Job Description

Job Description and Duties

The Secretary of State’s office is recruiting for a permanent, fulltime Attorney position within the Legal Affairs Office, Executive Division. The Legal Affairs unit within the Secretary of State’s office provides legal advice relating to all functions of the agency. This may include responding to legal issues involving elections, businesses, political campaigning, legislative advocacy, and historical treasures. The duties are varied and interesting.

Under the direction of an Attorney Supervisor, the incumbent will play a vital role for the Secretary of State by performing a broad range of legal work, as follows:

• Legal Review, Legal Program Advisor and Oversight: Performs the legal work on behalf of the agency, including legal review of various documents and contracts, legal research, and opinion drafting for the agency. Responds to legal correspondence and develops and updates agency procedures and policies to ensure legal compliance. Provides legal support and advice to agency management and staff on matters related to the agency’s functions, roles, and responsibilities. Assists with procurement and issues relating to contracting including negotiating and drafting procurement documents, reviewing and drafting contracts, representing the agency in protests, risk management, security, and intellectual property.
• Administrative Proceedings and Civil Litigation: Researches applicable laws, rules and regulations to aide in development of strategy and tactics in legal disputes, which may include assisting the Attorney General’s office in litigation involving the agency. Provides legal advice to all levels of staff regarding division and agency legal issues with general or statewide impact. May represent the agency in complex administrative proceedings before the Office of Administrative Hearings, California Department of Human Resources, and the State Personnel Board.
• Legislation and Regulations: Develops, interprets and provides legal review of various documents or information such as statewide regulations, policies, procedures, contracts, and other legal documents Drafts and reviews proposed legislative changes, makes recommendations regarding division-wide and statewide impacts, acts as liaison to external stakeholders, and prepares written or verbal comments for submission to the Legislature setting forth the position of the Secretary of State regarding proposed legislation.
• Document Production: Reviews Public Records Act (PRA) requests, other public and legislative inquiries and the agency’s responses. Coordinates divisional responses to subpoenas, as needed, which may involve directing staff to research and copy responsive documents, reviewing responsive records for compliance, writing affidavits, and communicating with the courts or subpoenaing attorneys.
• Legal Representation and Management Assistance: Provides general legal advice relating to agency issues, assists with managing litigation, conducts outreach, and performs general administrative responsibilities and other duties as required.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience with general corporate and business-related statutes or with state or federal securities laws.
• Knowledge of California's legislative and administrative rule process.
• Demonstrates excellence in verbal and written communications.
• Ability to meet deadlines, take initiative, and work both independently and in a team environment.
• Demonstrates consistent attention to detail.
• Ability to interact effectively with the public, agency personnel, and other stakeholders.
• Experience drafting legal memoranda and responding to discovery.

Statement of Qualifications:  Applicants must submit a Statement of Qualifications.  The Statement of Qualifications is a narrative discussion of how the applicant’s education, training, experience, and skills meet the job description and duty statement for the position. The Statement of Qualifications must be no more than three (3) pages typed, using business professional font, font size, and formatting. The Statement of Qualifications will also serve as documentation of the applicant’s ability to present information clearly and concisely in writing, since this is a critical factor to successful job performance. Applications received without a Statement of Qualifications will not be considered. Resumes are optional and may not be substituted for a Statement of Qualifications or STD. Form 678.

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

Additional Documents

Special Requirements

Membership in the State Bar of California is a requirement.

Examination Information: Candidates new to state service or those seeking a promotional opportunity must take the online examination to establish eligibility. The examination can be found at the following link: CalCareers Exam Link .

There is also a Limited Examination & Appointment Program (LEAP) exam available for this classification. Information on the LEAP certification process is available on the Department of Rehabilitation LEAP Certification website.

Application Instructions

Completed applications and all required documents must be received or postmarked by the Final Filing Date in order to be considered. Dates printed on Mobile Bar Codes, such as the Quick Response (QR) Codes available at the USPS, are not considered Postmark dates for the purpose of determining timely filing of an application.

Final Filing Date: 12/30/2024

Who May Apply

Individuals who are currently in the classification, eligible for lateral transfer, eligible for reinstatement, have list or LEAP eligibility, are in the process of obtaining list eligibility, or have SROA and/or Surplus eligibility (please attach your letter, if available). SROA and Surplus candidates are given priority; therefore, individuals with other eligibility may be considered in the event no SROA or Surplus candidates apply.

Applications will be screened and only the most qualified applicants will be selected to move forward in the selection process. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications stated in the Classification Specification(s).

How To Apply

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareer Account at When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included. If you choose to not apply electronically, a hard copy application package may be submitted through an alternative method listed below:

Address for Mailing Application Packages

You may submit your application and any applicable or required documents to:

Secretary of State

Attn: Paul Parham

1500 11th St - 4th Floor - Suite 475

Sacramento , CA 95814

Address for Drop-Off Application Packages

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

Secretary of State

1500 11th St - 4th Floor - Suite 475

Sacramento , CA 95814

Please drop off applications at the first floor lobby rotunda.

08:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is optional. It may be included, but is not required.
• Statement of Qualifications - Please submit your response to the Statement of Qualifications as indicate above. 

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations for the hiring interview process must request the necessary accommodations if scheduled for a hiring interview. The request should be made at the time of contact to schedule the interview. Questions regarding reasonable accommodations may be directed to the EEO contact listed on this job posting.

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Contact Information

The Human Resources Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position or application process.

Human Resources Contact:
Paul Parham
(916) 653-6974
pparham@sos.ca.gov

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s) to the Department's EEO Office.

EEO Contact:
Sarah Bielski
(916) 653-6974
sbielski@sos.ca.gov

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice) TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Attorney Classification Salary Information

Starting Salary: The salary for the Attorney classification is made up of two (2) salary ranges, the starting salary range is based on the applicant’s relevant experience as explained below:

• Attorney, Range A: $ 7,737 - $10,168 ; This range shall apply to individuals who are active members of The State Bar of California and who do not meet the criteria for Range B.
• A ttorney, Range B: $8,708 - $11,676; This range shall apply to individuals who are active members of The State Bar of California and who, in addition, have satisfactorily completed two years of legal experience in the practice of law at a level equivalent to an Attorney Range A or higher.

The State of California allows for a Hire Above Minimum starting salary rate for the selected candidate as follows:

• Attorney, Range A: $8,588
• Attorney, Range B: $9,666

Applicants who are new to state employment are offered a starting salary at the minimum level of the salary range corresponding to their qualifications. The starting salary for current state employee’s will be based on the applicant’s current classification, salary, and qualifications for either Range A or Range B, but in no instance shall be lower than the minimum of the salary range.

In addition, qualifying employees will receive a merit salary increase annually; merit salary increases are typically 5%.

For the purposes of meeting the criteria listed in the alternate ranges above, experience in the “practice of law” is defined as: (1) only that legal experience acquired after admission to any State Bar, or (2) experience as a judicial clerk for a federal court, U.S. state court, military court, or an equivalent foreign court, or (3) legal experience acquired while practicing under a provisional license to practice law issued by the State Bar of California’s Provisional Licensure Program, to constitute experience in the practice of law. For an individual’s judicial clerkship to qualify as experience in the “practice of law” the experience must have been gained after receipt of a Juris Doctor or equivalent degree.

Job Tags

Permanent employment, Full time,

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