Litigation Attorney

Sweet James•Los Angeles, CA

20d

About The Position

Sweet James Accident Attorneys is a rapidly growing, AI-powered personal injury firm based in Orange County, California. The firm describes a culture focused on excellence, compassion, results, client experience, collaboration, and professional growth. The Litigation Attorney serves as a Team Lead in a pod model, working with experienced Associates and dedicated support staff such as paralegals and litigation assistants. The Team Lead owns the outcomes of the team's case portfolio, sets strategy for each case, prioritizes cases for development or settlement, and assigns and oversees the work required to reach those outcomes. The role personally handles advanced litigation work, including expert discovery, key depositions, high-value mediations, complaints, and trial. The Team Lead also manages and develops the team by conducting meetings and one-on-ones, setting the demand cadence, coaching Associates, reviewing all court filings, and reporting weekly to litigation leadership. The firm identifies strong team-building and portfolio results as a path to future litigation leadership.

Requirements

Juris Doctor degree.
Active license to practice law in the state where the role is based.
At least five years of civil litigation experience, including at least three years of plaintiff-side personal injury experience.
Experience as lead counsel managing personal injury files from start to finish, including sole responsibility for setting settlement value.
Experience preparing cases for trial.
Expert discovery experience, including taking defense expert depositions and defending the team's experts.
Mediation experience as the attorney driving the process from beginning to end.
Demonstrated ability to lead by example, delegate, follow through, and develop less experienced attorneys.
Strong negotiation skills and deep understanding of personal injury case valuation and how case value is created.

Nice To Haves

Trial experience as first or second chair.
Prior experience leading a team of attorneys and support staff.
Daily use of a case management platform such as Salesforce or Filevine.

Responsibilities

Review each new case with the team, establish its strategy and goals, and identify the work required.
Prioritize the portfolio by developing high-value cases and resolving cases that should settle.
Conduct an introductory call with every new client and own relationships on the team's largest cases.
Draft complaints and ensure the correct parties are named within the statute of limitations.
Manage expert discovery, including designating and managing experts, taking defense expert depositions, and defending the team's experts.
Take and defend key depositions in each case, including depositions of high-value plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses.
Prepare for and attend high-value mediations, negotiate, and settle cases within delegated authority.
Prepare and try cases, with support from Associates.
Set and track the team's weekly demand cadence and prepare demands on the largest files.
Review everything filed with the court and ensure the team's compliance with the firm's AI use policy.
Lead team meetings and one-on-ones, coach team members, resolve conflicts, and send a weekly status report to litigation leadership.