DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY - CIVIL LIABILITY APPEALS

job description

DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY II/III

CIVIL LIABILITY APPEALS DIVISION

CIVIL LITIGATION BRANCH

Salary Range

DCA II: $126,553 - $ 185,038

DCA III: $163,887 - $239,618

About Us
The Los Angeles City Attorney's office is one of the nation's largest municipal law offices and serves as general counsel to the City. With over 1,000 legal professionals, including 500 attorneys, the Office provides the City with the highest caliber of legal services, prosecuting criminal misdemeanors and playing a leading role in criminal justice reform, defending civil lawsuits and claims, bringing civil enforcement actions in the name of the People of the State of California, and advising the hundreds of departments, boards and commissions of the City on all aspects of municipal, real estate and transactional law.

Guided by an overarching commitment to integrity, accountability and transparency, we find great meaning in the work we do and the services we provide.

We seek collaborative team players who understand that fulfilling our mission is key to making a positive impact.

Description
The Division handles appeals and writs arising out of civil litigation in a variety of areas. While this could include any case in which the City or its employees are sued, typical cases include the dangerous condition of public property, state and federal civil rights laws, including defending the City and police officers against claims of false arrest and excessive force, employment law, municipal law, constitutional law, City contracts, public health law, land use, real property, and housing law, and the California Public Records Act. The Division represents the City and occasionally the People of the State of California in affirmative litigation and as amicus curiae in appeals that touch on areas of law with potential impact on the City and on issues of state-wide and nation-wide importance. The Division occasionally advises the City Council on legal issues. The attorneys in this Division practice primarily in the California Court of Appeal for the Second District and the Ninth Circuit, and occasionally the United States and California Supreme Courts. The attorneys in the Division also advise and assist the City’s trial attorneys in significant pre and post-trial motions.

Duties and Responsibilities
The selected attorney’s primary responsibilities will be handling writs and appeals on behalf of the City and its individual employees in federal and state appellate courts, including drafting all briefs and appearing at oral argument.

The selected attorney’s additional responsibilities will include, on an as-needed basis:

• Drafting dispositive pre and post-trial motions in some civil litigation matters and providing procedural and substantive research and advice to trial attorneys;
• Preparing written reports and updates on the status of pending matters to the Executive Office;
• Attending mediations and settlement conferences;
• Attending City Council hearings related to appeals handled by the Division; and,
• Participating in the Office’s risk management efforts.

Requirements
Applicants for this position must have a license to practice law in all of the courts in the State of California. Additional requirements include:

• Five or more years of practice, with primary focus on appellate practice or law and motion practice;
• Demonstrated high level of skill in legal research, writing and analysis;
• Excellent oral advocacy skills;
• Demonstrated ability to regularly and carefully read, review and analyze large records, including reporter’s transcripts in excess of 1,000 pages and multiple volumes of court documents.

Desirable Qualifications
The primary qualifications for this position are excellent legal research and writing skills and a serious interest in full-time appellate work. Prior appellate work is preferred, and we encourage candidates to include examples of appellate brief(s) among their writing samples.
Previous experience and background in government tort liability and immunities; dangerous condition of public property; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and federal and state civil rights law; employment law; and the California Public Records Act.
Admission to practice before the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Requirements for Application
• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Candidates are required to submit two writing samples personally composed by the applicant in the past two years.

Benefits Offered
Medical, Dental, Vision
• Paid Time Off
Life Insurance
o 13 Yearly Holidays
Disability Insurance
o Vacation
Tax-Advantage Spending Accounts
o Personal Leave
Retirement Plan (LACERS)
o Floating Holidays
Deferred Compensation Plan (457(b))
o Sick Leave
Employee and Family Assistance Program
o Bereavement Leave

Telework

This position may qualify for up to 2 days of telework per week after a probationary period.

Current Location
City Hall East, 200 N. Main Street, Los Angeles. Position is subject to assignment at any location within the County of Los Angeles.

Probation
Appointment to this exempt position (non Civil-Service) will be subject to a two (2) year probationary period as required by Section 1050 of the City Charter. Successful completion of the two (2) year 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 currentclassification.

Conflict of Interest
This position is designated as Category 1 on the Conflict of Interest Code.
Contact
Questions? Please email atty.recruit@lacity.org .

How to apply

Application and Deadline

Interested candidates should go to: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacityattorney/

to apply online.

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

exempt employment

If employment is said to be exempt, it is meant that the employment is exempted from the civil service provisions of the City Charter. In order to receive a regular civil service appointment, employees must have successfully participated in a civil service examination, received a high enough score on the examination to be placed on and receive an appointment from an eligible list, and they must serve a probationary period. Exempt employees do not compete in a civil service examination, they are not placed on an eligible list and receive an appointment from that list, nor do they serve a probationary period. As a result, exempt employees do not have what is referred to as a “property interest” in their job. Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority and can be terminated at any time without cause. Employees with a property interest in their job, i.e. civil service employees, cannot be deprived of their employment(discharged or suspended) without due process.

General Information About Exempt Employment

Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority, and as such, they may be discharged, suspended or otherwise disciplined without cause. Exempt employees have no property interest in their employment, and any procedural benefit or other prerogative extended to them by their appointing authority is not intended to create and does not create any such property interest. No officer or employee of the City may make to any other officer or employee any representation of a property interest in employment which does not correspond to Charter provisions unless the City Council, by ordinance, permits such representation. No unauthorized representation can serve as the basis of an employee's reliance on, or expectation of, a property interest.

Employees Seeking To Become Civil Service Employees

There is no protective leave for an exempt employee appointed to a civil service position. Upon receiving a civil service appointment and passing probation, the former exempt employee will be subject to the Civil Service provisions described in Article X of the City Charter. Upon appointment, the civil service employee will begin to accrue displacement and layoff seniority on the first day of his/her civil service appointment and may file for promotional examinations for which s/he qualifies. A full or half-time exempt employee appointed to a full or half-time civil service position continues to: contribute to the Retirement System; accrue vacation time; accrue sick time; receive anniversary date salary increases; and, receive health and dental benefits identical to those received in the civil service position.

Closing Date/Time: 6/24/25

• 

• City of Los Angeles

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