Senior Counsel (Civil Litigation)

Location: San Francisco, California; based out of the Novato office and serving Northern California and the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Remote, hybrid, and onsite work options are available, with attorneys working onsite at least twice weekly eligible for a permanent office space. An active California Bar license is required.

Salary: $160,000–$190,000 annually, depending on experience and qualifications. Annual billable-hours bonuses are also available.

Company

Tyson & Mendes is a growing civil defense law firm focused on insurance defense and civil litigation, with trial practice, attorney development, and leadership opportunities.

What you will do

• Develop case themes, litigation strategy, and approaches to achieve strong outcomes.
• Independently handle court appearances, depositions, briefs, discovery, motion practice, and trials.
• Manage cases from initial development through trial and maintain routine client communications.
• Cultivate relationships with existing and prospective clients.
• Collaborate with attorneys at different experience levels while maintaining case ownership.
• Provide leadership and direction to less experienced attorneys.

Requirements

• Active license to practice law in California.
• JD from an ABA-approved law school.
• At least 8 years of solid litigation experience, including litigation support, depositions, and trial preparation.
• Ability to manage full case-handling responsibilities, including all aspects of discovery and trial.
• Strong independent judgment, time management, communication, listening, and writing skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and time-management systems.

Nice to have

• Insurance defense experience.
• Experience in plaintiff-side, criminal, construction, professional liability, or other complex litigation.

Culture & Benefits

• Collaborative environment with autonomy, responsive experienced attorneys, and opportunities to take ownership.
• Flexible remote, hybrid, and onsite work model.
• Comprehensive health, vision, dental, and life insurance coverage, including plans available at zero employee cost.
• 401(k) program with employer matching, paid parental leave, flexible vacation, and monthly technology reimbursement.
• In-house training, leadership development, firm-provided CLE programs, and paid bar license renewal fees.
• Defined pathway to partnership, diversity and inclusion initiatives, charitable programs, and social events.