Staff Attorney - Legal

Town of Mount Pleasant•Mount Pleasant, SC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Staff Attorney provides legal services and direction on Town matters to the General Counsel, Town Council, Boards and Commissions and management. The incumbent represents the Town in administrative hearings, and negotiations, identifying potential legal issues with Town operations, providing legal guidance, and drafting ordinances, contracts and various other legal documents.

Requirements

Juris Doctorate Degree (JD) from an accredited law school and five (5) years’ or experience practicing law, with demonstrated experience in municipal law
Must be a registered member of the South Carolina Bar Association
Knowledge of principles and practices relevant to municipal government functions with experience in a broad range of municipal law including land use, public safety, and employment law.
Knowledge of state and federal laws as they apply to local government issues and employment law
Knowledge of basic government processes, both legislative and administrative
Knowledge of legal research principles and methods, as well as methods of qualitative and quantitative research.
Knowledge of principles and practices of program administration and management.
Knowledge of principles and applications of critical thinking and analysis.
Knowledge of principles and techniques of effective oral presentations.
Knowledge of principles and practices of conflict resolution.
Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations (based on assignment).
Knowledge of customer service principles.
Skill in providing legal fact finding, research and analysis.
Skill in organizing, interpreting, and applying legal principles.
Skill in providing legal advice, counsel, or representation.
Skill in interpreting, monitoring, and reporting legal information and statistics.
Skill in researching industry trends, solutions, and best practices.
Skill in Compiling and sorting research information and articulating issues and recommendations.
Skill in authoring and preparing original reports, legal documents, and presentations.
Skill in facilitating group discussions and building consensus using persuasive reasoning.
Skill in exercising political acumen, tact, and diplomacy.

Responsibilities

Provides legal advice and support to department managers, Town Boards and Commissions, and other offices of the Town as requested or assigned regarding a variety of legal issues, including employment law, legal aspects of personnel and employment matters, board and commission actions, proposed legislation, and other issues as requested.
Researches internal regulations, policies and procedures or relevant state and federal law; writes legal opinions and memoranda; develops strategies and solutions to ensure compliance; and advises Town representatives of legal solutions and execution of appropriate steps and implementation.
Provides legal consultation, advice, training, and guidance to Town officials; responds to questions and provides information, following up with Town officials to review various legal options and consequences and developing written materials and presentations on legal issues as assigned.
Processes a variety of documentation associated with department/division operations, within designated timeframes and per established procedures.
Prepares, completes, reviews, processes, forwards or retains as appropriate various documentation, including legal and court documents, legal correspondence, contracts, Freedom of Information Act requests, legislation, budgets, legal pleadings, discovery motions, legal correspondence, legal memoranda, and maintains computerized and/or hardcopy records.
Drafts and reviews contracts and agreements; reviews contracts for compliance with internal policies and procedures, as well as local, state and federal laws; conducts research; analyzes terms and conditions to ensure Town's interests are protected and safeguard against potential liability; gives legal advice regarding contract details.
Prepares for and represents the Town in mediation, court and other adjudicative settings, including coordinating with outside counsel, drafting pleadings, interrogatories and requests for production and admission and responding to same, preparing affidavits, motions and arguments, briefs, orders, appeals, etc., and discussing legal outcomes with management and implementing the same.
Drafts and prepares legislation and ordinances, including coordinating with department managers and staff to determine needs, conducting research on the issues, developing strategic approaches, presenting written summary in preparation for submission to appropriate legislative body, and assisting in the implementation of new ordinances/legislation.
Maintains a comprehensive, current knowledge and awareness of applicable laws, regulations, policies and procedures, trends and advances in the profession, including reading professional literature, maintaining professional affiliations, participating in training and continuing education activities, and attending and conducting meetings, workshops and seminars as appropriate.
Performs other related assigned duties.