Senior Paralegal - Trusts and Estates

San Francisco, CA | Full-Time | In-Office

Real Work-Life Balance | Flexible Schedule | Woman-Owned Boutique Firm

Spears & Shelf, LLP, is a woman-owned trust and estate firm in San Francisco built on exceptional client service, a collaborative team, and real work-life balance. We are looking for a senior paralegal who understands the substance behind the paperwork and who wants to bring that experience to managing the client experience, from first call to deliverable. If you’re an experienced paralegal who is ready to step into a leadership role and cares about helping people through meaningful life events, we’d love to meet you.

About the Role

You will lead the client experience from first call to final deliverable, supervise the staff and outside service providers, and keep every estate planning, trust administration, and probate matter on schedule. You will keep legal projects on track so the attorneys can focus on legal work, and you will be the go-to resource for client questions that do not need an attorney.

This is a new, long-term leadership position. Attorneys and clients will count on you to know exactly where every matter stands, with real ownership, partner support, and predictable hours for real work-life balance.

Key Responsibilities

• Client experience:

• Maintain overview of all client matters

• Oversee intake and new client setup

• Keep every client informed on matter status and next steps

• Field routine client questions and loop in attorneys as needed

• Estate planning:

• Initiate and manage drafting process, track project progress, and answer drafter questions

• Check drafts for completeness before they go to the attorney

• Coordinate deeds, signings, notarizations, binders, and trust funding follow-up

• Trust, incapacity, and probate administration:

• Supervise the 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

• Flag staffing needs and adjust allocation as caseloads grow

• Operations and vendor partners:

• Know the process and substance of every role on the team

• Maintain firm forms, checklists, and project-tracking systems

• Manage outside paralegals, notary, deed, and accounting service providers

• Requirements

Experience and background:

• At least 5 years of law firm paralegal experience, with substantial work in estates and trusts
• Deep working knowledge of estate planning documents (revocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, health care directives) and the trust administration process; probate experience a plus
• Experience supervising staff, managing vendors, or running a practice workflow is a strong plus

Must-haves:

• Takes ownership of projects, enjoys building systems, and follows through without needing constant direction
• Looking for a long-term role with a stable, growing firm
• Communicates with warmth and clarity, especially with clients facing a death or incapacity in the family, and leads staff with calm, collaborative confidence
• Detail-oriented and highly accurate, and holds others accountable to deadlines and quality of work

Why This Role Stands Out

• A leadership role with real autonomy and authority
• Real work-life balance with predictable hours: no overtime, nights, or weekends expected
• Flexible scheduling, such as 8:00 to 4:30 or 10:00 to 6:30
• Meaningful work helping families plan for and through loss
• A profitable, systematized firm where your work is visible and valued every day
• Opportunities for professional growth as the firm continues to expand

Benefits

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary: $115,000 to $135,000, commensurate with experience
• Discretionary year-end bonus
• Medical insurance with a firm premium contribution, 50% of dental paid, and vision available
• 401(k)/profit-sharing plan with a 100% match on contributions up to 4% of salary
• Paid time off plus 40 hours of paid sick time each year
• 13 paid holidays plus a paid office closure between Christmas and New Year's
• Firm-paid notary and paralegal certification fees

Equal Opportunity Employer

Spears & Shelf, LLP is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, California, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.