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Office of the County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel

Attorneys

We welcome qualified applicants of all backgrounds and believe a diverse team leads to the best outcomes. We invite you to explore our website to learn more about our Office and team members, our work, and our many practice areas. 

Current openings

Civil Rights, Tort, and Employment Litigation Team 

We are seeking an experienced employment litigator for our Civil Rights, Tort, and Employment Litigation Team.  This Team defends the County in lawsuits filed against not only the County, but also its officials, and/or its employees.  In addition to employment cases, the Team’s docket includes a wide variety of other subject matter areas, including tort, civil rights, medical malpractice, and dangerous condition of public property actions to name a few.  Our litigators handle all phases of litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts.  Additionally, our litigators represent all County departments and have developed expertise in the work of each department to provide advice and training on risk management issues to improve policies, practices, and to minimize legal exposure to the County.  We are interested in candidates who would like to work in a collaborative and dynamic public-sector litigation practice, have experience in employment litigation, and five (5) or more years of litigation practice.  Experience in the other specific types of cases described above is desirable, but not required.

Health and Hospitals Team

We are seeking an attorney to join our Health and Hospitals Team, which provides legal advice to the County’s health care delivery system.  This Team counsels Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), a 731-bed acute care hospital and Level 1 trauma center and 50-bed psychiatric hospital; O’Connor Hospital, a 358-bed acute care hospital; Saint Louise Regional Hospital, a 95-bed acute care hospital; and a network of health centers and urgent care clinics across Santa Clara County.  Attorneys also serve as legal counsel to the Behavioral Health Services Department; the Public Health Department; the Custody Health Services Department; the Emergency Medical Services Agency; and Valley Health Plan, the County’s Knox Keene-licensed, publicly-sponsored health plan.  

The ideal candidate will have a range of experience furnishing general advice and counsel to large health care providers and/or plans.  Desirable skillsets include, but are not limited to, health care contracting; regulatory compliance, including with regard to state and federal claims, billing, consent and data privacy, finance and cost reporting, pharmacy, and/or Federally Qualified Health Center requirements; experience advising hospital and clinic quality and risk departments, including on responses to federal and state survey activities; and payor-side managed care experience, including with complex delegation agreements and provider dispute/grievance resolution.  Familiarity with California’s health care regulatory landscape, including requirements set forth by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), and the Department of Healthcare Access and Information (HCAI), would be an asset. 

What we value in an applicant

two people sitting and looking at each other, one is typing on laptop, one is holding open a book

Attorney candidates must bring a record of hard work, dedication, and academic and professional excellence, along with exceptional legal research and writing skills. We value candidates who are flexible, eager to learn, self-directed, and capable of prioritizing and managing multiple projects under deadline. At the same time, they are team players who are ready to step in to help their colleagues and maintain excellent working relationships with other County staff. 

Our attorneys must have strong communication skills to be able to explain complex legal issues to judges, arbitrators, elected officials, a diverse range of clients, and, occasionally, members of the public. 

Our attorneys join us at varying points of their career.  While we rarely hire attorneys right out of law school, some of our attorneys have fewer than five years of work experience. While prior public law experience, including clerkships, is helpful, it is not required. An attorney applicant must be a member in good standing with the State Bar of California.  

Above all, we expect our team to practice the highest level of ethics and professional responsibility.  

Salary and benefits

The County of Santa Clara offers competitive salary and benefits for all employees.   

Salaries vary based on experience and qualifications.  For attorneys with five or more years of experience, the annual salary range is $225,902 to $281,170. 

Compensation and benefits for Deputy County Counsels are governed in large part by the collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the County Counsel Attorneys’ Association (the union that represents most attorneys in the County Counsel’s Office) and the County of Santa Clara.  Highlights of the current compensation and benefits package include: 

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for all attorneys and their dependents 
  • 19 days accrued paid vacation time per year, increasing to 25 days after 4 years of service and 8 days accrued sick leave per year 
  • 13 paid County holidays 
  • CalPERS pension 
  • 457 deferred compensation plan 
  • Employee assistance program 
  • Dependent care assistance plan 
  • Life insurance and long-term disability insurance 
  • Employee wellness program 
  • Tuition reimbursement program 
  • MCLE training 
  • Payment of state bar dues 
  • “Qualifying employer” for purposes of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program administered by the U.S. Department of Education 
  • Eligibility for hybrid remote/in-office work schedule 

How to apply

If you are interested in any of the above positions, please send a résumé, five references, and a brief cover letter to Assistant County Counsel Michaela Lozano Lewis via [email protected].  We will consider applications on a rolling basis, and encourage interested applicants to apply promptly.

Frequently asked questions

Please refer to our frequently asked questions from attorney candidates.

Related link

Employee Services Agency