Careers at Valerian Law

SF Bay Area Public Interest Law Firm Seeks Mandarin Chinese Bilingual Legal Assistant

Job Title: Mandarin Chinese Bilingual Legal Assistant

Firm Background: Valerian Law, P.C. is a minority woman-owned law firm with an exciting docket focused on achieving social justice through employment law.  From our home base in the East Bay near UC Berkeley, we help people in need and litigate individual and class action cases in state and federal courts. We primarily represent workers and whistleblowers who are suffering wage theft, unequal pay, unsafe workplaces, retaliation, discrimination and wrongful termination.

Job Description: Legal assistants are important members of our legal team. Legal assistants assist with our civil rights, workers’ rights, and class action matters in a hands-on, substantive manner; interact frequently with clients and witnesses and other parties; manage case files and case calendars; work on investigations, factual analysis and objective and persuasive factual writing; work closely with attorneys in all aspects of litigation and negotiation; and enjoy substantive and intensive professional development opportunities.

Work Location: Hybrid; in-office in Berkeley and remote.

Qualifications: To be eligible, applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree, fluency in Mandarin Chinese and literacy in Chinese. We are not interviewing candidates who are seeking a short, gap-year position before law school, but rather would like to meet those who are interested in at least two years of growth and development within our firm. Applicants should have: 

• English-Chinese bilingualism in professional setting
• strong academic credentials;
• excellent English writing, proofreading and editing skills;
• fastidious organizational skills, with a particular ability to multi-task;
• excellent research and analytical capabilities, including a strong attention to detail;
• initiative and energy to see projects to completion;
• ability to work effectively in a team environment;
• well-developed communication and interpersonal skills; and
• commitment to civil rights and social justice and an interest in litigation.

Additional desirable skills: Microsoft Office Suite (including Excel) and Sharepoint, Adobe Acrobat or other PDF software, and LexisNexis or Westlaw; proficiency in Cantonese or Spanish.

Valerian Law is strongly committed to EEO principles and values a diverse workplace.

Compensation: Pay starts at $29.00 per hour for entry-level legal assistants and rises to $32 per hour for second-year assistants/paralegals. Pay is dependent on years of experience in legal field. An additional $4,000 per year is offered for legal team members with working fluency in Chinese or Spanish. We provide generous 401(k) benefits, accrued paid vacation time, health insurance, and 10-11 paid holidays a year.

Application Procedure: Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications through Handshake.  Open until filled. Please include a cover letter along with a resume, transcript, and two writing samples of no more than 5 pages each to [email protected]. All documents should be sent in .doc or .pdf format. Please include in the subject line of the email “2026 Legal Assistant Application.”