guide to create and apply filters within Gmail. To access the guide, download the Gmail Filter Setup Instructions (PDF). Once downloaded, follow the instructions so that you will receive future emails from San Bernardino County Human Resources.
Note: If you apply the filters and still do not receive emails from San Bernardino County Human Resources you can check your www.governmentjobs.com (Neogov) account inbox. All notifications will appear there.
16
Applicant Acknowledgement - Notification via email: As part of our efforts to increase efficiency and promote conservation of resources, human resources uses email to communicate with applicants. Therefore, all future communications regarding this recruitment, including applicant status and testing notifications, will be made via email. Each applicant needs their own email address. We strongly encourage you, as an applicant, to ensure that the email address you have provided us with your application is current, secure, confidential, and readily accessible to you. Adjust Spam and/or other filters so that our emails are accepted. Please carefully read any notices that we send you and follow any instructions provided in a timely manner. We will not be responsible in any way if you do not receive our emails (i.e., for the non-delivery of our emails or if you fail to check your e-mail on a timely basis).
17
Applicant Acknowledgement - Application Complete: Thank you for taking the time to complete this application and supplemental questionnaire. Please be sure to review all information provided prior to submitting it as you cannot update or revise it once submitted. Your submitted application will be reviewed and evaluated as is. Please do not refer to a resume or other documentation in lieu of completing the employment history section or responding to the supplemental questions; they will not be reviewed or considered.
Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will receive an onscreen confirmation and an email confirmation will be sent to the email address listed on your application. We recommend that you save and/or print these for your records. Please note: if you do not receive an onscreen confirmation and an email acknowledging our receipt of your application, we have not received your application.
Required Question
Employer San Bernardino County
Address 175 West Fifth Street, 1st Floor
San Bernardino, California, 92415-0440
Phone (909) 387-8304
TTY Users: 711
Website http://www.sbcounty.gov/jobs