Supervising Attorney

The General Counsel Division serves as counsel to the City’s officers and various departments.  The General Counsel’s Infrastructure Team is an important part of the General Counsel Division and serves as the counsel to the Department of Public Works and the Department of Transportation, as well as their respective Boards of Commissioners and City Council oversight committees.

The Department Public Works and its five operating Bureaus – Engineering, Sanitation, Street Services, Street Lighting and Contract Administration are responsible for the construction, renovation, and sometimes operation of City facilities and infrastructure, including, City buildings, police and fire stations, libraries, wastewater treatment plants, park facilities, and the LA Zoo, as well as the City’s network of streets, sidewalks, street lights, bridges, sewers, and storm drains. The Board of Public Works Commissioners and the Department’s five bureau Directors are the chief administrators of the Department, overseeing the design and execution of the department’s projects and operations.  The Department is also the permitting and inspection authority for construction activities in the public right-of-way, maintains the City’s urban forest of street trees, issues special event and vending permits, and carries out enforcement operations for street use violations, street vending, illegal dumping and illicit waste discharges.

The Supervising Attorney selected for the position will report the head of the General Counsel Division and will supervise the Division’s Infrastructure Team, which includes the group of attorneys who serve as the counsel to the Department of Public Works and its Board of Public Works and the Department of Transportation.  The Supervising Attorney will also be responsible for the following:

• Managing the staffing of Board of Public Works (BPW)and City Council Public Works Committee (PWC) meetings, and advising the BPW and PWC in open and closed session on procedural and substantive matters;
• Overseeing the Infrastructure Team’s work to assure strong, collaborative client relations, consistently high-quality work product, and efficiency in operations and flexibility in staffing assignments;
• Overseeing and providing procedural, substantive, and strategic guidance to the team’s attorneys in their representation of the client departments;
• Overseeing specialized litigation relating to the client Departments and City ordinances as well as administrative compliance and/or enforcement related to various regulatory permits issued by state and federal agencies;
• Overseeing and also reviewing, editing, drafting, and negotiating contracts, public utility franchise agreements, ordinances, and other similar documents, frequently involving regulatory programs and highly complex transactions;
• Interacting directly with City leadership, Board members, and Office Executive Management on issues being handled by the team;
• Coordinating Infrastructure Team work with other divisions within the City Attorney’s Office and other governmental agencies, such as Caltrans and Metro;
• Overseeing the training and professional development of the team’s attorneys;
• Participating in personnel matters, including but not limited to, disciplinary matters, evaluations and performance reviews;
• Collaborating with other sections of the Office to assure consistent, integrated advice and
• Other related duties as assigned.

• Licensed to practice law in all courts in the State of California;
• Minimum seven (7) years of experience in municipal, civil, or criminal law;
• Demonstrated high-level written and oral communication skills;
• Demonstrated strong research and writing skills in complex areas of law;
• Strong analytical and reasoning skills;
• Strong desire to serve the public interest;
• Demonstrated ability to handle a busy and varied workload;
• Demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment; and
• Ability to work effectively with governmental agencies, public officials, departmental personnel, and members of the public.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience in public contracting, including construction contracting and professional service contracts for public entities;
• Civil litigation experience (minimum of two years preferred) and experience in quasi-judicial hearings by public bodies;
• Familiarity with administrative proceedings before regulatory agencies;
• Experience advising legislative bodies, including knowledge of the California Public Records Act, Brown Act and conflict of interest laws;
• Knowledge of the City Charter and City Administrative Code;
• Experience drafting local ordinances and knowledge of the City Charter; and
• Experience with public utilities franchises.

Requirements for Application 

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Candidates are required to submit two recent writing samples personally authored in the last two years.

Current Location

City Hall East, 200 N. Main Street, Los Angeles. Position is subject to assignment at any location of the Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney

Probation

Appointment to this exempt position (non-Civil Service) will be subject to a two-year probationary period as required by Section 1050 of the City Charter. Successfully completing this probationary period will result in tenure with the office.

Classification

Internal applicants: Placement in this position will be as a lateral transfer with the selected candidate assuming the position in their current classification. 

Application and Deadline

Interested candidates should apply online.

Qualified applicants will be invited to interview. Position will remain open until filled.

Conflict-of-Interest

This position is designated as Category 1 on the Conflict-of-Interest Code. 

Contact

Questions? Please email atty.recruit@lacity.org.

Salary : $167,186 - $280,335