Litigation Legal Assistant / Paralegal Labor & Employment

Litigation Legal Assistant / Paralegal – Labor & Employment

Sacramento, CA

Direct Counsel is seeking an experienced Litigation Legal Assistant / Paralegal to join a well-established California law firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group in its Sacramento office. This full-time hybrid position combines litigation secretarial and paralegal responsibilities and is ideal for a proactive, detail-oriented, and tech-savvy legal professional with substantial labor and employment litigation experience.

The role requires strong organizational and analytical skills, advanced Excel capabilities, and extensive experience with e-discovery and litigation technology. The position also includes a monthly billable hour requirement of 60 hours, with responsibility for tracking time and consistently meeting monthly billable targets.

A hybrid work arrangement may be available after 90 days, consisting of four days in the office and one day remote.

Position Overview

The Litigation Legal Assistant / Paralegal will provide comprehensive support to attorneys handling complex Labor & Employment litigation. The position combines traditional litigation support with substantive paralegal responsibilities, including wage and hour analysis, PAGA and class action support, discovery, e-discovery, deposition preparation, subpoenas, trial preparation, and courtroom support.

The successful candidate will be comfortable supporting multiple attorneys, including partners, and will be able to independently manage competing deadlines while anticipating attorney needs and maintaining exceptional attention to detail.

Responsibilities

Litigation Legal Assistant Support

• Maintain attorney calendars and coordinate court appearances, hearings, depositions, mediations, arbitrations, client meetings, conferences, and travel

• Monitor critical litigation deadlines and filing requirements

• Prepare and electronically file documents with state and federal courts

• Complete conflict checks and new client/matter opening forms

• Assist with preparing, formatting, proofreading, and finalizing legal documents

• Maintain organized client and matter files using iManage

• Communicate with clients, courts, vendors, court reporters, experts, and other third parties on behalf of attorneys

• Follow up on delegated assignments and exercise sound judgment regarding matters requiring attorney attention

• Coordinate couriers, court reporters, expert witnesses, and other litigation support services

• Manage attorney email and other correspondence as needed

• Handle time entry, expense reports, billing, and related administrative tasks

• Process incoming and outgoing mail and coordinate special delivery services

• Photocopy, scan, assemble, and distribute legal documents and binders

• Collaborate with attorneys, paralegals, and administrative staff and provide cross-coverage as needed

Paralegal Support

• Assist with PAGA and class action matters, including timecard and wage-record analysis and damages calculations using Excel

• Create and maintain internal case databases, including importing and exporting documents, conducting searches, managing productions, running analytics, and performing email threading

• Review and code documents in connection with litigation and e-discovery

• Prepare subpoenas, track service and compliance, and follow up on related legal processes

• Conduct document searches using e-discovery platforms and perform factual research using Westlaw and other online resources

• Assist attorneys with deposition preparation by gathering relevant documents and organizing exhibits

• Track documents throughout litigation and order transcripts, records, and other materials from third-party entities

• Respond to requests from outside counsel and other parties

• Handle all aspects of discovery, including organizing, reviewing, analyzing, and summarizing discovery responses

• Prepare discovery responses and third-party subpoenas

• Assist with trial and arbitration preparation, including organizing exhibits, files, and supporting materials

• Coordinate trial setup and logistics

• Operate and manage trial presentation technology and provide courtroom support

• Demonstrate strong analytical and technical skills throughout all phases of litigation

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience supporting attorneys in Labor & Employment litigation

• Experience with wage and hour litigation and analysis required

• Experience supporting at least three attorneys, including partner-level attorneys

• Paralegal certificate required; alternatively, candidates who meet the qualifications under California Business and Professions Code §§ 6450–6456 may be considered

• Advanced Excel skills required

• Extensive experience with e-discovery and litigation software

• Experience with platforms such as CaseMap, TextMap, Relativity or iConnect, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and Sanction or TrialDirector preferred

• Knowledge of federal and state court filing procedures, including electronic filing requirements

• Familiarity with document management and time-entry systems

• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills

• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong client-service orientation

• Ability to work independently, anticipate attorney needs, and manage competing priorities

• Strong technology skills and ability to learn and utilize litigation-support tools

• Trial preparation and courtroom experience preferred

Compensation & Work Arrangement

Salary: $89,000–$100,000, commensurate with experience.

Billable requirement: 60 hours per month.

Hybrid arrangement: May be available after 90 days, with four days in the Sacramento office and one day remote.

Location

Sacramento, CA