Assistant City Attorney

City of Folsom; Folsom (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Folsom seeks an Assistant City Attorney to join the City Attorney's Office. The ideal candidate will provide legal guidance on municipal matters, draft ordinances, contracts, and opinions, and represent the City in litigation and hearings.

Strong independence, judgment, and customer service are essential. Requirements include a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school and California Bar membership, with at least five years in civil or municipal law.

Qualifications

• Active membership in the State Bar of California.
• Five years of progressively responsible experience in civil or municipal law.
• Strong legal judgment and customer service skills.
• Ability to advise City leadership and departments with independence.

Responsibilities

• Advise City departments and commissions on legal issues and compliance.
• Prepare opinions, memoranda, ordinances and contracts for the City.
• Represent the City in litigation and administrative proceedings.
• Manage outside litigation counsel and supervise staff as assigned.
• Provide training on pertinent laws and regulations.

Skills

Municipal law

Legal research

Oral & written communication

Civil/public law

Litigation experience

Public contracting

CEQA knowledge

Education

Juris Doctorate (JD) from an accredited law school

Job description

Anchored in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada - 20 miles east of Sacramento and about 1.5 hours from Lake Tahoe - the City of Folsom is comprised of beautiful parks and trails, and boasts excellent schools, family-orientated neighborhoods, and outstanding shopping, dining, and cultural options. Folsom is a high-tech, forward-looking city, with firms ranging from small to large international corporations. Voted by WalletHub as the Best Place for Families to Live in California, and 2nd Best Lake Town in America, Folsom is recognized for its affordability, fair weather, education, and health.

The City of Folsom is excited to announce it is currently recruiting for an Assistant City Attorney to join the City Attorney's Office.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is a highly qualified, collaborative team player with a strong foundation in municipal law who can serve as a trusted advisor to City leadership and departments. Experience in land use, public contracting, and advising Planning Commission is highly desirable. Familiarity with general municipal litigation is beneficial. The ideal candidate will have excellent legal judgment, exemplary customer service skills, and will be able to work successfully with a high degree of independence.

Under the general direction of the City Attorney, the Assistant City Attorney will perform highly complex legal work related to municipal government operations; conduct legal research, prepare opinions, memoranda, administrative rules, ordinances and regulations and other legal documents; advise City departments and commissions; represent the City in visible and sensitive matters and in a variety of litigation that involves administrative hearings, trial, and appellate work.

The Assistant City Attorney is appointed by the City Manager with the terms of employment outlined in an individual contract. The Assistant City Attorney serves at the pleasure of the City Manager.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED

Supervision is received from the City Attorney. May exercise indirect supervision over lower level managerial, professional, technical, and clerical personnel.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

Incumbents are fully experienced in civil or public agency law and perform complex legal work including advising departments and commissions; participating in and managing litigation activities and may act in the absence of the City Attorney.

NOTE: The following are the duties performed by employees in this classification. However, employees may perform other related duties at an equivalent level. Each individual in the classification does not necessarily perform all the duties listed.

• Confer with and advise City departments and commissions concerning their respective duties, powers, functions, and obligations.
• Perform legal research and prepare written and oral opinions addressing various legal issues for the City Council, City departments, and various commissions.
• Prepare, draft, and review ordinances, resolutions, contracts, deeds, leases, and other legal documents and instruments; offer opinions as to legal acceptability when presented to the City for consideration by an outside entity or agency.
• Provide training and/or briefings to City departments and staff on pertinent laws and regulations.
• Manage the work of outside litigation counsel; represent the City in litigation.
• Investigate claims and complaints against the City and recommend appropriate action; make tentative decisions concerning advisability to prosecute, compromise, or dismiss litigation and discuss recommendations and problems with the City Attorney.
• Advise departments on disciplinary matters; advise chief negotiator and labor relations staff on bargaining and labor relations matters.
• Examine and analyze court rulings and legislation with regard to its effect on municipal government operations.
• May train and direct the work of subordinate professional staff.
• May participate in employee selection and performance evaluations.
• Assist the City Attorney with the overall administration of the Legal Department.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the "Examples of Duties" section of this specification.

Knowledge of

• Advanced principles and procedures of civil law, particularly as they relate to municipal government, including civil and administrative procedures.
• Principles, methods and practices of legal research.
• Judicial procedures and rules of evidence.
• State and federal laws and constitutional provisions affecting municipal operations.
• Organization, authority and operating procedures of a City Attorney's Office.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of municipal law, including land use, CEQA, public contracting, personnel, labor and tort law.
• Municipal government organization, structure, and functional responsibilities, including powers and limitations of city government.
• Responsibilities and obligations of public officials and administrative agencies, including conflicts of interest and the Public Records Act.

Ability to:

• Establish precedents and sources of legal reference applicable to municipal activities.
• Prepare clear and concise documents including correspondence, memorandum, contracts, ordinances and resolutions.
• Properly interpret and make decisions in accordance with laws, regulations and policies.
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with the general public, staff, committee members, and public officials.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Analyze and prepare a wide variety of legal documents.
• Organize, interpret, and apply legal principles and knowledge to analyze and address legal problems; effectively apply legal knowledge and principles in court.
• Present statements of law, fact and argument clearly, logically and effectively.
• Represent the City in a wide variety of complex judicial and administrative proceedings.
• Analyze and prepare a wide variety of complex cases in court.
• Conduct research on complex legal problems and prepare sound legal opinions.
• Prosecute the most difficult cases.
• Advise departments on employee relations and labor relations matters.
• Represent the City in disciplinary proceedings.
• Act in the absence of the City Attorney.

Education:

A Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.

Experience:

Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in the practice of civil or municipal law.

License or Certificate Requirements:

• Active membership in the State Bar of California is required.
• Some positions may require possession of, or the ability to obtain and retain, a California Class C driver license by the time of appointment. Individuals who do not meet this requirement due to a disability will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Physical Requirements:

Work is performed in a typical office environment. (1) Mobility: frequent use of keyboard; frequent sitting for long periods of time; occasional bending or squatting. (2) Lifting: frequently up to 10 pounds; occasionally up to 25 pounds. (3) Vision: constant use of overall vision; frequent reading and close‑up work; occasional color and depth vision. (4) Dexterity: frequent repetitive motion; frequent writing; frequent grasping, holding, and reaching. (5) Hearing/ Talking: frequent hearing and talking, in person and on the phone. (6) Emotional/ Psychological: frequent decision-making and concentration; frequent public and/or coworker contact; occasional working alone. (7) Environmental: frequent exposure to noise.