Senior Paralegal - Trusts and Estates

Build My Great Team • San Francisco, CA

1d • $115,000 - $135,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Spears & Shelf, LLP, a woman-owned trust and estate firm in San Francisco, is hiring a senior paralegal for a new, long-term leadership position. The role leads the client experience from first call to final deliverable, supervises staff and outside service providers, and keeps estate planning, trust administration, and probate matters on schedule. The senior paralegal ensures legal projects stay on track so attorneys can focus on legal work and handles client questions that do not require attorney input. The position offers ownership, partner support, and predictable hours.

The role oversees client intake, setup, status communications, and routine inquiries; manages estate planning drafting workflows and document quality checks; coordinates deeds, signings, notarizations, binders, and trust-funding follow-up; and supervises trust administration paralegals and project tracking. It also coordinates appraisals and other third-party needs, adjusts staffing allocation as caseloads grow, maintains firm forms and workflow systems, and manages outside service providers.

The firm describes the position as in-office in San Francisco, with flexible scheduling and predictable hours. No overtime, nights, or weekends are expected. Salary is $115,000 to $135,000, commensurate with experience, with a discretionary year-end bonus and the benefits listed below.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of law firm paralegal experience, including substantial work in estates and trusts.
• Deep working knowledge of estate-planning documents, including revocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and health care directives.
• Deep working knowledge of the trust administration process.
• Takes ownership of projects, enjoys building systems, and follows through without constant direction.
• Seeks a long-term role with a stable, growing firm.
• Communicates warmly and clearly, particularly with clients facing a death or incapacity in the family.
• Leads staff with calm, collaborative confidence.
• Is detail-oriented and highly accurate, and holds others accountable for deadlines and work quality.

Nice To Haves

• Probate experience.
• Experience supervising staff, managing vendors, or running a practice workflow.

Responsibilities

• Maintain an overview of all client matters.
• Oversee client intake and new-client setup.
• Keep clients informed about matter status and next steps.
• Handle routine client questions and involve attorneys as needed.
• Initiate and manage estate-planning drafting, track progress, and answer drafter questions.
• Review drafts for completeness before they go to an attorney.
• Coordinate deeds, signings, notarizations, binders, and trust-funding follow-up.
• Supervise trust administration paralegals to keep deliverables on schedule.
• Run internal tracking meetings to manage project progress.
• Coordinate appraisals, annual letters, and other third-party needs.
• Identify staffing needs and adjust allocation as caseloads grow.
• Understand the processes and substance of each team role.
• Maintain firm forms, checklists, and project-tracking systems.
• Manage outside paralegals, notary, deed, and accounting service providers.
• Keep legal projects on track so attorneys can focus on legal work.

Benefits

• Discretionary year-end bonus.
• Medical insurance with a firm premium contribution.
• 50% of dental insurance paid by the firm; vision insurance available.
• 401(k)/profit-sharing plan with a 100% match on contributions up to 4% of salary.
• Paid time off and 40 hours of paid sick time each year.
• 13 paid holidays and a paid office closure between Christmas and New Year's.
• Firm-paid notary and paralegal certification fees.
• Opportunities for professional growth as the firm expands.
• Flexible scheduling and predictable hours, with no overtime, nights, or weekends expected.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed