Trial Attorney -- Catastrophic Injury Litigation

Job Summary

We represent injured people. We do not represent insurers, and we never will.

Our cases involve catastrophic injury and wrongful death — the files where the medicine is contested, the damages are large, and the defense has decided it is worth spending real money to fight. We litigate in state and federal court, we take cases to verdict, and we handle our own appeals in house.

That last part matters. The record you build in discovery is the record you will be arguing to the Court of Appeal. Here, you will be the one arguing it.

You will be litigating against the best defense firms in California. That is the job. If that sounds like pressure, it is. If it sounds like the reason you went to law school, keep reading.

What you will actually do

• Take the depositions that decide these cases: the defendant, the corporate person most qualified, the treating physicians, and the defense medical examiner who is about to tell a jury your client is fine.
• Build the damages case, not just the liability case. Complex injuries are won on the medical record — causation, future care, and the difference between what was billed and what will be proven.
• Work directly with accident reconstructionist, biomechanical engineers, life care planners, and economists. You will retain them, prepare them, and defend them.
• Move fast on evidence that disappears, and file the spoliation motion when it does.
• Litigate the motions that set up trial: summary judgment oppositions, expert challenges under Sargon, motions in limine, and the discovery motions the defense is betting you are too busy to bring.
• Handle federal practice on its own terms — removal and remand, Rule 26 disclosures, and a scheduling order that does not move.
• Try cases. Then, when the verdict is appealed or the ruling was wrong, brief and argue the appeal yourself.
• Carry your own files from complaint through judgment, with a partner in the room when you want one and out of your way when you don't.

You will not be doing document review. You will not be second-chairing someone else's career.

Who we are looking for

• 2+ years of civil litigation experience. Plaintiff's personal injury preferred. Defense-side PI experience is a real advantage — you already know how the other side builds a file, and we want that.
• Active California Bar license, in good standing. Federal court admission, or willingness to get it immediately.
• Depositions you have actually taken. Not attended. Taken.
• Written work you are proud of. We will read it closely. If you like writing briefs, this is a firm where that skill is used rather than outsourced.
• Ownership. Deadlines here are not managed by anyone but you. Nobody is going to chase you for a discovery response.
• Spanish fluency is a plus. Many of our clients speak only Spanish, and the lawyer who can take a client's statement, prepare her for her deposition, and explain a settlement to her family without an interpreter is more valuable to those clients and to this firm. It is not a requirement. It is an advantage, and we compensate for it.

What we offer

• $120,000 – $160,000 base, set by experience — plus bonuses tied to case results, not billable hours. The bonus structure is designed so that what you earn on your results exceeds your base salary. We do not bill by the hour and neither will you.
• Real trial exposure. We try cases. You will get in front of juries early, and you will get in front of them often.
• Appellate work in house. Very few plaintiff's firms this size will hand an associate a brief to the Court of Appeal. We do.
• Direct partner mentorship on strategy, depositions, and trial. You will be prepared, not thrown.
• Paid time off.
• A caseload built around depth, not volume.

On hours: this is demanding work with a trial calendar attached. Weeks before trial and before major depositions are long. Weeks that are not, are not. We are not interested in performative face time — we are interested in results, and the results here are measured in verdicts and settlements.

Work Location

In person

How to apply

Send your resume and a work sample.

The work sample: either a transcript of a deposition you took, or a motion you wrote and argued. Your work, not your supervisor's. Redact as confidentiality requires.

Applications without a work sample and an answer to the question will not be reviewed.

Martinian Lawyers is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.