Coordinator, Municipal Law and Legal Services

City of Brampton•Union, NJ

8d•Onsite

About The Position

This position is responsible for performing independent legal work under the direction and guidance of the City Solicitor. This position coordinates and facilitates the daily workflow activities, processes and project initiatives relating to all matters at all levels of complexity within the development section. This position coordinates workflow and provides direction to the Law Clerks to maintain seamless and efficient operations to meet operational needs and corporate service standards. The duties include drafting and preparation of agreements, and other legal documents, including all documents necessary for the purchase and sale of Real Property. The level of responsibility includes handling confidential and sensitive information and demands a high level of performance where error has potential for significant legal, financial and reputational consequences. This position represents the Department at interdepartmental meetings, and deals with Managers and Directors of other City Departments.

Requirements

Post-secondary Law Clerk diploma from an accredited Ontario College and/or minimum Associate Member of the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario (ILCO), or equivalent.
Minimum 5 years’ experience in a legal environment, preferably in a municipal setting.
2 years minimum supervisory or team lead/coordinator experience, or equivalent required.
Practical knowledge of Municipal Government, and applicable Legislation including but not limited to the Planning Act, Municipal Act, 2001, Land Titles Act and Business Corporations Act and departmental and council guidelines/policies/by-laws considered an asset.
Strong Customer Service skills to handle enquiries and resolve issues in a professional and timely manner and ability to manage and direct calls in a prioritized manner.
Detail oriented, well organized, and able to manage time and multi-task to accomplish a variety of tasks, sometimes with conflicting priorities and timelines.
Strong communication and organizational skills to interface with internal/external clients, courier services, consultants and vendors to plan, coordinate community/city events or functions.
Good analytical skills for complex problem solving.
Computer proficiency including but not limited to: Microsoft office/software: Proficiency in Teraview (Electronic Registration System).
Familiarity with legal research databases including but not limited to the following: LexisNexis (Quicklaw), Westlaw and CanLii.
Have a general knowledge of the law, practice and procedures involved within a particular field of specialization, to the standard of a certified professional Law Clerk.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to public sector setting an asset.
PeopleSoft (HRMS) system is considered an asset.

Responsibilities

Coordinates and manages the workflow, activities, processes and project initiatives of the Development Group related to the legal aspects of the development process by managing intake of files and providing instruction, direction and assignment of files to the Law Clerks (and Legal Assistants) within Legal Services to meet operational needs and services standards.
Reviews incoming matters for legal compliance with legislative and corporate requirements and resolves outstanding issues with client groups, if necessary.
Coordinates and directs the inter-departmental and external processing of all agreements.
Monitors the progress of all agreements and other approval requirements on an ongoing basis to ensure completion in an accurate and timely manner.
Conducts weekly file update and coordination meetings with Legal Counsel and Law Clerks.
Attends bi-weekly Team Meetings with Legal Counsel to ensure that legal considerations are taken into account at all stages of the development process.
Reviews legal aspects of Department Reports and provides feedback to Legal Counsel and the client groups as required.
Attends meetings involving development/other matters with Legal Counsel, City staff and outside parties such as developers, land owners, and lawyers.
Prepares Agreements based on approval, conditions and comments/input received from stakeholders.
Reviews and approves all other Agreements following completion, prior to solicitor review.
Recommends continuous improvements, process reviews and changes to processes within Legal Services and client groups regarding the legal process.
Researches and recommends initiatives related to processing agreements.
Coordinates regularly with other departments and required stakeholders to ensure feedback is collected for required legal documentation content.
Provides instruction and guidance to legal support staff for the purpose of determining requirements and defining activities necessary to complete assignments.
Keeps abreast of legal trends, monitors legal issues and provides recommendations on internal service improvement and legal documentation delivery.
Prioritizes requests, coordinates with the appropriate stakeholders and responds to all internal/external legal enquiries accordingly.
Provides Legal Counsel and senior staff with pertinent information related to the processing of current and/or completed development files including outstanding developer obligations to the City.
Provides direction and instruction to Law Clerks on enquiries on legal matters.
Builds and maintains relationships with cross-functional departments, executives, senior management and fosters and supports intra-group co-ordination.
Participates in planning, coordinating and implementing department initiatives.
Represents Legal Services in interdepartmental meetings and dealings with Managers and Directors of other City Departments.
Provides mentorship and technical guidance to legal support staff.
Provides support/backup to other Law Clerk(s) as necessary.
Coordinates with Human Resources and other internal departments to assist with the on-boarding and off-boarding of staff and processing employee data changes.
Assists with creating the Divisional Budget for Legal Services.