Assistant County Counsel - Land Use, Groundwater Management, and/or Public Works Contracting

Description

WHAT WE OFFER The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package which includes the following:

• Annual Leave - The candidate selected for this position will earn 208 hours per year, increasing to 288.08 hours after 5 years of service.
• Annual Leave Redemption - The ability to "cash in" or redeem up to 100 hours of Annual Leave per year after using 80 hours of annual leave within the previous 12 months. (Management Resolution, § 1205)
• Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions. Following five (5) years of continuous County service, an additional 2% non-elective contribution will be made to the 401(k) plan.
• Health Plans - You are afforded a flexible credit allowance of up to $25,558 annually for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans.
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Employees may also participate in the Flexible Spending Accounts which increase their spending power by reimbursing them with pre-tax dollars for IRS approved dependent care and health care expenses.
• Pension Plan - Both the County and you contribute to the County's Retirement Plan and to Social Security. If eligible, you may establish reciprocity with other public retirement systems such as PERS.
• Holidays - 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.
• Additional Benefits: Professional Memberships, Disability Plans, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Wellness Program.

The County Counsel’s Office provides legal advice and representation to County departments, agencies, officials, and employees in all civil law matters. The County Counsel's Office is distinguished from the District Attorney's Office and the Public Defender's Office, which handle criminal matters.

THE DEPARTMENT

The County Counsel’s Office employs approximately 27 attorneys and 13 support personnel. The working title for line-assigned attorneys is Assistant County Counsel, although the formal Civil Service classifications for the Assistant County Counsel positions are Civil Attorney I/II/III and Senior Civil Attorney. Five attorney positions are assigned to management of the Office, including the County Counsel. The individual assignments of Assistant County Counsels are varied, reflecting the breadth of functions performed by the County, and can include litigation, advisory and transactional duties.

THE POSITION

An Assistant County Counsel position is available in the Civil Attorney III or Senior Civil Attorney classification, depending upon candidate experience. The position will advise and represent the County, its departments, agencies, officials, and employees regarding land use, groundwater management, and/or public works contracting matters. Applications are sought from motivated attorneys with subject matter familiarity and experience in any of the following practice areas: planning and zoning law and CEQA compliance; groundwater management, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, and groundwater adjudication; and/or public works contracting and construction disputes.

PAYROLL TITLES AND APPROXIMATE ANNUAL SALARIES:
Civil Attorney III: $146,586.31 - $205,220.86
Senior Civil Attorney: $170,370.62 - $238,542.22

NOTE: If appointed at the lower level, incumbent may be promoted to the higher level without further exam upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

Civil Attorneys receive management benefits and are exempt from overtime compensation.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

OPENING DATE: November 12, 2025
CLOSING DATE: Continuous
FIRST REVIEW COMPLETE: on or about December 1, 2025
EXAMINATION DATE: To be determined

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Advises County officers, departments, and staff regarding land use matters, interpretation and application of County zoning ordinances, plans and policies, groundwater management, and public works contracting and construction disputes;
• Prepares and reviews staff reports, contracts, permits, real property instruments, and other documents for legal sufficiency; and corresponds with other entities and attorneys regarding same;
• Acts as legal adviser to County officers, departments, boards and commissions, including at public meetings and hearings;
• Drafts ordinances, resolutions, and other legislative measures;
• Monitors legal developments, including proposed legislation and court decisions, evaluates their impact on County operations and recommends appropriate action;
• Prepares formal written legal opinions.
• Prepares and reviews litigation documents such as complaints, answers, demurrers, discovery, and appellate briefs;
• Represents client agencies in court trials, arbitrations and administrative hearings, and appeals;
• Performs other related duties as required.

Typical Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the recruitment process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION AND LICENSING: All levels require graduation from law school and active membership in the State Bar of California.

EXPERIENCE:

Civil Attorney III - A minimum of four (4) years of professional legal experience.

Senior Civil Attorney - A minimum of six (6) years of professional legal experience.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must possess knowledge of and experience in at least one (1) of the following three (3) specialties representing public sector or private clients:

• Land Use
• Groundwater Management
• Public Works Contracting

SPECIAL RESTRICTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

• The County of Ventura Personnel Rules and Regulations prohibit County attorneys from engaging in the private practice of law for compensation.
• Pursuant to the Political Reform Act of 1974, the Assistant County Counsels must file a financial disclosure statement within thirty (30) days of appointment, and annually thereafter.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
Comprehensive knowledge of: land use law, groundwater management, and/or public works contracting; Legal principles and their application; rules of professional conduct; rules of evidence; and legal research methods.

Comprehensive skill and ability to: Analyze complex legal claims and defenses; utilize legal research to find principles of law, statutes and cases on point; develop litigation strategies to accomplish client objectives; present statements of fact and argument clearly and persuasively in writing and orally; draft legal instruments and opinions; develop discovery plan and conduct all aspects of civil discovery; draft legal pleadings, briefs, and advisory memoranda; appear and advocate in state and federal court and administrative hearings; obtain the confidence and respect of members of the legal profession, public officials and other persons.

Recruitment Process

FINAL FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.
First review date is anticipated to be completed on or about December 1, 2025.

To apply on-line refer to web site: www.ventura.org/jobs . If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 S. Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here (Download PDF reader) ( Download PDF reader ) for additional information.

NOTE: Sufficient information must be provided under the Education/Work experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire, if applicable, to thoroughly and accurately demonstrate your qualifications in order to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement the information in the above sections; however, it may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine if the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the application being removed from consideration.

TRAINING and EXPERIENCE EVALUATION: A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining the better qualified candidates among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the Department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an oral examination, which may be preceded by or replaced with, the score from a T&E, contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questionnaire within the application is completed with care and diligence.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%: All qualifying applicants, or those selected for further examination if there are a high number of qualified applicants, will be invited to an oral examination. Those applicants invited to the oral examination may be required to bring a writing sample showing their ability to research, analyze, and apply the law. A panel of three persons will conduct the oral examination to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills and abilities in relation to those factors determined to be essential for successful performance of the job.

ELIGIBILITY LIST: Candidates who score seventy percent (70%) or higher on the oral examination will be placed on an eligible list for one (1) year. If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an oral examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each applicant, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list. The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill existing and future regular, temporary, fixed-term, intermittent and extra-help positions within the office only. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy in the County Counsel's Office.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post-offer background investigation, which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information and driving record, may be required for this position.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Lorin Calderon by email to Lorin.Calderon@venturacounty.gov or phone (805) 654-2959.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

YOUR BENEFITS AS A COUNTY OF VENTURA EMPLOYEE

MANAGEMENT

To learn more about Benefits, Retirement, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), see links below.

• Benefits website or you may call (805) 654-2570.
• Retirement FAQ's
• Memorandum of Agreement

Union Codes:MB3, MB4, MS, MT,MCC, MU

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• County of Ventura

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