City Attorney

ABOUT THE POSITION

• Provide legal counsel to the City Council, City Manager, department directors, and various boards and commissions on matters affecting the City.
• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, intergovernmental agreements, deeds, and leases; prepare ordinances, resolutions, legal opinions, and other legal documents.
• Attend all city council meetings, Planning and Zoning Commissions, and various committee and board as required and renders legal advice on matter of the agenda.
• Conduct complex legal research and prepares written and oral opinions on a wide range of issues for the City Council and City departments.
• Participate as a member of the management team, attending leadership, development, and other applicable meetings to offer legal guidance and input.
• Oversee adherence to City policies related to land use, jurisdictional matters, and other municipal interests.
• Evaluate and provide advice on risk related to the City operations.
• Pursue enforcement action on the City behalf to ensure compliance with city code provisions.
• Provide oversight of the Prosecutor’s Office.
• Stay current on court decisions and legislative changes, advising City departments on impacts to City operations.
• Review, propose and enacted state and federal legislation for impact to the City.
• Present legal information and guidance to diverse audiences, including the City Council.
• Manage investigations of litigated claims and complaints against the City and recommend appropriate courses of action.
• Review and redact highly sensitive public records requests.
• Develop, plan, and implement City Attorney’s Office goals, objectives, policies, and procedures to ensure delivery of legal services aligned with Citywide priorities.
• Prepare and manage the department budget; forecast staffing, equipment, materials, and supply needs for the City Attorney’s Office and review/approve the City Prosecutor’s Office budget.
• Administer and oversee all functions and personnel within the City Attorney’s Office.
• Oversee and participate in litigation involving the City of San Luis, including making legal decisions, filing dispositive motions, and developing litigation strategies, tactics, and settlements.
• Provide recommendations to management and the City Council on settlement proposals based on management input and outside counsel advice, if applicable.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

IDEAL CANDIDATE

Will possess knowledge of:

• Federal, State and legal precedents of municipal law principles and practices.
• Management and administration practices and procedures.
• Budget and consultant contract development, monitoring and administration practices and principles.
• Computer hardware, software and peripheral operation and utilization.

• Research, investigate, evaluate, and develop solutions and resolutions to complex and/or politically sensitive legal issues, concerns and complaints.
• Represent City’s interests in Federal, State or Municipal courts, during trials, depositions and settlement negotiations.
• Analyze, review, prepare, and present oral and written legal recommendations to City Council.
• Negotiate, develop, administer and execute consulting and other contracts.
• Research, analyze, and interpret legal, regulatory and compliance issues for City departments, boards and commissions.
• Prioritize, delegate, assign and review work of assigned staff and outside counsel.
• Manage interruptions.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Learn novel areas of law as issues arise.
• Manage multiple tasks and projects independently.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Education, Training, and Experience:

• Juris Doctor degree from a School of Law accredited by the American Bar Association; AND
• Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience with at least three of those years in a position of supervisory responsibility over attorneys or legal staff.

• A valid Arizona driver’s license at the time of appointment
• Licensed to practice law in the State of Arizona and membership in good standing in the Arizona State Bar Association (or licensed in a state with reciprocal jurisdiction with the Arizona Bar and have the ability to be admitted to the Arizona State Bar by motion.)

• Residency in the United States and within 25 miles of the City of San Luis.

• Bilingual in Spanish.
• San Luis residency.
• Local government experience or eagerness to learn.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by employees to successfully perform the essential functions of this class. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, walk and stand; talk and hear; use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; and perform repetitive movements of hands or wrists. The employee is frequently required to lift up to 25 pounds unaided. Employees must be physically capable of operating City vehicles, for job-related purposes, safely. Specific vision abilities required for this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Mental Demands
While performing the duties of this class, an employee uses written and oral communication skills; reads and interprets data, information, and documents; analyzes and solves problems; uses math and mathematical reasoning; performs highly detailed work; deals with multiple concurrent tasks; and interacts with others encountered in the course of work, including frequent contact with customers and/or the public.

Work Environment
Work is performed in a standard office or courtroom environment. May require frequent sitting and continuous operation of a personal computer.

YOU SHOULD APPLY FOR THIS ROLE IF YOU:

• Want to sharpen a broad skill set across multiple areas of the law (i.e., as a “generalist”), with opportunities to further develop areas of expertise over time.
• Enjoy thinking critically about practical solutions to legal problems.
• Are comfortable having an “open-door” approach and frequently interfacing with internal clients.

• The online application must be completed in full.
• Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.