Deputy Attorney II

Deputy City Attorney II – City of Sacramento

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.

The City Attorney's Office is recruiting for two Deputy City Attorney II positions in the Litigation Division. The ideal candidate will have 3 to 5 years of civil litigation experience defending public entities, knowledge of the Government Code, the Tort Claims Act, and the various immunities which apply to public entities in civil litigation. They will have effective and persuasive written and oral advocacy skills, solid legal writing background, and legal research skills.

The candidate 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. Under general direction, the Deputy City Attorney II provides professional legal services for the City of Sacramento and its boards, commissions, officers, and departments and performs related work as assigned.

This is a professional-level classification populated with multiple incumbents assigned to a City Attorney’s office. In general the Deputy City Attorney II is responsible for a variety of professional legal duties. Work involves handling civil law problems including the preparation of cases for trial, drafting resolutions and documents and preparation of legal opinions. The incumbent's work may also involve handling civil, criminal and administrative matters, city code violations, investigations, legal research, preparing and filing court documents, appearances before judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, labor relations, and education of City staff.

Deputy City Attorney II is the intermediate to more experienced level of Deputy City Attorney. Incumbents are expected to use sound professional judgment and skill in performing work, which may be reviewed and approved by a Supervising Deputy City Attorney, and in some cases, by the Assistant City Attorney or the City Attorney. The Deputy City Attorney II is distinguished from the higher-level classification of Senior Deputy City Attorney in that the latter is more seasoned and experienced and works on more complex legal issues with minimal supervision.

General direction is provided by a Supervising Deputy City Attorney, the Assistant City Attorney and the City Attorney. The Deputy City Attorney II does not supervise.

• Performs more complex legal research and prepares opinions on various legal problems for the City Council, and the City’s boards, commissions, departments and City staff.
• Prepares and offers advice on ordinances, resolutions, contracts, leases, and other legal documents; reviews documents and offers advice as to the legal acceptability of such documents; confers and assists City departments by analyzing and applying legal points and procedures, makes necessary recommendations regarding existing policies and procedures in order to meet legal requirements.
• Investigates claims and complaints by or against the City; gives advice on action to be taken; prepares cases for hearings; represents the City in such hearings.
• Handles civil law problems, including the preparation of cases for trial.
• Provides legal advice on City policies and procedures.
• Initiates and defends cases involving the City, prepares the required pleadings; serves as trial counsel for the City before State and Federal courts at all levels.
• Represents the City Attorney at various board and commission meetings as assigned.
• Initiates code enforcement proceedings as necessary and prepares all required documents; prepares cases for condemnation proceedings.
• Applies legal knowledge to varied problems.
• Performs other or related work as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Municipal, state, federal and constitutional laws affecting city government.
• Methods of…