Legal & Regulatory Research Specialist in San Ramon, California at The Surplus Line Association of CA

The Legal & Regulatory Research Specialist is a research and writing focused role supporting California’s surplus line insurance marketplace. This position is ideal for someone who enjoys researching statutes and regulations, interpreting technical requirements, analyzing regulatory guidance, and translating complex legal and policy concepts into clear, practical information for others.

You do not need to be an attorney or have prior surplus line insurance experience. We are looking for someone with strong research, analytical, writing, and communication skills who is comfortable working with statutes, regulations, policies, administrative guidance, or other technical materials and who is interested in developing specialized regulatory expertise.

What You’ll Do

• Conduct legal and regulatory research involving the California Insurance Code, California Code of Regulations, regulatory bulletins, administrative guidance, and related authorities affecting surplus line insurance.
• Research, analyze, and interpret requirements related to surplus line licensing, broker registration, transaction filing, bond requirements, surplus line taxes, and other regulatory obligations.
• Evaluate statutes, regulations, policies, and regulatory guidance to determine how requirements apply to specific questions, transactions, or operational situations.
• Prepare clear, well-researched written responses to member questions regarding regulatory and compliance requirements.
• Draft, edit, and maintain compliance guidelines, regulatory summaries, procedures, FAQs, educational materials, correspondence, presentations, and other written resources.
• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and administrative developments and research how changes may affect licensing, filing procedures, taxes, reporting requirements, and compliance obligations.
• Support webinars, presentations, publications, training programs, events, and other member education initiatives.
• Respond to member inquiries by phone, email, and other communication channels.
• Collaborate with internal teams to research and resolve regulatory, process, system, and operational issues affecting broker registration and policy transaction filing.
• Assist with regulatory compliance projects, workflow tracking, system testing, process improvement initiatives, and other projects requiring careful analysis, documentation, and follow-through.

Qualifications

• Must be a California resident.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Demonstrated experience conducting substantive research and analyzing complex written materials. Relevant experience may include legal research, regulatory research, policy analysis, compliance, legislative research, paralegal work, insurance, government, contracts, or another field requiring interpretation of statutes, regulations, rules, policies, or technical guidance.
• Strong ability to read, interpret, and apply statutes, regulations, policies, administrative guidance, and other complex or technical materials.
• Excellent writing skills, including the ability to organize research, explain conclusions, summarize complex requirements, and produce clear, accurate, professional written communications.
• Excellent verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain technical or regulatory concepts clearly to audiences with varying levels of subject-matter knowledge.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, including the ability to identify relevant issues, distinguish between competing interpretations, and recognize when additional research or guidance is necessary.
• Ability to manage multiple research questions, projects, and deadlines while maintaining high-quality work.
• Comfort working independently within established procedures, priorities, and goals while knowing when to escalate questions or seek additional guidance.
• Collaborative, service-oriented approach and the ability to work effectively with colleagues across departments as well as external stakeholders.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Comfort using online research tools, government and regulatory websites, databases, and business systems to locate and evaluate information.

Particularly Relevant Backgrounds

Candidates may come from a variety of professional backgrounds. We encourage applications from individuals with experience in areas such as:

• Legal or regulatory research
• Paralegal or legal support work
• Compliance or risk management
• Policy or legislative analysis
• Government or regulatory agencies
• Insurance regulation or operations
• Contracts or corporate governance
• Research-intensive administrative or professional roles

Prior experience in surplus line insurance is helpful but not required.

Why This Role Matters

The Legal & Regulatory Research Specialist helps support the integrity and effectiveness of California’s surplus line insurance marketplace. Your research and analysis will help members understand their regulatory obligations, assist the organization in addressing complex compliance questions, and contribute to accurate and useful guidance for the industry.

This role offers the opportunity to develop deep expertise in a specialized area of California law and regulation while doing work that combines legal and regulatory research, analytical writing, problem-solving, and direct communication with members and other stakeholders.

If you enjoy digging into statutes and regulations, figuring out what they mean in practice, writing clear explanations, and helping others navigate complex requirements, this may be an excellent fit.