Senior Assistant City Attorney – Civil Litigation

City of Minneapolis • Minneapolis, MN

6h • Hybrid

About The Position

Under supervision, provide the City of Minneapolis and its various officials, boards, agencies, and departments with professional legal services relating to a wide range of civil litigation matters. This includes representing the city in all stages of civil and administrative litigation, providing legal advice, conducting legal research, and other legal work for the Civil Division of the City Attorney’s Office. The attorneys of the City Attorney’s Office serve as the attorneys and counselors at law to the Mayor, City Council, boards, committees, departments, and officers, and are the exclusive representatives of the City, authorized to provide legal advice and opinions.

Requirements

• Juris Doctorate (J.D.)
• Six or more years of experience as a licensed attorney.
• Minnesota attorney licensure through the successful bar examination and current active bar membership.
• Ability to be licensed in federal court.
• Advanced legal knowledge and technical skills.
• Work ethic, drive, diligence.
• Highly complex problem-solving and decision-making with minimal supervision.
• Communication skills.
• Teamwork/collaboration skills.
• Commitment to Equity.
• Significant demonstration of leadership.
• Takes initiative to identify and solve issues and make or recommend improvements without waiting to be assigned.
• Strong legal research skills.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Capacity to handle highly complex projects and make high-quality decisions.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in representing a public entity as a lawyer or student attorney.
• Jury or court trial experience.

Responsibilities

• Represent the City in all stages of civil litigation matters.
• Analyze pleadings to determine legal issues, immunities, and liabilities.
• Establish an efficient and effective research plan to determine a case's proper course of action.
• Conduct research using a caselaw database, such as Westlaw, to locate relevant controlling or persuasive cases that address specific legal issues presented in litigation.
• Apply case law to the facts in a persuasive briefing to the court with proper assertions of support cited accurately from case law.
• Respond within time-sensitive timelines to discovery requests with responses asserting appropriate defenses and seek requests to reinforce City defenses and minimize liability.
• Gather relevant documents and determine witnesses' identity.
• Direct investigative staff to conduct any additional necessary investigation.
• Review and analyze evidence, including physical evidence, body-worn cameras, squad, transit, and surveillance footage, and jail and 911 tapes.
• Evaluate and secure expert witnesses.
• Review and analyze medical records, laboratory reports, and expert witness reports.
• Make appropriate recommendations to City staff, including the City Attorney, client departments, elected officials, and internal colleagues, to minimize legal exposure. This includes analysis and advice on whether to settle the matter and for how much, appeal an adverse decision or verdict, and consider the risks and benefits of continuing litigation.
• Attend and engage in negotiations at settlement conferences with council members and department administration.
• Deliver well-thought-out, persuasive oral arguments advancing the case’s legal theories and strengths both internally (client departments, CAO colleagues, and elected officials) and externally (judge and jury).
• Respond to asserted claims of weaknesses in the case with well-reasoned counterarguments.
• Meet and communicate with the plaintiff’s counsel regarding the status of the case and related issues.
• Prepare cases for presentation in court, including those of a highly complex nature, by determining trial themes, identifying trial exhibits, drafting witness examinations, and thoroughly preparing City witnesses for direct and cross-examination.
• Communicate regularly with decision-making clients and city employees impacted by the litigation.
• Research and draft briefs and present oral arguments for appeals in Minnesota and Federal appellate courts.
• Manage an assigned caseload, coordinating court dates and other schedules with all concerned parties.
• Provide advice for responses to media inquiries.
• Assist in adjusting damage claims and claims arising under the Worker’s Compensation Act.
• Foster trusting relationships with elected officials, department heads, city staff, state and federal judges, partner agencies, other governmental subdivisions, and internal colleagues.
• Provide training to and mentor other attorneys.
• Conduct training on matters within expertise, including of a highly complex nature.

Benefits

• Flexible work arrangements, including hybrid work with some days working remotely and some days working in the office.
• Representation by a collective bargaining agreement between the City of Minneapolis and the AFSCME Attorneys (CAT).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree