Open Positions: Professional Staff
Non-Discrimination Policy
Hanson Bridgett LLP seeks to ensure a positive and diverse work culture where each person may work and develop professionally to the best of their ability free of unlawful discrimination or prejudice. To this end, the firm is an equal opportunity employer that prohibits unlawful discrimination or prejudice of any kind based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran’s status, mental or physical disability, or pregnancy.
Walnut Creek, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Rafael, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno
Walnut Creek, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Rafael, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno
Walnut Creek, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Rafael, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno
Walnut Creek, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Rafael, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno
Director of Pro Bono & Social Impact
Hybrid
Hanson Bridgett LLP is seeking a Director of Pro Bono & Social Impact to lead and expand the firm’s commitment to access to justice and community service. This is a senior leadership role for a practitioner who wants to do meaningful work at scale — building and running a pro bono program that is strategic, well-resourced, and deeply integrated into the firm’s identity.
The Director will serve as the firm’s primary architect and champion of pro bono and social impact, working closely with firm leadership, practice groups, and community partners to define and deliver on the firm’s obligations to the communities it serves.
This role offers the opportunity to work from a remote location on days when in-person attendance is not required. In-person attendance may frequently be required for various programming and events, both at Firm offices and in external locations. Occasional travel to other Hanson Bridgett office locations, as well as throughout the country for professional conferences and events, may be required. All Firm employees who are designated as hybrid are expected to be available to attend in-person meetings, professional development sessions, departmental meetings, or to come to the office for other reasons, if the need arises. This position requires that the individual reside in California, and will have an assignment to one of Hanson Bridgett’s Office locations.
Essential Responsibilities and Duties
Pro Bono
- Develop a strategic plan for (a) increasing the participation rate of Firm attorneys in pro bono and social impact work, and average number of attorney pro bono hours worked; (b) increasing the participation rate of Firm professional staff in community service and volunteer work, and average number of staff volunteer hours worked; and (c) increasing the visibility and stature of the Firm’s pro bono, social impact, and community service work.
- Lead the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee to (a) evaluate existing pro bono relationships and identify areas for potential growth; (b) maintain existing pro bono partner relationships; (c) address staffing needs for pro bono matters; (d) plan Firm events to support and promote the pro bono program; (e) evaluate and approve other pro bono umbrella partnerships; and (f) prepare periodic reports to Firm Management
- In coordination with the CDEIO, source, evaluate, obtain, and staff mission-aligned, high-profile pro bono matters, including impact litigation and lobbying or policy initiatives
- Maintain Firm policy documents related to pro bono work
- Manage Firm partnerships with legal services organizations as sources of pro bono matter referrals
- Evaluate “one-off” pro bono requests for capacity and alignment with program guidelines
- Coordinate with various firm stakeholder groups (e.g., Sections, Markets, Committees, etc.) to develop tailored pro bono opportunities, and pro bono opportunities for First-Year Associate Program and Summer Associate Program
- On a limited and as needed basis, supervise conflict checks and other risk management protocols for new pro bono matters
- On a limited and as needed basis, supervise associates, senior counsel, and law students on pro bono work and/or coordinate supervision with a Firm partner involved in the work, including stepping in directly on specific matters where necessary (e.g., for court appearances, hearings, filings, client meetings, etc.)
- Maintain membership and leadership position(s) in professional associations related to pro bono practice or strategic external relationships; participate in continued professional self-development related to pro bono practice
- Attend conferences focused on pro bono practice to stay informed on relevant legal developments and identify new opportunities for expanding the Firm’s pro bono work
- Develop and maintain a repository of substantive pro bono practice resources
- Provide orientation to the Firm’s pro bono program to new hires
- Track pro bono matter hours and metrics for internal and external reporting
- Coordinate with the Director of Professional Development to provide continuing legal education opportunities in areas relevant to the Firm’s pro bono work
- Coordinate with the Marketing Department to promote the Firm’s pro bono work internally and externally, through articles, interviews, social media posts, panel presentations, speaking engagements, and award applications
- Coordinate with the Finance Committee and Accounting Department to accurately budget pro bono work and manage the annual pro bono budget
Non-legal Volunteer / Community Service
- Develop quarterly non-legal volunteer opportunities in each Market
- Assist attorneys with development of volunteer opportunities in partnership with Firm clients
- Maintain resources for attorneys to find additional community service opportunities throughout the year
Required Skills, Abilities, and Qualifications
- J.D. degree and active admission to State Bar of California required
- Five or more years in legal practice, including at least three years’ litigation experience
- Experience acting in a primary leadership role on legal matters, including supervising other attorneys
- Experience working with organizations involved in social impact and public interest legal work
- Demonstrated commitment to pro bono legal practice and community service
- Strong track record of organizational leadership and promotion
- Strong and persuasive oral and written communication skills, with experience in multiple communication modes
- Excellent listening and facilitation skills
- Demonstrated cultural awareness and agility; ability to build trust and credibility with internal and external stakeholders
- Ability to work both independently and with teams
- Ability to build strong and effective relationships with Firm attorneys, staff, and external stakeholders
- Strong project management and analytical skills, including experience preparing and managing project budgets
- Eagerness to expand legal knowledge base into new areas of substantive law
Compensation
The salary range for this position is $185,000 – $250,000 annually, commensurate with experience and qualifications. Hanson Bridgett offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) with firm contribution (profit sharing), paid time off, and support for continuing legal education and professional development.
Director of Recruiting
Hybrid
The Director of Recruiting is a senior strategic leader responsible for designing and executing a comprehensive, firm-wide talent acquisition strategy across attorneys and professional staff. Operating as a trusted partner to firm leadership, this role shapes how the firm identifies, attracts, and retains the talent necessary to sustain and accelerate its competitive position in the Am Law 200. The Director brings a deep command of the legal talent market, a sophisticated understanding of lateral partner dynamics, and the organizational influence to align recruiting with the firm’s long-term strategic plan. This is a high-visibility role central to the firm’s growth objectives, culture, and reputation as a premier employer in the legal industry.
Essential Responsibilities and Duties
Strategic Leadership
- Collaborate with Section Leaders, Department Heads, and Executive Leadership to shape long-term recruiting strategies aligned with the firm’s strategic goals.
- Lead the integration of staff recruitment into the firm’s broader talent acquisition framework, ensuring that both attorney and staff hiring meets the firm’s evolving needs.
- Anticipate future hiring demands and implement proactive recruitment strategies to meet the firm’s staffing goals across all levels, including attorneys, administrative professionals, and specialized roles.
- Foster strategic relationships with external search firms, recruitment networks, and industry leaders to position the firm as a preferred employer in competitive markets.
Attorney Recruitment
- Lead the Strategic Growth and Lateral Partner Recruiting Committee, driving the strategic identification and recruitment of high-value lateral partners, and ensuring alignment with the firm’s growth objectives and culture.
- Manages all aspects of the lateral partner hiring process, including performing department/practice group specific needs assessments; engaging appropriate search firms; identifying partner candidates and appropriately vetting them; facilitating strategy meetings and calls with Section and Practice Group leadership.
- Develops and manages relationships with preferred search firms to promote the Firm and lateral opportunities; works with Practice Groups and Marketing to develop lateral recruitment collateral for search firms and candidates.
- Collaborate with Professional Development and Section and/or Practice Group Leaders to facilitate seamless integration for lateral hires and support their long-term success.
Professional Staff Recruitment
- Oversee the professional staff recruitment efforts, working closely with department heads to identify and address hiring needs in alignment with business goals.
Team Management
- Oversee and mentor the recruiting team, providing strategic direction and support for recruiting prioritization.
- Foster a high-performance culture focused on results, collaboration, and innovation in recruitment practices.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- In collaboration with the DEI team, execute DEI recruitment initiatives, ensuring alignment with the firm’s DEI goals and compliance with standards such as the Mansfield Rule.
- Work closely with the DEI team and firm leadership to implement programs that enhance diverse candidate pipelines and foster an inclusive hiring environment.
Recruitment Data and Trends
- Analyze internal and external recruitment data to identify trends, forecast hiring needs, and provide strategic insights to firm leadership.
- Monitor industry trends, including compensation, offer structures, and market demand, to ensure the firm remains competitive.
Employer Branding
- Enhance the firm’s reputation as an employer of choice by collaborating with industry associations, law schools and professional organizations to increase visibility and promote the firm as a top employer in key talent pools.
