Sr Assistant City Attorney/Assistant Attorney II

POSITION TITLE: Sr Assistant City Attorney/Assistant Attorney II (Full-Time Regular) (Unclassified Management)
REQUISITION #: req8243
DEPARTMENT: City Attorney's Office
LOCATION: CITY HALL
BENEFIT CATEGORY: Unclassified Management
EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full-Time Regular

Senior Assistant City Attorney
ANNUAL SALARY RANGE: $116,750.00 - 175,304.00 (Salaries are paid biweekly)
ANNUAL ANTICIPATED HIRING RANGE: $145,000.00 - $165,000.00 (Salaries are paid biweekly)
Assistant City Attorney II:
ANNUAL SALARY RANGE: $104,075.00 - $156,249.00 (Salaries are paid biweekly)
ANNUAL ANTICIPATED HIRING RANGE: $120,000.00 - $145,000.00 (Salaries are paid biweekly)

SELECTION PROCESS: Application deadline is 3:00 p.m. MT on 12/15/2025.
You will receive an email acknowledgment when you have successfully submitted an application. Your completed application will be forwarded to the hiring manager. You will be notified if you are selected for further testing or interviews. Please keep your contact information up-to-date. The status of your application will be updated in your applicant profile. Post-offer background check report required.

Please do not submit your resume and cover letter as a separate document. Files must be attached to your application

Why Work For the City of Fort Collins?

• Medical, dental, vision (for self, spouse, domestic partner, children) – eligible on the 1st of the month following date of hire
• Paid vacation, paid holidays, sick leave, and additional one-time bank of 40 PTO hours for new, full-time, Classified and Unclassified Management hires
• Retirement + company contributions – after 6 month probation period and immediate vesting
• Flexible spending: Medical expenses FSA, dependent FSA or both
• Employee Assistance Program: counseling, legal, financial assistance
• Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
• Wellness program, workout facilities
• Employee/family onsite health clinic
• Learning and development opportunities at all levels in the organization with opportunities for career mobility
• Collaborative work environment

Job Summary

The City of Fort Collins City Attorney's Office is hiring a full-time Assistant City Attorney II or Senior Assistant City Attorney. Applicants for the Attorney II position should have at least 5 years of experience and applicants for the Senior Assistant City Attorney position should have at least 10 years of experience as a practicing attorney or comparable legal work with an emphasis on municipal or other government law as well as a license to practice law in the State of Colorado or qualified for admission On Motion in Colorado.

This position is responsible for managing and coordinating City litigation matters, including claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983, employment claims and others. This attorney will also support the Human Resources department and other management on employment law issues. The successful candidate will represent the City in litigation, negotiations and in administrative and court proceedings. This attorney provides oversight of legal work within the City Attorney's Office including the work of other attorneys and paralegals, and the work of outside legal counsel, as needed. They will coordinate a team of attorneys and support staff working on litigation, litigation reports, and advise City officers and City management on pending or potential claims.

The City Attorney's Office is a busy and interesting hub situated in Fort Collins' City Hall. This is an in-person role that has a remote/hybrid component that will on average allow 3 days in the office and up to 2 days remote in a typical week, but the demands of the work may require more days in the office. We invite you to apply!

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Attorney II:
Works in a team office environment within the office of the City Attorney and performs the following duties independently or in consultation with the City Attorney:

• General knowledge of municipal law.
• Advanced legal writing and research skills. Produces documents that need minimal editing or revision.
• Strong analytical skills when applied to complex or specialized areas of municipal law.
• Able to communicate to diverse audiences clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
• Able to use word processing, collaboration, time tracking, and presentation software, and do online research.
• Able to perform duties effectively with minimal supervision and assistance.
• Able to coordinate and facilitate projects.
• Comfortable with public speaking.
• Leadership skills.
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems.
• Sufficiently experienced in advising City staff to effectively fill in for attorneys in other subject matter areas if needed.

• Able to recognize and develop awareness of political and organizational dynamics within the City.

In addition to the above, a Senior Assistant City Attorney is expected to meet the following required knowledge, skills and abilities:

• Advanced knowledge of municipal law.
• Expert-level knowledge in one or more significant areas of law critical to the City organization.
• Advanced legal writing and research skills. Produces high-quality documents that require minimal editing or revision and the ability to review the work of others.
• Ability to think critically and solve complex problems while directing, assisting, and contributing to team problem-solving.
• Strong analytical skills when applied to complex or specialized areas of municipal law.
• Leadership and mentoring skills.
• Able to coordinate and facilitate projects.
• Able to clearly, concisely, and effectively communicate with diverse audiences both orally and in writing in a manner that engenders client confidence.
• Able to use word processing, collaboration, time tracking and presentation software, and to do online legal research.
• Public speaking and presentation skills.
• Able to work independently in protecting the legal interests of the City and in supporting the goals and objectives of the City Council, City Attorney and City Manager.
• Well-experienced in filling in for attorneys in other subject matter areas.
• Understands how political and organizational dynamics affect the legal work of the City Attorney’s Office and effectively helps the office manage those dynamics.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The following duties and responsibilities are illustrative of the primary functions of this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.

