A career—for life.
Whether you’re looking for your first job in law or making a mid-career move, the culture of a firm is a huge consideration. At Coblentz, we encourage individuality, value collegiality, and genuinely appreciate a good sense of humor.
Coblentz is an independent mid-size law firm with deep roots—more than 125 years in the Bay Area—and an innovative approach to the law and how we practice it. People come to Coblentz because of our record of performance and service; people stay at Coblentz because they love working here.
Talent, ability, and old-fashioned hard work drive our firm’s success, and we believe our size helps seal the deal. We’re small enough to maintain a close connection with our clients and provide the responsiveness they expect, and we’re also large enough and experienced enough to handle the toughest cases and tackle the most complex issues.
When you come to Coblentz, you’ll be working alongside a committed team of gifted lawyers in a creative work environment. Because of our size, you’ll get early hands-on client contact and challenging and exciting work from your first day at Coblentz.
Our firm has a long and robust history of pro bono service and community involvement, and it’s a vital part of our culture. As an attorney at Coblentz, you’ll get the opportunity to work on pro bono matters that are directly relevant to your practice and make a real difference.
Ideal candidates have outstanding academic credentials, comparable law firm experience, exceptional writing and research skills, an enthusiasm for their area of the law, and a commitment to delivering high quality work product in a highly collaborative environment. Successful candidates will also possess strong problem solving and interpersonal skills.
We look for the following competencies in all our associate candidates:
- Knowledge of unconscious bias and a track record of impartiality as a lawyer, colleague, and supervisor
- Strong interpersonal communication skills
- Strong collaboration and relationship building skills
Please see below for our current open roles.
To apply, please send your resume, law school transcript, cover letter, and writing sample (for litigation candidates only) to AttorneyRecruiting@coblentzlaw.com.
Search firms should submit attorney candidates for consideration by emailing AttorneyRecruiting@coblentzlaw.com with candidate materials. Outreach to partners will not be considered formal submissions.
REAL ESTATE FINANCE ASSOCIATE
We are seeking attorneys with at least 3-4 years of real estate finance experience, and will consider more senior associate candidates as well.
Key Responsibilities
- Transaction management – structure, draft, and negotiate financing agreements.
- Due diligence and risk assessment.
- Advise and represent lenders, borrowers, & investors in negotiations, closings, and dispute resolution related to real estate financing.
- Ensure adherence to real estate and finance regulations while providing strategic guidance to clients.
Qualifications
- Open to different seniority levels, with at least 3-4 years of experience representing clients in commercial real estate finance transactions at a comparable law firm or in-house.
- Active members of the California State Bar preferred, will consider members of other state bars depending on circumstances.
Compensation
Associates are paid an annual salary based on the individual’s Class Year. Class Year is determined by the individual’s years of experience since graduating from law school as well as years of experience in a related field of work. The Firm’s current pay range for associates who have between three to eight years of experience is $235,000 to $325,000.
LAND USE ASSOCIATE
We are seeking associates with 3-6 years of experience in land use law to join our Real Estate practice group. We may consider more senior candidates, with the right experience.
Qualifications
- At least 3 years of experience in land use law at a comparable law firm or government agency.
- Understanding of San Francisco and California state land use laws, zoning regulations, municipal codes, planning & permitting, entitlements, etc.
- Experience advising on compliance with local, state, and federal land use regulations and environmental laws.
- Must be an active member of the California State Bar.
Compensation
Associates are paid an annual salary based on the individual’s Class Year. Class Year is determined by the individual’s years of experience since graduating from law school as well as years of experience in a related field of work. The Firm’s current pay range for associates who have between three to six years of experience is $235,000 to $300,000.
TRUSTS & ESTATES LITIGATION ASSOCIATE
We are seeking an associate with at least 3 years of trusts & estates litigation experience to join our Litigation practice group.
Key Responsibilities
- Focus on T&E litigation and pre-litigation adversarial trust administrations.
- Collaborate with partners to represent professional fiduciaries, lay fiduciaries, and beneficiaries in all stages of disputes.
- Counsel clients before litigation, represent clients in alternate dispute resolution negotiations, and handle aspects of T&E litigation from trial court level through the appellate process.
- Associate will be a member of the general litigation practice group, and may support commercial litigation matters, as needed.
- Must be an active member of the California Bar.
Compensation
Associates are paid an annual salary based on the individual’s Class Year. Class Year is determined by the individual’s years of experience since graduating from law school as well as years of experience in a related field of work. The Firm’s current pay range for associates who have between three to eight years of experience is $235,000 to $325,000.
