Senior Deputy City Attorney

City of Sacramento • Sacramento, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

Under general direction, the Senior Deputy City Attorney provides professional legal services for the City of Sacramento and its boards, commissions, offices, and departments. This classification is populated with multiple incumbents assigned to a City Attorney’s office: Special Projects, Litigation, and Advisory. Senior Deputy City Attorney is the advanced journey-level in the City Attorney's office. Incumbents are expected to use professional judgment and skill in performing work, the acceptability of which is subject to review by professional superiors through inspection of casework, records, and documents, and through periodic conferences. The Senior Deputy City Attorney is distinguished from the Deputy City Attorney II in that the former may specialize in certain areas of the law as it applies to the City. General direction is provided by a Supervising Deputy City Attorney. The Senior Deputy City Attorney may oversee and lead the work of other attorneys, paralegal and office support staff. The Senior Deputy City Attorney does not supervise. The City Attorney’s office works in a hybrid model with a two-day in office requirement and no billable hour requirements.

Requirements

• Current membership in good standing the California State Bar Association.
• Four years of professional legal experience comparable to a Deputy City Attorney with the City of Sacramento.
• Graduation from an accredited school of law.
• Knowledge of municipal, state, and constitutional laws affecting city government.
• Knowledge of methods of legal research.
• Knowledge of court and administrative agency procedures, methods and practices of pleading and rules of evidence.
• Skill in use of desktop computer including basic applications and related computer-based research.
• Ability to research legal issues and prepare sound opinions.
• Ability to draft and present persuasive arguments.
• Ability to read and comprehend legal documents quickly and efficiently.
• Ability to use sound judgment in providing legal advice.
• Ability to establish and maintain cooperative relationships.
• Ability to work well under the pressure of a heavy caseload and short deadlines.
• Ability to recognize and handle issues of political sensitivity.
• Ability to direct support staff that are not direct reports.
• Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing.

Nice To Haves

• Incumbents may be eligible for intermittent remote work with supervisor approval; however, they must physically reside within the Sacramento region or have the ability to regularly report to a City of Sacramento physical worksite with little notice.
• The ideal candidate is an experienced litigator who is capable of independently handling a litigation caseload and has effective and persuasive written and oral advocacy skills, solid legal writing background and legal research skills.
• They will have the ability to work collaboratively for some projects and independently for others.
• They will be comfortable and competent to handle civil litigation from inception to conclusion, including any potential appeal and post-trial motions.

Responsibilities

• Performs complex legal research and prepares opinions on various legal problems for the City Council, City of Sacramento, and its boards, commissions, offices, and departments; represents the City Attorney at various board and commission meetings as assigned.
• Prepares and drafts ordinances, resolutions, contracts, deeds, leases, and other legal documents; reviews documents and offers advice as to the legal acceptability of such documents; confers and assists City departments in establishing policies by developing and applying legal points and procedures, recommends changes in policies and procedures in order to meet legal requirements.
• Investigates claims and complaints by or against the City; recommends action to be taken; prepares cases for hearings; represents the City in such hearings.
• Prepares cases for trial; may serve as trial lawyer for the City before County, State, and Federal courts at all levels.
• Initiates code enforcement proceedings in Court and prepares the required pleadings; prepares cases for condemnation proceedings.
• Initiates and defends cases involving the City, prepares the required pleadings; may serve as a trail lawyer for the City before County, State and Federal courts at all levels.
• Performs other or related work as assigned.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior