ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY

Job Title: Assistant City Attorney

Hiring Salary Range: $105,000 - $120,000 annually

Department: Mayor’s Office
Reports to (Role): City Attorney
FLSA Status: Exempt
Job Code: 2009
Pay Grade: 23E
Travel Required: Minimal
Position(s) Supervised: May provide occasional supervision to other Legal Department staff by assignment, delegation, or in the absence of the City Attorney

POSITION SUMMARY:
The City of Nampa recently transitioned to in-house legal counsel in 2025 and is seeking a dedicated, team-oriented Assistant City Attorney to support the City Attorney in the exciting undertaking of building the legal department for Idaho’s third-largest city in a time of significant growth.

Under the direction of the City Attorney, an Assistant City Attorney assists the City Attorney in providing legal advice and counsel to the Mayor, the City Council, Department Directors, and City employees on a wide variety of municipal law issues. An Assistant City Attorney, as directed by the City Attorney, is expected to represent the City in litigation, administrative hearings, contract negotiations, and other legal matters and proceedings, including but not limited to handling infraction and misdemeanor prosecution.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Serve as legal counsel to the City of Nampa, assisting the City Attorney with all legal matters, both civil and criminal.

• Provide legal review and guidance to all City Departments for various municipal matters, such as contracts for public works projects, professional service agreements, grant proposals, inquiries with public record requests, public hearing procedures, and the interpretation of laws and ordinances. Provides legal advice and counsel to the Mayor, City Council, City Departments, and City boards and commissions on the legal risks and viable options regarding governmental and operational affairs.

• Represent the City in civil litigation cases and/or administrative hearings; prepare memoranda, motions, briefs, and pleadings for judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings; negotiate, review, and prepare agreements and contracts for City Departments; may represent the City in complex contract negotiations.

• Attend City Council meetings and other City public meetings, as needed or assigned. At the request of the City Attorney, Department Directors, or other city officials or employees, provide training to public safety officers and general City employees, as well as legal training in civil and related law topics in areas of law, risk assessment, legal compliance, and policy development.

• Deliver excellent customer service to the public, other City staff, and departments. Provide information, answer questions, and respond to inquiries in person and by telephone.

• Direct and assign tasks to legal staff assistants.

• As may be assigned, prosecutes misdemeanor and traffic infractions, including appeals, and domestic violence cases. Coordinates efforts of police, county prosecutors, victim witness coordinator, and other victim advocates, victims, and Domestic Violence Court personnel in the prosecution and resolution of domestic violence cases. Researches and prepares legal briefs on criminal matters, including appeals. Represents the City to the specialty courts and other community and law enforcement groups, committees, and agencies, as assigned.

• The range of services routinely includes, but is not limited to, the following areas of municipal law:

Public Records Act
Conflicts of Interest
Collection law - matters related to the collection of accounts receivable
Election law
Contracts
Real estate law and property transactions
Land use and environmental law - including land leasing, cell towers, and naming rights
Public Works contracting/public contracts/capital projects
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Labor negotiations
Code Enforcement
Tort liability and risk management
Fees, taxes, assessments
Water rights
Ordinances and resolutions
State of emergency declarations and powers
Municipal financing- bonding, enterprise funds, etc.

• Continuously update City ordinances, procedures, and practices documents as required by the City.

• Review and analyze local, state, and federal pending legislation, laws, and court decisions, providing updates to the City Attorney, Mayor, City Council, and City staff. Legal Staff will need to proactively propose modifications to City policies, ordinances, and plans.

• Review and approve staff reports, conduct preliminary research/analysis, and/or prepare ordinances, resolutions, contracts, deeds, leases, and other legal documents as required by the City.

• Represent the City in civil litigation brought on behalf of, or against, the City as necessary, at the Mayor and City Council's request.

ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS:

• As directed by the City Attorney, recommend, manage, and monitor the performance of selected outside special counsel that is responsible for providing litigation or other special services. In the event of service lapses, the Assistant City Attorney may be required to provide the necessary services.

• Perform other duties as assigned. Nothing in this job description restricts management’s right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

REQUIRED EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, & LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:

• Must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.
• Licensed and active member of the Idaho State Bar in good standing.
• Expertise in civil matters such as land use, public safety, risk management, contracts, and procurement law.
• At least 3 years of specialized knowledge and experience providing legal representation to local units of government.

PREFERENTIAL EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, & LICENSE CERTIFICATIONS:
5 or more years of experience in municipal leadership or governmental legal practice.
Extensive experience or adeptness at preparing, drafting, negotiating, and reviewing a broad array of contracts and transactional work.
Minimum 2 years’ experience as a practicing attorney in the following areas of law or practice:
Idaho procurement laws
Idaho Public Records Act
Idaho Open Meetings Law
Idaho Local Land Use and Planning Act
Government prosecution
Alcohol licensing
Law enforcement defense or similar constitutional issues
Eminent domain and condemnation
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Employment law or similar human resource issues
Code Enforcement
Tort liability and risk management

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of Idaho municipal civil and criminal law; court administration; current principles and applications of Idaho civil, criminal, and administrative law that impacts municipal corporation legal activities; Essential provisions and structure in contracts to minimize risk exposure and maximize protections of government interests; State and Federal court procedures and rules of evidence; interview techniques, methods and strategies used for case preparation; pleadings and effective practices and techniques in the presentation of court cases; principles, methods and techniques of legal research and investigation; principles and practices of legal communication methods; management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, and leadership techniques.

• Skill in the art of diplomacy and cooperative problem solving; leadership and organizational behavior management; establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with State, Federal, and other local officials, elected officials, and staff. Skill in the operation of a computer and software programs, including strong proficiency in Microsoft Office; the art of fostering a positive work environment and team-based culture free from hearsay and interpersonal conflicts that negatively impact morale, productivity, and overall success.

• Ability to be flexible and creative as the Legal Department progressively creates standard operating procedures and refines workflow management for the City’s inaugural in-house Legal Department. Must be able to define and analyze complex legal issues and problems; communicate effectively verbally and in writing research and organize facts; perform legal risk-benefit analyses; evaluate alternatives and develop sound conclusions and recommendations; present statements of fact, law and argument clearly, logically and persuasively; exercise sound, independent judgment within general policy guidelines and legal parameters under pressure; interpret and explain state and federal law, regulations, legislation and constitutional provisions; develop sound litigation strategy and represent the City effectively in hearings, courts of law and meetings; use a high degree of tact, discretion and diplomacy in dealing with sensitive situations and concerned or upset individuals; maintain confidentiality of sensitive and/or attorney-client privileged matters; determine long range needs for development of the department; display an attitude of cooperation and work harmoniously with all levels of City employees, the general public and other organizations; complete assignments in a timely fashion; understand and comply with all rules, policies and regulations; maintain prompt and regular attendance; perform all essential and marginal functions as assigned by an authorized employee, supervisor and/or manager with or without reasonable accommodation.

• All applicants must be able to successfully pass Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) and City of Nampa background check processes and drug testing, which may include reference checks, criminal history checks, driving record checks, and pre-employment, random, and post-accident drug tests.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Work is performed primarily in an office environment, and the employee in this class is subject to inside environmental conditions.

ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL ABILITIES:

• Finger Dexterity: Sufficient finger or manual dexterity with or without reasonable accommodation to enable the employee to operate a personal computer, telephone, and related equipment and use primarily just the fingers to make small movements such as typing, picking up small objects, or pinching fingers together.
• Speech: Sufficient clarity of speech or other communication ability with or without reasonable accommodation to enable the employee to communicate effectively and convey detailed or important instructions or ideas accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Hearing: Sufficient clarity of hearing with or without reasonable accommodation to enable the employee to hear average or normal conversations and receive ordinary information.
• Visual Abilities: Sufficient visual acuity or other power of observation with or without reasonable accommodation to enable the employee to review a wide variety of materials in electronic or hard copy form and perform activities such as viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and/or operation of machines (including inspection).
• Physical Strength & Personal Mobility: Sufficient personal mobility and physical reflexes, with or without reasonable accommodation, to permit the employee to maneuver and function in and around an office environment. Sedentary work; sitting most of the time. Exerts up to 50 lbs. of force occasionally.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT:
To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. A reasonable accommodation may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

EEO STATEMENT:
The City of Nampa is an equal employment opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

DISCLAIMER:
The City has reviewed this job description to ensure that essential functions and basic duties have been included. It is intended to provide guidelines for job expectations and the employee's ability to perform the position described. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills, and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not constitute a contract of employment, and the City reserves the right to modify this job description and/or assign tasks to the employee as deemed appropriate. This position may close before the closing date.