Senior Prosecuting Attorney - Criminal Division

City-of-Saint-Paul; Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 119,000 - 176,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement contributions

Paid vacation and sick time

Job summary

The City of Saint Paul City Attorney’s Office seeks to fill two full-time senior-level prosecutor positions in its Criminal Division. The roles involve prosecuting petty to gross misdemeanor offenses, handling arraignments, trials, and appellate work.

The office emphasizes equity and professional growth within a public sector environment. Candidates must have a Juris Doctorate and Minnesota license, with multiple years of progressive attorney experience.

Qualifications

• Must have Juris Doctorate and license to practice law in Minnesota.
• At least seven years of progressive legal experience, including four years at full performance as Attorney with the City or equivalent.
• Continued employment contingent upon maintaining Minnesota license.
• Strong legal research and writing skills; excellent analytical, communication, and trial strategy abilities.

Responsibilities

• Prosecute petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor, and gross misdemeanor cases; handle charging through appeal.
• Represent the City at arraignments, pretrial hearings, jury trials, sentencing and other court proceedings.
• Conduct investigations by identifying legal issues, interviewing victims/witnesses, and obtaining digital evidence.
• Draft, file, and submit criminal complaints, memoranda, discovery requests, appeals, motions, and court documents.
• Draft ordinances, resolutions, rules, and policies.
• Draft appellate briefs and legal correspondence to Minnesota appellate courts.
• Mentor and lead lower-level Criminal Division staff; advise City Council and Mayor’s Office as needed.
• Lead criminal prosecution activities and provide expert legal advice to City departments and committees.

Skills

Legal research

Legal writing

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Trial strategy

Education

Juris Doctorate Degree

License to practice law in Minnesota

Job description

The Saint Paul City Attorney’s Office is currently accepting applications for two (2) full-time senior-level prosecutor positions in its Criminal Division. The pay range will be dependent on qualifications.

• Senior Attorney:$67.47 - $84.54 Hourly.$140,337.60 - $175,843.20 Annually. (To be considered at the Senior Attorney level, candidates must have at least 7 years of directly related attorney experience.)
• Attorney:$57.27 – $70.71 Hourly. $119,121.60 - $147,076.80 Annually. (To be considered at the Attorney level, candidate must have at least 3 years of directly related attorney experience.)
• Associate Attorney:$54.00 - $61.42 Hourly. $112,320.00 – $127,753.60 Annually.

Attorneys in the Criminal Division represent the City and are assigned to handle high volumes of a variety of criminal cases from charging through appeal.

Here’s what you can expect to do:

This position will involve prosecuting individuals charged with petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor, and gross misdemeanor offenses. Typical work performed includes:

• Screening of cases for criminal charges by reviewing and evaluating reports from law enforcement, assessing evidentiary issues and the merits of cases, and recommending approval or declining of charges.
• Representing the City by preparing for and making appearances at arraignments, pretrial hearings, jury trials, sentencing, and other court proceedings; keeping affected parties informed as to case status; negotiating resolution of cases, and recommending disposition of cases.
• Conducting case investigations by identifying and researching legal issues, interviewing victims and witnesses, and obtaining evidence from sources such as phone records, business records, video, audio, or other digital evidence, background searches, and other evidentiary materials.
• Drafting, filing, and/or submitting criminal complaints, memoranda, discovery requests, appeals, proposed court orders, pleadings, motions, letters, briefs, and other legal documents.
• Drafting ordinances, resolutions, rules, and policies.
• Drafting, reviewing, filing, and/or submitting appellate briefs and other legal correspondence to the Minnesota appellate courts.
• Plans, organizes, mentors, and leads the work of lower-level employees within the Criminal Division as requested by the City Attorney, Deputy City Attorney, or Supervising Attorney.
• Leads criminal prosecution activities and provides expert legal advice to the City Council, the Mayor’s Office, City departments, boards, commissioners, and committees.

Information Specific to this Position:

This position performs wide-ranging, routine to expert level, highly complex professional legal work in the Criminal Division. The worksite for this position is at the Saint Paul City Attorney’s Office located in downtown Saint Paul. While some telework may be possible upon approval of the City Attorney, this position is not a remote position.

Our Benefits: We offer competitive wages, and a variety of excellent benefits, including health insurance, retirement contributions and paid vacation and sick time.

Equity, Inclusion and Belonging:

The City of Saint Paul is dedicated to dismantling systemic racial, cultural, and economic barriers that prevent people from fully enjoying and participating in our community and ensuring fairness in opportunities and outcomes for all individuals. At the City of Saint Paul, we want our workforce to reflect the diverse city that we serve. Our leaders are guided by an unapologetic equity agenda, which promotes the belief that true equity is building a city that works for all of us. We encourage you to apply as we are most interested in finding the best candidate for this job.

Job classification and salary will be commensurate with experience.

• Candidates for this position must have a Juris Doctorate Degree and a license to practice law from the Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota, and at least seven years of progressive experience to include four years of experience as an Attorney at the full performance level with the City of Saint Paul or equivalent.
• Continued employment as an assistant city attorney is contingent upon maintaining a license to practice law from the Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Minimum of five years of experience practicing criminal law.
• Excellent legal research and writing skills.
• Strong analytical, communication, and trial strategy skills.
• A demonstrated ability to maintain consistent professionalism.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: The City of Saint Paul is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Veterans, women, persons of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.