LITIGATION ASSOCIATE
We are seeking associates with 2-5 years of experience to join our Litigation practice group.
Offering both trial and appellate experience, our attorneys have worked across industries—from sports to technology, from real estate to the music industry—and in many practice areas, including entertainment, hospitality, intellectual property, class actions, employment, telecommunications and antitrust. We have appeared in virtually every federal and state court in California and in state and federal courts throughout the country.
Qualifications
- 2-5 years of comparable law firm and/or judicial clerkship experience.
- Experience across multiple areas of general commercial litigation. An interest in white collar, land use/CEQA, soft IP, cybersecurity/data privacy, and/or L&E is a plus.
- Exposure to a diverse range of litigation matters, and a desire to be a generalist.
- Must be an active member of the California State Bar.
Compensation
Associates are paid an annual salary based on the individual’s Class Year. Class Year is determined by the individual’s years of experience since graduating from law school as well as years of experience in a related field of work. The Firm’s current pay range for associates who have between two and five years of experience is $220,000 to $275,000.
1L 2025 Summer Clerkship Program
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP, a vibrant and progressive firm with deep roots of more than 100 years in the Bay Area, is seeking applicants for our 1L Summer Clerkship Program. We have designed our program to give talented 1Ls who have not been exposed to first-tier law firm practice an opportunity to engage in a variety of legal matters, across a range of practice areas, with close mentoring by partners and associates. Over the course of seven weeks, our summer clerks will work alongside attorneys on research and writing projects on behalf of our clients. In addition, they will have the opportunity to work on pro bono matters that are directly relevant to our practice and make a real difference. We also organize a number of training and social events to round out their experience with the firm. Our goal is to immerse our summer clerks in the firm and provide a straightforward look at our work, our people, our culture and our clients. We purposely have a very small summer associate group, in order to provide focused and personal attention, practical training, varied assignments, extensive feedback, and hands-on experience with real client matters. Our program focuses on what we can do for our summer clerks, not what they can do for us.
We know the value of hiring, retaining, and promoting attorneys with broad, diverse and eclectic backgrounds. It is not surprising that over 44 percent of our firm’s partners and over 80 percent of our firm’s associates identify as women and/or from underrepresented groups in the legal profession. Is there more work to be done? Yes, and we are committed to it. In 2023, we partnered with Diversity Lab and successfully achieved Midsize Mansfield Rule certification. The Mansfield certification process increases the representation of underrepresented lawyers in leadership by broadening the pool of women, LGBTQ+ lawyers, lawyers with disabilities, and/or racial/ethnic minority lawyers who are considered for entry-level and lateral attorney job openings, leadership opportunities, equity partner promotions, and opportunities to connect with clients. Not only does our inclusive history help define us as a firm and a culture, but it helps us to better understand and serve our clients and our community.
As part of our ongoing inclusion efforts, we are pleased to offer our 1L Summer Clerkship Program to students graduating in 2027 who are members of broadly-defined historically underrepresented groups in the legal profession. Past participants have included law students who are members of underrepresented racial, ethnic, disabled, LGBTQ+, low income or first-generation communities. Interested candidates should have demonstrated leadership qualities, personal and professional accomplishments, and an active interest in community involvement (which may include a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity in the legal profession), shown in their resumes and/or cover letters.
Program Dates: Monday, June 2 – Friday, July 25, 2025
Weekly Salary: $4,038
To apply, please email your resume and cover letter by Friday, February 21, 2025 to adoll@coblentzlaw.com. If your Fall 2024 transcript is available, please include that as well.
Cover letters may be addressed to:
Alex Doll
Manager of Legal Recruitment
Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP
One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000
San Francisco, CA 94104
Even when we are not actively recruiting for a particular role or practice group, we are always interested in hearing from people who share our ideals and our passion for the law. If you’re an attorney with strong academic credentials, demonstrated writing abilities (law review, journal, or judicial clerkship), an entrepreneurial spirit, a commitment to community service, and great interpersonal skills, we’d like to be in touch. Please submit your resume and cover letter to AttorneyRecruiting@coblentzlaw.com.
California Employee and Applicant Privacy Notice
Our staff is an important part of the Coblentz culture, and we offer an environment that values both hard work and a supportive, collaborative approach in order to provide the highest quality service to our clients. We also value stability, predictable growth, mentorship, and promotion from within.
We invite you to consider becoming part of a team committed to excellence and hard work while pursuing the personal and professional commitments that create a healthy and productive workplace.