Experienced Litigation Paralegal
Plaintiff-Side Catastrophic Injury & Wrongful Death
Employer: Confidential West Valley Trial Law Firm
Location: Calabasas / West San Fernando Valley, California
Schedule: Full-time, primarily in-office
Compensation: $43.27–$55.29 per hour, depending on directly relevant experience, equivalent to approximately $90,000–$115,000 annually before overtime
Confidential Search
The firm’s name has intentionally been withheld during the initial application process. The firm’s full identity and additional details will be disclosed to candidates selected to advance after the initial application review.
About the Practice
We are a plaintiff-side trial law firm representing individuals and families in wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and other serious personal injury matters.
We are not a high-volume settlement practice. Our cases involve serious injuries, substantial damages, complex facts, expert witnesses, extensive discovery, and meaningful trial preparation. We prepare cases with the expectation that they may be tried.
We are looking for an experienced litigation paralegal who understands that strong trial work is built long before the trial date.
About the Position
This position requires more than completing assignments as they are given. The right candidate will take ownership of litigation files, protect deadlines, identify what is missing, anticipate the next step, and raise potential problems before they become emergencies.
You must be able to work closely with trial attorneys while independently managing the organization, documentation, calendaring, and follow-through necessary to keep serious cases moving.
Because our clients have often suffered life-changing injuries or the loss of a family member, this position also requires patience, discretion, professionalism, and strong emotional judgment.
Primary Responsibilities
- Assist attorneys with California civil litigation matters from filing through trial or resolution.
- Calculate, calendar, monitor, and independently double-check litigation deadlines.
- Maintain accurate master calendars, case task lists, and deadline reports.
- Draft and prepare pleadings, notices, subpoenas, correspondence, discovery, discovery responses, deposition materials, and motion-related documents under attorney supervision.
- Manage written discovery, document productions, privilege issues, verifications, supplemental responses, and meet-and-confer materials.
- Organize and analyze medical records, medical billing, wage-loss materials, photographs, videos, liability evidence, expert materials, and other damages documentation.
- Prepare medical chronologies, factual timelines, deposition summaries, evidence indexes, and case-status reports.
- Coordinate depositions, medical examinations, inspections, mediations, hearings, experts, witnesses, court reporters, interpreters, process servers, and litigation vendors.
- Prepare and manage deposition exhibits, expert materials, trial subpoenas, exhibit lists, witness lists, trial notebooks, motions-in-limine materials, jury-instruction materials, verdict-form materials, and other pretrial filings.
- Electronically file and serve documents in California state and federal courts and confirm acceptance, service, and receipt of conformed copies.
- Communicate professionally and compassionately with clients, witnesses, experts, court personnel, opposing counsel, and vendors.
- Keep attorneys informed of approaching deadlines, incomplete assignments, evidentiary problems, discovery issues, and items requiring attorney decisions.
- Maintain confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, ethical boundaries, and complete and orderly electronic files.
- Assist attorneys during trial, including exhibit management, witness coordination, document retrieval, transcript review, and daily trial preparation.
- Work reasonable overtime or assist with trial-related travel when case deadlines require it. Overtime will be paid as required by law.
Required Qualifications
- Must qualify to work as a paralegal under California Business and Professions Code section 6450.
- At least three years of substantive California civil litigation experience; five or more years strongly preferred.
- Strong working knowledge of California civil procedure, written discovery, calendaring, electronic filing, service requirements, and litigation terminology.
- Demonstrated experience drafting or preparing discovery, pleadings, subpoenas,