Senior Attorney (Contractor Role)

Trestle Law is a modern intellectual property and business law firm. We work with founders, creators, and brand-driven businesses: clients who treat their IP as a strategic asset, not a checkbox. We are not a high-volume filing shop. We provide strategic counsel that helps clients protect, structure, and monetize what they've built.

We are engaging an experienced contract attorney to handle high-level matters across IP, business, and select federal litigation.

To Apply:

Submit your resume and a cover letter (under 200 words) about a matter you owned from start to finish and the decision in it that mattered most. We won't review applications without the note.

REQUIRED:

CALIFORNIA BAR ADMISSION

How the Engagement Works:

Independent contract attorney engagement at $150/hour, $50/hour for any administrative tasks, invoiced monthly. Volume starts around 10-20 hours per week, with opportunity to grow. You set your own working hours. We need reliable availability during Pacific business hours for client calls, deadlines, and time-sensitive turnaround. Time tracked in Clio in 0.1-hour increments.

What You'll Work On:

• Matters across business, IP, and select federal litigation, including trademark and copyright disputes, TTAB proceedings, licensing, and commercial contracts.
• Client counseling on brand protection, monetization, contract negotiation, and dispute strategy.
• Drafting and negotiating licensing, commercial, and brand-related agreements.
• Case strategy with the managing attorney.

What Matters to Us:

• Judgment and quality of work product.
• Responsiveness and turnaround on deadline-driven work.
• Clear communication: knowing when to ask, when to decide, and how to keep clients and the managing attorney informed.
• Ownership: matters move forward without anyone having to chase them.
• Efficiency on fixed-fee matters.

Who You Are:

• 8+ years of practice, with substantive experience in IP, business, and commercial litigation.
• California bar in good standing.
• Strong drafting and negotiation skills, with a track record of moving complex matters efficiently.
• Comfortable owning matters end to end and exercising independent judgment.
• Comfortable with fixed-fee work and managing matters against a budget.
• Proficient in Clio, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and Word.
• Able to take on 15 to 25 hours per week of substantive matter work.

You are Likely a Strong Fit if You:

• Think like a business owner, not just a technician.
• See legal issues from 10,000 feet and act with the right level of detail.
• Take initiative without waiting to be told.

Required:

Soft IP focus (trademark, copyright, trade dress), TTAB experience and Federal Litigation Experience advising founder-led or creative businesses.