Process Clerk

Legal Process Clerk

Classification: 8106 Legal Process Clerk

Status: Full-Time

Appointment Type: Temporary Exempt (TEX) Category 17

Application Opening: Monday, February 09, 2026

Application Deadline: by 11:45pm on Monday, February 23, 2026

Compensation: $71,318 - $86,684 / Annually

Recruitment ID: RTF0163271-00304361

This is a Temporary Exempt (TEX) Category 17- Limited one (1) year duration

The Public Defender's office provides legal representation to persons charged with a crime in San Francisco who do not have the financial means to retain their own counsel. Each year, the office serves approximately 20,000 people. The San Francisco Public Defender's office is a nationally recognized model of public defense. The Public Defender provides legal staffing for each of the misdemeanor and felony preliminary hearing and trial courts, the Mental Health and Youth Defender Unit divisions, the Community Justice Center, Domestic Violence Court, Behavioral Health Court, Veterans' Justice Court, Drug Court, Intensive Supervision court, Parole Court, Young Adult Court, and Extradition.

Job Description

Appointment Type: Temporary Exempt (TEX) Category 17 Limited one (1) year duration

Under supervision, this position in the Public Defender's Office is responsible for but not limited to:

• Reviews, processes, routes, files, records such as marriage licenses, fictitious name statements, etc and retrieves legal documents such as court orders.
• Responds to in-person and telephone inquires from the public, attorneys, litigants, witnesses, victims, police and other law enforcement agencies; checks files and computer records to locate requested information; provides information regarding court and office procedures.
• Operates computer terminal to perform record researches and data entry functions.
• Types forms, memoranda, correspondence and notices; assembles legal papers and case files.
• Files motions and other legal papers in Superior and Municipal Courts.
• Makes entries in the Register of actions; maintains registers of cases bound over to Superior Court.
• Tallies and records dispositions of cases.
• Distributes mail and delivers legal papers to courtroom.
• Obtains records of prior convictions and imprisonment of felons by contacting criminal justice agencies.
• Reviews and routes motions to expunge and to seal and destroy records.
• Examines legal documents to determine acceptability for recording or filing assesses and collects fees and taxes.
• Answers questions pertaining to regulation requirements of documents; complies by departmental customer service policies in dealing with the general public

Working Conditions:

• This position may require onsite work 5 days a week 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
• This position is located at 555 7th Street, San Francisco, cross street Bryant near the Hall of Justice and the Jails, by 6th Street, the Tenderloin District.

Note: Legal Process Clerks may specialize in any of the PDR functional areas or may perform in multiple units.

Qualifications

Required Before Applying:

Applicants must fully meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing deadline unless otherwise stated:

Experience: One (1) year (equivalent of 2,000 hours) of verifiable experience processing and/or researching documents in accordance with laws, codes and/or regulations in a legal, governmental, real estate or financial services environment

Desirable Qualifications:

• Excellent customer service or customer relations track record; answering high-volume calls and responding to numerous inquiries from the public and public defender clients.
• Bilingual skills: speak, read and write in both English and another language.
• Experience working in a legal or law office environment. Experience must be within the last five years.
• Experience working in an organization that works with communities with a history of disenfranchisement or discrimination, such as the poor and working class, mental health and chemical dependency, etc.

Verification of Experience and/or Education:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at .aspx?page=456

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Selection Procedures:

Applications will be screened and evaluated for qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidate's qualifications. Only qualified candidates whose experience best meets the needs of the position will be selected to continue on to additional steps in the selection process, which may include an interview. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement. Qualified applicants with disabilities requiring reasonable accommodation in the selection process must contact the Agency by phone at (415) 554-6000 or, if hearing impaired at (415) 554-6015 (TTY).