Civil Litigation Attorney

Job Description

Job Description

The Dreyer Firm, Atlanta, Georgia

Full-time · Hybrid · Starting salary range: $135,000 to $165,000, depending on experience and accomplishments

How we work

We focus on producing excellent work by great lawyers for clients and causes that matter, while still having a life outside the office. We work a hybrid schedule, and attorneys are in the office three or four days per week. To support our lawyers and staff, our office closes at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays when urgent work is complete. Even with a thriving litigation practice, our attorneys bill approximately 1,700 to 1,800 hours annually, depending on the firm’s caseload.

We litigate complex cases against experienced, well-resourced firms who are very good at what they do. There are stretches when a case requires more work, though, such as before a trial, a dispositive-motion deadline, or a key deposition, and we expect attorneys to work additional hours.

The standard is excellent work product and winning for clients, which requires careful attention to detail and meeting every deadline. However, we do not manufacture urgency or treat long hours as a measure of commitment. When a case requires more, everyone contributes. Otherwise, we want you to spend time with the people that matter to you, which is important at our firm.

The role

This position is for an attorney who wants to run their own cases. We expect the right candidate to lead a medium-sized case from client intake through settlement, verdict, or judgment, with a partner available to discuss strategy and key decisions. You will also work directly with a partner on our larger and more complex matters, which will give you the opportunity to grow with us.

The right candidate will want to stand up to predatory systems while building their own skills and becoming a long-term, essential part of the firm. Supervisory and partnership tracks are available, and we offer origination bonuses immediately. We also provide bonuses for substantial contributions to successful contingency cases.

You will have paralegal and legal administrative support, other attorneys to collaborate with and consult, and top-level technology built to support complex litigation.

Compensation and benefits

The starting salary range is $135,000 to $165,000, depending on experience and accomplishments. We pay origination bonuses from your first day. If you have a portable book of business, we will work with you to seamlessly transition the matter to our firm.

Benefits include:

• Paid parental leave

• Paid time off with no hard cap. We encourage you to take at least two weeks of vacation a year, and we ask that the necessary work gets done

• A flexible schedule and hybrid work

• Early office closure at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays when urgent work is complete

• Health insurance, with the firm paying 50% of the premium for individual coverage under most plans and 25% to 40% for plans covering families and dependents

• Dental and vision insurance, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance, with premiums paid in full by the firm

• Payment of bar dues, CLE, and a marketing budget

• Origination bonuses from your first day

• A retirement plan, which the firm is implementing by January 2027

• Supervisory and partnership tracks

How to apply

Please apply through LinkedIn and upload your cover letter, resume, and a writing sample with your application.

Your cover letter matters to us. Please tell us about a case that is important to you, your career goals, and what matters to you.

The writing sample should be a brief or motion, ten pages or longer, that is substantially your own work, with any client-confidential information redacted; please note any significant editing by others.

We review applications on a rolling basis.

Equal opportunity

The Dreyer Firm is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities; please let us know if you need one during the application process.

Compensation:

$135,000

Responsibilities:

• Evaluating new matters and handling client intake, including contingency case assessments

• Drafting pleadings, written discovery, dispositive motions, and briefs

• Taking and defending depositions and working with experts

• Handling hearings and mediations, and trying cases as first or second chair

• Handling appeals before Georgia appellate courts and the Eleventh Circuit

• Owning direct client relationships and communications

• Working closely with our paralegal and case management team to stay ahead of deadlines, rather than reacting to them

Qualifications:

Minimum qualifications

• Five or more years of civil litigation experience

• Admitted to the State Bar of Georgia, or eligible for admission on motion

• Experience litigating in state and federal trial courts

• Excellent legal writing that produces clear, well-organized, and persuasive briefs, with minimal editing

• Demonstrated ability to manage a case from intake through resolution, including the initial investigation, pleadings, written discovery, depositions, motion practice, expert work, mediation, and trial preparation

• Sound independent judgment and real ownership of your matters

• Strong attention to detail and a consistent record of meeting deadlines

Preferred qualifications

• Georgia litigation experience, though we welcome strong candidates from other states

• Experience in complex litigation, including any of the following: constitutional law, civil rights cases (including § 1983), business and commercial disputes, fraud, civil RICO (state and federal), wrongful death, and catastrophic injury

• First- or second-chair trial experience

• Experience practicing in the Northern District of Georgia

• Appellate experience before the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia, or the Eleventh Circuit

• Comfort working on contingency matters and evaluating case value and cost exposure

About Company

We handle both hourly and contingency fee cases, which gives us latitude to choose cases on their merits.

We are currently handling numerous cases challenging state law, holding private prisons accountable, obtaining justice for a wrongful death or catastrophic injury, and protecting people and businesses from complex fraud schemes.

Most importantly, we focus on obtaining meaningful results for clients and on improving our communities and country. This is the work we are built around.

We also have a consistent stream of business and commercial disputes, and we have a strong record of achieving excellent results at a good value for clients. In just the last two years, we tried a complex business dispute before a jury and won on every count, including an attorneys’ fees award, and we have obtained several large settlements.

We are small and flexible, and all of our cases have come to us by reputation and referral. We want to strategically grow and make a bigger impact.