Principal Deputy County Counsel-Consumer Fairness & Public Protection

County of San Diego; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

County of San Diego’s Office of County Counsel seeks a Principal Deputy County Counsel for Consumer Fairness and Public Protection. The role handles complex civil litigation, policy drafting, and advisory work for County departments and commissions.

The position supports a telework schedule with a mix of in-office and remote work. Candidates should have California bar admission and significant public-sector civil litigation experience.

Qualifications

• Active membership in the State Bar of California is required.
• Experience handling civil legal matters and complex cases in public or private sector settings is required.

Responsibilities

• Assist with development/oversight of consumer complaint intake and review process and database.
• Provide guidance to Deputy/Senior Deputy County Counsel on law, policy drafting, briefs, opinions, and trial/appellate practices.
• Serve as legal advisor for County departments, boards, commissions, or special districts.
• Conduct legal research on local government law aspects.
• Prepare verbal/written opinions on department powers, jurisdiction, and civil matters.
• Assist in workload analysis and efficiency improvements within the team.
• May mentor less experienced attorneys and staff.
• May perform functions of the lower-level class in this series.

Skills

Consumer protection law

Legal research

Education

Active membership in State Bar of California

Tools

Intake/case management software

Job description

PRINCIPAL DEPUTY COUNTY COUNSEL - CONSUMER FAIRNESS AND PUBLIC PROTECTION

The County of San Diego's Office of County Counsel has an immediate opening for PRINCIPAL DEPUTY COUNTY COUNSEL - CONSUMER FAIRNESS AND PUBLIC PROTECTION in a rewarding and productive position performing legal work for local government.

The County Counsel’s Office generally supports remote teleworking and a teleworking schedule with a mix of in-office and remote work may be available in this position.

The Office of County Counsel is a full-service law office, tasked with handling the County's civil law needs, including proactive participation in all phases of government decision making and a very active and successful trial litigation program. The Principal Deputy County Counsel will independently handle cases and assignments that have an elevated level of difficulty and complexity, and handling matters that have significant impact upon the County and its officers, boards and districts.

This position will be with the Consumer Fairness and Public Protection team and the attorney in this position will:

• Assist with the development and oversight of a consumer complaint intake and review process capable of identifying patterns of systemic harm, triaging matters for investigation or referral, and informing enforcement priorities and an outward, community-facing consumer complaint database.
• Provide guidance and advice to Deputy County Counsel and Senior Deputy County Counsel attorneys in matters of law and trial strategies, ordinance and policy drafting and interpretation, legal research, preparation of legal briefs and opinions, and recommendations, and trial and appellate practices.
• Act as a legal advisor for County departments, boards and commissions, or special districts as assigned by County Counsel.
• Perform legal research on all aspects of local government law.
• Prepare and rendering verbal or written opinions concerning department powers, functions, jurisdiction, authority, procedures, and matters of civil law.
• Assist in conducting caseload or assignment analysis; studies work patterns and section or team efficiency; assisting in developing and implementing procedures to improve efficiency.
• May guide, be a project lead over, and/or mentor less experienced attorneys and staff.
• May be required to perform the functions of the lower-level class in this series.

Principal Deputy County Counsel job description for additional information.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate has experience in subject matter experience in consumer protection law, legal research and litigation related to consumer protection, advising and drafting policy, and providing recommendations. The ideal candidate will also have some expertise in working with intake and case management software and helping build out, organize, and oversee the creation of a consumer complaint database.

Hiring Timeline and Date

The timeline for this recruitment is outlined below.

• Job offers and background process begins shortly after interviews. Note: Current County employees may be excluded from additional background screening.
• Pre-employment Medical Screening: Approximately 3 days following successful background investigation results.
• Anticipated Start Date: Start date will be based upon successful completion of medical screening or other mutually agreed upon date. If you are not selected for this interview process, you may have the opportunity to compete for future vacancies.
• If you are not selected for this interview process, you may have the opportunity to compete for future vacancies.

Minimum Qualifications

Active membership in good standing with the State Bar of California, AND,

• Two (2) years of experience as a Senior Deputy County Counsel Attorney in the County of San Diego, or at an equivalent level with another California county or city, handling above average difficult and complex cases or assignments; OR,
• Five (5) years of professional post-bar civil legal experience as an attorney, which must have included handling civil law matters and/or cases in a public or private sector law office.

Note: Experience with a public entity representing public boards and commissions, preparing and trying public entity lawsuits, and drafting ordinances, policies, and public contracts is highly desirable.

Notes

• Please attach a copy of your resume to your application.
• Please attach a concise substantive legal writing sample to your application.

Also Required

Positions may involve necessary and timely transportation for field travel, requiring the ability to arrange transportation to different worksites, meetings, or field work.

Must have a reputation for honesty and trustworthiness. Misdemeanor and/or felony convictions may be disqualifying depending on type, number, severity, and recency. Prior to appointment, candidates will be subject to a background investigation.

Blind Applicant Screening

The Department of Human Resources removes personally identifiable information from all new recruitments. This practice, called Blind Applicant Screening, will hide a candidate’s personal information that could influence or bias a hiring decision. Personal information includes name, phone number, address, gender, age and race. This process will help contribute to a fair and equitable selection process leading to a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

The most highly qualified candidates, based on the evaluation results, will be referred for an interview. Be sure to include your experience in meeting the minimum requirements in both the Work Experience section and the Supplemental Questionnaire section of the application.

Condition of Employment

As part of the County of San Diego's pre-employment process, prospective candidates will undergo a background check (including fingerprinting) and a pre-employment medical screening prior to beginning County employment. Additional types of background investigations may be conducted based on the job related activities of the position. Current County employees may be excluded from this process.

Evaluation

Qualified applicants will be placed on asix (6) month employment list based on scores received during the evaluation of information contained in their employment application and supplemental application questionnaire. Please ensure all information is complete and accurate, as the responses you provide on the supplemental application questionnaire will be reviewed using an automated evaluation system. If you are successful in the initial screening process, your application will be reviewed individually to confirm that the information you provided is accurate and qualifying.

Accommodation

Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions of the job, on a case-by-case basis.

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Under California Government Code Sections 3100 - 3109, public employees are designated as disaster service workers. The term "public employees" includes all persons employed by the state or any county, city, state agency, or public district. Disaster service workers are required to participate in such disaster service activities as may be assigned to them by their employer or by law.

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