The following are essential duties and responsibilities for both the Attorney II and Senior Assistant City Attorney positions:

• Conducts or supervises complex legal research and drafts legal opinions and memoranda.
• Interprets laws, rulings, and regulations.
• Oversee litigation in coordination with the City Attorney and Senior Deputy City Attorney.
• Advise City leaders and employees about potential and pending claims, including claims based on 42 U.S.C §1983.
• Focus on preventing risk through coordination with department leaders and Safety & Risk Management.
• Provides legal advice, possibly on complex issues, to City Council, City departments and officials, and various City boards and commissions.
• Collaborate with Human Resources leaders, City management and officers to strategically address employee relations and other employment matters.
• Communicates directly and effectively with clients, outside counsel, opposing counsel and others, manages the strategic direction of projects in cooperation with clients, and negotiates deadlines, deliverables, and competing priorities for multiple clients.
• Works with senior City management staff to coordinate legal work for one or more service areas.
• Mediates and facilitates collaboration across departments and service areas of the City to legally achieve City objectives.
• Prepares contracts, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents.
• Reviews contracts and other legal documents for legal sufficiency and potential legal implications.
• Identifies potential and actual legal issues raised by City policies and practices and recommends actions to address such issues.
• Represents the City in negotiations and in administrative and court proceedings.
• Provides oversight of legal work within the City Attorney's Office including the work of other attorneys and paralegals, interns, and the work of outside legal counsel, as needed.
• Reviews, critiques and edits others’ legal writing and documents.
• Design and present training to client staff and officials.

In addition to the above essential duties and responsibilities, the following are essential duties for the Senior Assistant City Attorney position:

• May be assigned to advise City Council committees.
• May attend executive and upper management team meetings for the City Attorney as needed.
• May administer or manage the City Attorney's office or aspects of it by assignment.
• Initiates or volunteers to participate in the implementation of constructive process improvements, office projects, special teams and work within the CAO to further City or CAO goals.
• May participate in the direction and strategic planning of City Attorney’s Office operations.

Management Responsibilities:
No

City Competencies

• Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
• Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
• A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
• A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.
• Experience building teams and implementing practices to lead others well in an inclusive, high-performance organization.
• Skill in integrating and synthesizing others’ viewpoints to build alignment of diverse perspectives to achieve results.
• Capable of creating conditions of emotional safety and demonstrates self-awareness and regulation in responding to others.
• Capable of systems thinking to see interdependent relationships and recognize multiple causes and effects of community issues, to predict or anticipate the consequences of policy decisions, and to community and organizational resources.
• Strong ability to assess alternatives in terms of their financial, revenue, social, environmental, and strategic advantages and disadvantages and propose solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to use a combination of feedback and reflection to gain productive insight into personal strengths and weaknesses.

Required Qualifications:

Minimum Preferred

Juris Doctorate required Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school

Experience Requirements

• Minimum of five years related legal experience for the Assistant City Attorney II position.

• Minimum of ten years related legal experience for the Senior Assistant City Attorney position.

At the City, we are focused on finding the strongest candidate for the role, and we recognize that excellence can come from a wide variety of experiences and paths. When reviewing applications, we consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and lived experiences that align with the minimum qualifications. If you are interested in this opportunity, we encourage you to view your background broadly and highlight the skills and experiences that best prepare you for the role

Certifications/Licenses/Specialized Training

• License in good standing to practice law in the State of Colorado.

The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call (970) 221-6535 for assistance.

Notice Regarding Medical and/or Recreational Marijuana Use:
Because the possession and use of marijuana,whether for medical use or otherwise, constitutes a federal offense and because the City is a drug free workplace, the City will not accommodate the medical use of marijuana and enforces written policy prohibiting working for the City while marijuana is in the body. The fact that state law recognizes medical marijuana as a prescribed, or otherwise permitted, medication does not alter or otherwise change this policy.

The City is committed to equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. Employment decisions will comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. The City does not tolerate behavior that results in the terms and conditions of employment being adversely impacted based on an employee’s protected status, or any behavior that violates this policy.

Consistent with the City’s respect for the rights and dignity of each employee, the City is committed to providing a work environment that is free from unlawful discrimination and harassment. The City prohibits discrimination or harassment based on protected characteristics, including race, color, national origin, ancestry, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation (including perceived sexual orientation), gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, age 40 years or older, pregnancy or related condition, military, veteran status or uniformed service member status, genetic information, marital status or any other status protected under federal, state or local law.

The City is committed to providing a healthy and safe work environment. In addition to the City’s commitment to equal opportunity employment, the City strictly prohibits discrimination or retaliation against an employee who raises any reasonable concern about workplace violations of government health or safety rules or a significant threat to the health or safety of City employees or the public, if the City controls the workplace conditions giving rise to the threat or violation.

Note: Some information in your application may be public information under the Colorado Open Records Act.