Senior Attorney

Trust & Estate Litigation | Private Wealth Disputes
5+ Years
Orange County | Costa Mesa, California

Lead consequential private wealth disputes – and help build the practice sophisticated Orange County clients and referral sources call first.

EXPERIENCE 5+ years	BASE SALARY $235,000-$300,000	ROLE SCOPE Matter + team leadership
CALIFORNIA BAR Required	PORTABLE BOOK Not required

THE OPPORTUNITY

At a certain point, experienced litigators no longer want another associate seat. They want trusted client relationships, control over strategy, meaningful courtroom responsibility, influence over staffing and case economics, credit for leadership, and a credible path to ownership.

RMO LLP offers that opportunity within a disputes-focused private wealth platform. We represent beneficiaries, heirs, trustees, executors, conservators, professional fiduciaries, trust companies, and families in contested trust, estate, probate, conservatorship, financial elder abuse, and related civil matters.

We are seeking a Senior Attorney to help lead complex matters in Orange County, mentor developing lawyers, strengthen our legal product, and contribute to the continued growth of a specialist practice with an established brand, centralized infrastructure, and firm-generated work.

You will work closely with Orange County Managing Partner, Meghan M. Glaspy, and RMO Managing Partner, Sean D. Muntz, and RMO leadership. A portable book of business is not required. We do expect a senior lawyer to want to build enduring client and referral relationships and to develop the leadership and business-generation capabilities associated with advancement.

WHAT YOU WILL LEAD

• Matter strategy. Diagnose the dispute, define objectives, identify leverage, establish the case plan, and adapt strategy as the factual and procedural record develops.
• Client relationships. Serve as a trusted counselor and primary point of contact for clients facing significant financial stakes and emotionally charged family conflict.
• High-stakes advocacy. Draft or supervise major pleadings and briefs; take and defend key depositions; argue substantive motions; work with experts; and lead mediation, evidentiary-hearing, and trial preparation.
• Case teams. Delegate intelligently, set standards, review work product, provide timely feedback, develop junior lawyers, and create accountability without unnecessary hierarchy.
• Matter economics. Manage scope, staffing, budgets, realization, collections, and client expectations with the same discipline applied to the legal merits.
• Practice development. Build professional visibility and referral relationships through thoughtful outreach, authorship, speaking, community participation, and excellent service to clients and referral sources.
• Firm-building. Contribute to RMO’s litigation standards, training, knowledge, recruiting, innovation, and collaborative culture across offices.

WHAT SUCCESS CAN LOOK LIKE IN YOUR FIRST YEAR

1. First 90 days. You establish trust with clients and colleagues, learn RMO’s systems and standards, and assume meaningful responsibility for an agreed portfolio of matters without disrupting continuity or quality.
2. By six months. You are functioning as the primary strategic and client lead on appropriate matters, producing and supervising excellent work, managing teams and budgets, and developing other lawyers through candid, useful feedback.
3. By twelve months. You have delivered measurable client and matter results, strengthened the Orange County team, advanced at least one firm-building or thought-leadership initiative, and established a written path toward Managing Attorney, Income Partner, or another mutually appropriate next level.

THE LAWYER WHO WILL THRIVE HERE

• You are an active member in good standing of the California Bar.
• You have at least five years of civil litigation experience, including at least two years of meaningful trust, estate, probate, conservatorship, financial elder abuse, or related fiduciary-dispute work.
• You have a demonstrated record of developing strategy, drafting or supervising significant law-and-motion work, taking or defending depositions, appearing in court, and preparing matters for mediation, evidentiary hearing, or trial.
• You can make sound decisions with incomplete information, identify what actually matters, and communicate a practical recommendation rather than merely cataloging issues.
• You are an exceptional writer and editor who can improve both the substance and clarity of others’ work without rewriting everything yourself.
• You understand that private wealth disputes require technical rigor, commercial judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence.
• You can lead with confidence without ego, delegate without abdication, and hold people accountable while helping them improve.
• You care about matter economics, client value, reputation, and the long-term health of the firm – not simply your own docket.
• You can consistently deliver high-quality work and appreciate the value of working regularly from RMO’s Costa Mesa office.
• You do not need an existing book of business, but you are prepared to participate meaningfully in relationship development and practice growth at a level appropriate to a senior lawyer.

WHY RMO

• A focused private wealth disputes platform. RMO is built around contested trusts, estates, fiduciary relationships, inheritances, and family wealth. The work is not an afterthought to an estate-planning practice.
• Autonomy without isolation. Senior lawyers receive meaningful authority over matters and client relationships while retaining access to experienced colleagues, firm leadership, cross-office knowledge, and practical backup when the stakes rise.
• Firm-generated work and centralized infrastructure. RMO invests in intake, staffing, paralegal support, technology, finance, operations, marketing, and business development. You can lead sophisticated matters without having to build every support function yourself.
• A credible advancement architecture. The path from Senior Attorney to Managing Attorney to Income Partner to Equity Partner is tied to written expectations involving legal product, judgment, client service, leadership, economics, firm contribution, and business development.
• A platform that builds your individual reputation. RMO’s business-development and marketing professionals help senior attorneys secure speaking, authorship, media, recognition, community, and referral-development opportunities aligned with their practice goals.
• The chance to shape Orange County. You will help determine how the office serves clients, develops lawyers, builds referral relationships, and expands its presence in one of the country’s most important private wealth markets.
• Sustainable high performance. RMO values results, judgment, responsiveness, efficiency, leadership, and team contribution – not bureaucracy or performative face time. The role is office-forward, with reasonable schedule flexibility based on performance and client, court, and team needs.

HOW WE WORK

• Lead with Integrity. Give candid advice, protect the client’s legitimate interests, own decisions and mistakes, and preserve trust even when the message is difficult.
• Precision-Driven Results. Master the record and the law, distinguish signal from noise, think several moves ahead, and demand work that can withstand adversarial scrutiny.
• Stronger Together. Develop people, share information and credit, seek input early, and use the collective capability of the firm to produce a better result than any one lawyer could alone.

COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, AND WORK MODEL

REASONABLY EXPECTED BASE SALARY: $235,000-$300,000

The actual base salary will depend on years of practice, depth of private wealth disputes experience, demonstrated matter-leadership capability, writing and advocacy, expected level, portable business if any, and internal equity. This range excludes bonuses and benefits.

Additional compensation: Annual performance-based bonus eligibility under RMO’s written compensation framework, tied to factors such as quality, productivity, client service, collections, matter leadership, team development, firm contribution, and origination credit for eligible new matters and relationships.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) with firm contribution.
• Flexible paid time off managed responsibly around client, court, team, and annual performance obligations.
• Parental and sick leave.
• Basic life insurance.
• Paid parking at the Costa Mesa office.
• Professional-development and individualized business-development support.

This is a full-time, exempt, office-forward position based in Costa Mesa, California. It is not a fully remote position. RMO provides reasonable scheduling flexibility based on performance and firm, client, matter, court, and team needs.

Exceptional candidates already operating at a Managing Attorney, Income Partner, or partner-equivalent level – including candidates with significant portable relationships or business – may be considered for a separately scoped opportunity and compensation structure.

LET’S HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION

The strongest senior candidates are usually successful where they are and may not be actively looking. RMO welcomes confidential exploratory conversations about the work, platform, economics, leadership path, and mutual fit.

No formal cover letter is required. Submit a resume or LinkedIn profile and, in a few sentences, identify the kinds of matters you have led and what would make a move professionally compelling. A representative writing sample and matter-history discussion may be requested later in the process.

Equal Opportunity and Accommodations. RMO LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We make employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified applicants and employees.