Senior Deputy City Attorney

THE POSITION

THIS POSTING WILL BE OPEN UNTIL FILLED

Application cut-off dates are the 15th and last day of each month.

With supervisor approval, incumbents may be eligible for intermittent remote work; 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.

IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT

The City Attorney is currently seeking an experienced attorney to handle general litigation matters for the City of Sacramento. 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. The City Attorney’s office works in a hybrid model with a two-day in office requirement and no billable hour requirements.

Under general direction, the Senior Deputy City Attorney provides professional legal services for the City of Sacramento and its boards, commissions, offices, and departments.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

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.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED

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.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND 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.

THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

Please note, the City of Sacramento's preferred method of communication with applicants is via e-mail. As such, please ensure you verify the e-mail address on your application, and check your e-mail frequently, including your spam and junk folders. All e-mail notifications can also be accessed through the governmentjobs.com applicant inbox.

1. Application: (Pass/Fail) – All applicants must complete and submit online a City of Sacramento employment application by the next posted cut-off date;

• Employment applications must be submitted online; paper applications will not be accepted.
• Employment applications will be considered incomplete and will be disqualified:
  • If applicants do not list current and past job-related experience in the duties area of the "Work Experience" section. Note: Qualifying experience is based on full-time experience (40 hours per week). Qualifying experience is calculated to the full-time equivalent (pro-rated if less than 40 hours/week).
  • If "see resume" is noted in the "Work Experience" section; a resume will not substitute for the information required in the "Work Experience" section.
• Position/job titles will not be considered in determining eligibility for meeting the minimum qualifications for this position. 
• Proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted online with your application. Proof of education will be required at time of appointment.
• Proof of membership and/or license should be submitted online with your application. Proof of membership and/or license will be required at time of appointment.

2. Supplemental Questionnaire: (Pass/Fail) – In addition to the City of Sacramento employment application, all applicants must complete and submit online responses to the supplemental questionnaire to the City of Sacramento Employment Office by the next posted cut-off date;

• Responses to the supplemental questionnaire must be submitted online; paper questionnaire will not be accepted.
• Incomplete supplemental questionnaire will not pass the review process; omitted information cannot be considered or assumed.

• A resume will not substitute for the information required in the supplemental questionnaire.
• Possession of the minimum qualifications is not necessarily a guarantee for further advancement in the selection process.

3. Screening Committee: (Pass/Fail) - All applications received by the final filing deadline will be forwarded to the hiring department for review. The hiring department will select the most competitive applications for further consideration. Human Resources will only evaluate employment applications for the minimum qualifications, as stated on the job announcement, for applications selected by the hiring department.

4. Interview Process: Human Resources will forward applications to the hiring department. Those determined to be the most qualified candidates will be invited to participate in an interview process.

5. Conditional Hire: Upon receipt of a conditional offer, the selected candidate must complete and pass Live Scan/fingerprinting. If applicable, candidates may also need to pass a pre-employment medical exam, controlled substance and/or alcohol test, and possess any required licensure or certification prior to receiving a start date from the Department. Failure to meet these prerequisites will be grounds for withdrawal of your conditional offer of employment.

QUESTIONS: For questions concerning this job announcement and the application process:

• Please visit  for a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to the application process.
• For technical support between 6 AM - 5 PM PT, contact Live Application Support at.
• Visit the City of Sacramento Human Resources Department website at ;
• Send an email to ;or
• Call the Human Resources Department at

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Knowledge of: - Municipal, state, and constitutional laws affecting city government. - Methods of legal research. - 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. - Draft and present persuasive arguments. - Read and comprehend legal documents quickly an efficiently. - Use sound judgment in providing legal advice. - Establish and maintain cooperative relationships. - Work well under the pressure of a heavy caseload and short deadlines. - Recognize and handle issues of political sensitivity. - Direct support staff that are not direct reports - Communicate effectively, verbally and in writing
• EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION Any combination of education and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying
• A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: Experience: Four years of professional legal experience comparable to a Deputy City Attorney with the City of Sacramento
• Education: Graduation from an accredited school of law
• PROOF OF EDUCATION
• Should education be used to qualify for this position, then proof of education such as, but not limited to, university/college transcripts and degrees should be submitted with your application and will be required at the time of appointment . Unofficial documents and/or copies are acceptable
• An applicant with a college degree obtained outside the United States must have education records evaluated by a credential's evaluation service
• Evaluation of education records will be due at time of appointment
• SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS Current membership in good standing the California State Bar Association

PROOF OF MEMBERSHIP:

• Proof of the required membership and/or license should be submitted with your application and will be required at the time of appointment
• Unofficial documents and/or copies are acceptable

Work for Warriors is a no-cost employment program of the California Military Department for Service Members, Veterans, and military family members. The Veteran Staffing Consultant for The City of Sacramento is Tracey Huerta.

See job description

California

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