- In collaboration and partnership with HR, design and optimize a best-in-class candidate journey from initial engagement through to onboarding, ensuring that every touchpoint reflects the employer brand and fosters a positive experience.
Budget and Resource Management
- Develop and manage the recruiting budget, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently to support recruitment goals and events.
Required Skills, Abilities, and Qualifications
- 8+ years of experience in recruiting, preferably within a professional services or law firm environment. 5+ years of management experience.
- Bachelor’s degree. A JD or advanced degree is a plus.
- Proven experience in developing, implementing, and iterating a strategic talent acquisition plan(s) that aligns to a firm’s overall strategic plan.
- Strong leadership capabilities with an ability to influence and build trust across all levels of the firm.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of recruitment and talent strategy.
- Effective communication skills, both written and verbal, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage with firm leadership, candidates, and external partners.
- Proficient in applicant tracking systems and recruitment software.
- Strong analytical skills and experience with metrics-driven decision-making.
Compensation
Hanson Bridgett offers a competitive salary and benefits package. The annual salary for this California-based role is anticipated to be in the area of $275,000 plus, and represents the firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of possible compensation at the time of posting. Actual compensation is negotiable and will depend upon several factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s years of experience, qualifications, and skill set.
Real Estate Transactional Paralegal
Hybrid/Remote
Hybrid or Fully Remote: This role can be hybrid from one of our office locations (San Francisco, Walnut Creek, San Rafael, Sacramento, San Diego, Fresno, or Los Angeles) or fully remote for candidates in any Time Zone.
The Real Estate Transactional Paralegal will work closely with partners, associates, and other paralegals in the Real Estate + Environment Section.
This role offers the opportunity to work from a remote location on days when in-person attendance is not required, and as agreed upon by the direct supervisor. It is an essential function of any hybrid role that the employee be available to attend in-person meetings, professional development sessions, or to come to the office for other reasons, if the need arises. This position requires the individual to reside in California and may be based in any of Hanson Bridgett’s offices listed above, with the ability to work remotely in an agile (hybrid) manner within California.
Essential Responsibilities and Duties
- Organize, prepare for and finalize closings for various real estate transactions, including preparation of initial draft of closing checklist, organization and maintenance of closing files, closing book index, written consents, incumbency certificates, approvals of transaction agreements, certificates and disclosure schedules; order certified copies and good standing certificates; handle distribution and collection of signature pages, agreements and original certificates (e.g. stock certificates, unit certificates and notes); and provide other general support
- Prepare ancillary loan documents, including company recording instruction letters, UCC financing statements, corporate resolutions and amendments
- Prepare ancillary documents for purchase and sale transactions, including grant deeds, bills of sale, assignment agreements, corporate resolutions and amendments
- Prepare basic organizational documents such as articles of organization, certain operating agreements, bylaws and other corporate documents
- Evaluate title and survey documents and prepare comment letters
- Order lien searches and summarize results
- Prepare and file various types of deeds, PCORs and UCC financing statements
- Work with service providers, including statutory registered agent services and notaries
- Provide direct support and service to clients, using discretion to decide when to handle matters independently and when to involve an attorney
- Provide general paralegal support to partners and associates
- Bill 1500 hours per year, with the expectation that overtime may be needed on occasion
Required Skills, Abilities, and Qualifications
- Minimum of five (5) years of paralegal experience, with significant Real Estate
- Bachelor’s Degree
- Paralegal Certificate from an ABA-approved paralegal program
- Minimum of seven years of relevant experience as a real estate paralegal in the areas of real estate acquisition, finance, leasing, management, and disposition
- Excellent planning and organization skills, including the ability to manage several projects concurrently, and strong attention to detail
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; positive and driven attitude
- Able to work well under pressure and maintain all deadlines, and be able to adapt to multiple, conflicting, and/or shifting deadlines
- A proactive approach and the ability to work “hands-on,” as required
- Able to work both independently and collaboratively
- Comfortable interacting with attorneys, staff, clients, and outside vendors
- Excellent technology skills and knowledge of key software systems, particularly MS Office, Acrobat Pro DC, Smart Sheet, and Intapp Time
Hanson Bridgett offers a competitive salary and benefits package. The annual salary for this California-based role is anticipated to be in the area of 102,000 - $140,000, and represents the firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of possible compensation at the time of posting. Actual compensation is negotiable and will depend upon several factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s years of experience, qualifications, and skill set.
