Attorney III; Senior Counsel - Southern California

About the DFPI

The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) protects consumers and oversees financial service providers and products. The DFPI supervises the operations of state-licensed financial institutions, including banks, credit unions and money transmitters. Additionally, the DFPI licenses and regulates a variety of financial service providers, including securities brokers and dealers, investment advisers, payday lenders and other consumer finance lenders. The DFPI offers benefit packages, competitive salary, a robust training program and opportunities for advancement.

Job Code #:

JC-510038

Position #(s):

-201

Working Title:

Senior Counsel

Classification:

ATTORNEY III

$10,852.00 - $15,325.00 A

New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

# of Positions:

1

Work Location:

Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego

Telework:

In Office

Job Type:

Permanent, Full Time

Candidates hired into the Attorney III (Range

A) classification at the minimum of the pay range will receive a pay differential added to their base salary. This pay differential brings the monthly gross salary to $11,695, before the 2025 PLP 4.62 percent pay reduction discussed further below.

The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) is recruiting for one permanent, full-time Attorney III position in the Office of Financial Technology Innovation
to be located in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego office. This recruitment may be used to fill subsequent vacancies of these positions within the next 180 days.

This position is responsible for providing thought leadership and legal research and policy recommendations related to innovative financial technologies and products, as well as conducting legal research into innovative technologies and emerging financial products and services.

Effective July 1, 2025, the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) implemented the Personal Leave Program 2025 (PLP 2025). PLP 2025 directs that each full-time employee shall receive a reduction in pay in exchange for PLP 2025 leave credits, monthly. The salary range(s) included in the job advertisement do not reflect the reduction in pay. All Bargaining Unit 2 classifications will receive a 4.62 percent reduction in pay in exchange for 8 hours of PLP 2025 per month.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

Final Filing Date: 3/16/2026

Applicants will need to take and pass the online Attorney III exam/assessment to be eligible to apply for the Attorney III positions. Please visit:

All classifications require active membership in The California State Bar. (Applicants who are not members of The California State Bar but who are eligible to take the California State Bar examination or are in their final year of law school will be admitted to the examination but will not be considered eligible for appointment until they are admitted to The State Bar.)

Applicants who are six months from meeting the required legal experience will be admitted to the examination, but must meet the total required years of experience prior to appointment.

Five years of legal experience in the practice of law*.

*“Legal experience in the practice of law" is defined as: (1) only that legal experience acquired after admission to any State Bar, or (2) experience as a judicial clerk for a federal court, California's state courts, or any other state's courts, or (3) legal experience acquired while practicing under a provisional license to practice law issued by the State Bar of California's Provisional Licensure Program, to constitute experience in the practice of law.

For an individual's judicial clerkship to qualify as “legal experience in the practice of law," the experience must have been gained after receipt of a Juris Doctor or equivalent degree.

Consider a rewarding and challenging career with the DFPI!

DFPI Website: