Senior Assistant City Attorney (Public Utilities)

City of Richmond•Richmond, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Office of the City Attorney is seeking a full-time, permanent Senior Assistant City Attorney for its Operations and Development Division, in representation of the City’s Department of Public Utilities. The Department’s legal support needs are extensive and broad, with an emphasis on regulatory compliance, real property management, transactional matters, and customer service. The Department manages five City utilities: water, wastewater, stormwater, gas, and electric. This position is Unclassified and serves at the will of the Appointing Authority.

Requirements

Juris Doctorate
Seven (7) years of progressively responsible legal experience in environmental law or public utilities-related law is highly preferred
Four (4) years of progressively responsible legal experience
An equivalent combination of training and experience (as approved by the department) may be used to meet the minimum qualifications of the classification
Admission to the Virginia State Bar
Licensed to practice law in Virginia
Twelve hours of continuing legal education annually
Compliance with additional requirements that may be established by the City of Richmond
Completed Online Application, Résumé, and a writing sample.

Nice To Haves

Considerable knowledge of area of focus to include regulatory, environmental, local government, and real estate law
Familiarity with relevant regulatory and administrative law processes related to area of focus
Standard office equipment such as computer, telephone, etc., and electronic databases and related software applications such as Microsoft Office Suite, Lexis, Legal Files, etc.
Skilled in arguing persuasively based on laws and facts
Clear and concise written communication
Communicating effectively with various internal and external departments
Conducting effective meetings
Learning new subject matters quickly and thoroughly
Making modifications to program procedures as needed
Skilled at client communication and management, with an emphasis on solutions-oriented practice, risk analysis, and understanding of client practical and operational needs and concerns
Able to manage high-volume workload for a public utility client
Adhere to highest standards of ethics and professionalism

Responsibilities

Provides legal services to the City.
Focuses primarily on water utilities and may include researching legal issues.
Provides legal advice and direction.
Reviews, drafts, and negotiates transactional documents.
Drafts ordinances.
Interprets laws, rules, and regulations.
Provides oversight and direction to paralegal and legal secretarial staff.
Supervises paraprofessional staff, including scheduling, setting goals, assigning work, etc.