Conflicts Analyst
Hybrid
Hanson Bridgett LLP is seeking a Conflicts Analyst to join its Risk Management Department, the hub through which conflicts of interest checks are processed for new clients, new matters, lateral hires, and other special projects. The Conflicts Analyst is responsible for running conflicts searches, performing corporate research, and identifying potential conflicts for attorney review, while supporting the firm’s broader new business intake (NBI) and risk management functions.
The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, eager to learn, and has working familiarity with enterprise conflicts and intake platforms such as Intapp or iManage. As a firm at the forefront of applying AI in the practice of law, we are looking for someone who is comfortable leveraging generative AI tools (such as Claude and Microsoft Copilot) to enhance research, data analysis, and day-to-day workflows. The role demands meticulous attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
This position reports to the Senior Manager of Legal Operations, with guidance from the General Counsel. This position offers a hybrid work arrangement, with the option to work remotely on days when in-person attendance is not required, subject to supervisor approval. The role requires California residency and will be designated to one of Hanson Bridgett’s eight office locations. Employees must be available for in-person meetings and office functions as needed.
Essential Responsibilities and Duties
- Perform time-sensitive and thorough research and data analysis relating to the firm’s new business, lateral hires, and other special projects to ensure the firm minimizes risk and identifies possible ethical and business-related conflicts of interest.
- Conduct conflicts searches in the firm’s internal conflicts database for new business, lateral hires, business development, and special project requests; review and filter search results to eliminate false hits and surface true potential conflicts.
- Prepare clear, concise reports and summaries of research for attorney review; communicate with attorneys and team members to ensure accuracy and completeness of conflict reports.
- Coordinate the tracking of engagement letters, waiver letters, disclosure letters, Outside Counsel Guidelines and other new business or risk-management-related documentation.
- Assist attorneys with drafting waiver and consent communications using firm templates (subject to Attorney and General Counsel review).
- Research prospective clients, related parties, and other entity names in internal and external databases to identify potential issues, confirm corporate affiliations and ownership structures, and ensure data integrity.
- Maintain the conflicts database, including party information, client/matter narratives, and conflicts resolution notes, and assist with reconciliation, deduplication, and clean-up projects.
- Work on special projects under the direction of the Senior Manager of Legal Operations and/or General Counsel.
Required Skills, Abilities, and Qualifications
- High School Diploma; Bachelor’s degree preferred.
- 1–3 years of law firm conflicts experience, or comparable experience in a law firm Risk Management, New Business Intake, or Compliance function. Candidates with strong analytical backgrounds and a demonstrated interest in legal risk management will also be considered.
- Working experience with an enterprise conflicts/intake platform (e.g., Intapp Conflicts/Intapp Intake, Elite 3E, Aderant Sierra, LegalKey, iManage Conflicts & Intake).
- Comfort using generative AI tools — including Claude and Microsoft Copilot — to support research, summarization, data analysis, and workflow efficiency, with an understanding of responsible-use principles in a legal/confidential environment.
- Familiarity with the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and general concepts relating to conflicts of interest and waivers.
- Comfort using corporate research tools such as Capital IQ, Dun & Bradstreet/Hoovers as well as open source tools.
- Strong analytical and deductive reasoning skills, with the ability to interpret information and escalate questions appropriately.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate concisely, accurately, and professionally with lawyers and administrative staff.
- Excellent organizational skills with meticulous attention to detail and the ability to prioritize and multitask in a fast-paced environment.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook).
- Ability to work independently while collaborating with teammates to ensure exceptional customer service; sound judgment and the ability to maintain strict confidentiality with sensitive information.
Services Standard
The Risk Management Department exists to provide service and minimize risk to the firm. Every employee in the department is expected to deal courteously, responsibly, and competently with staff, attorneys, firm managers, clients, and vendors, both internally and externally.
Hanson Bridgett offers a competitive salary and benefits package. The annual salary for this California-based role is anticipated to be in the area of $65,000 - $80,000, and represents the firm’s good faith and reasonable estimate of possible compensation at the time of posting. Actual compensation is negotiable and will depend upon a number of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s years of experience, qualifications, and skill set.
