Licenses and Certifications:
Active membership in the State Bar of California.
Education and Experience:
Level A: Active membership in the State Bar of California.
Level B: Active membership in the State Bar of California and the equivalent of two years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting such as a private law practice, corporation, government agency, law school, court, or legal publishing company. OR Equivalent to two years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting as described above, including one year of experience as an appellate attorney, Level A, with the judicial branch.
Level C: Active membership in the State Bar of California and the equivalent of three years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting such as a private law practice, corporation, government agency, law school, court, or legal publishing company. OR One year of experience as an appellate attorney, Level B, with the judicial branch.
Level D: Active membership in the State Bar of California and the equivalent of four years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting such as a private law practice, corporation, government agency, law school, court, or legal publishing company. OR One year of experience as an appellate attorney, Level C, with the judicial branch.
Senior: Active membership in the State Bar of California and the equivalent of six years of post-bar legal experience, including substantial appellate experience, in a legal setting such as a private law practice, corporation, government agency, law school, court, or legal publishing company. OR Two years of experience as an appellate attorney, Level D, with the judicial branch.
NOTES: Work experience as a law clerk to a federal judge after passing a state bar but prior to formal state bar admission will be considered equivalent to post-bar legal experience.
For external candidates for the Senior Supreme Court Attorney class, the Chief Justice must certify that the candidate possesses “substantial appellate experience.”
Desirable Qualifications:
Knowledge of:
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Substantive and procedural legal principles and applications.
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Scope and character of California and federal statutory and case law and provisions of the United States and California Constitutions; California Rules of Court; the legislative process; statutes and constitutional provisions governing the organization, duties, powers, procedures, management, and conduct of the work of the trial and appellate courts.
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Effective legal research methods.
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Principles of administrative and constitutional law.
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Rules of evidence and procedure in California trial and appellate courts and administrative proceedings.
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Principles and techniques of effective oral communication.
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Principles and techniques of preparing a variety of effective written materials.
Ability to:
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Perform complex legal research and apply legal principles and precedents to particular sets of facts.
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Analyze legal issues and present statements of facts, law, policy, and arguments clearly, concisely, and logically in both written and oral form.
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Interact successfully with justices and court staff.
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Exercise sound judgment and integrity consistent with representing the judicial branch; maintain confidentiality of work product.
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Work independently as well as under supervision.
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Organize own work, set priorities, work under pressure, and meet critical deadlines.
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Operate personal computers and computer applications such as word processing.
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Communicate effectively in English, orally and in writing.
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Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.
