Sr. Assistant City Attorney

Pay Range: $117,488 – $139,635 annual compensation

Job Posting Closing on: Thursday, November 7, 2024

Benefits for this position include: 11 Paid Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off, Pension Plan, Professional Development Opportunities, and much more.

The City of Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing large cities in the U.S. Our employees serve the needs of nearly 1,000,000 residents, promoting our values of exceptional customer experience, mutual respect, embracing our diversity, continuous improvement, ethical behavior, and accountability.

The Fort Worth City Attorney’s Office is a collegial team of legal professionals providing excellent legal service to the City of Fort Worth. As an in-house legal department, we practice in a wide range of civil and criminal law on behalf of and for the City, including general counsel, litigation, and prosecutorial areas. Local government is the form of government that is closest to the people and working for a well-managed city like Fort Worth gives meaning and purpose as you see the direct and positive impact your legal work has on improving the community.

The City Attorney’s Office places strong emphasis on mentorship and career development and the majority of our attorneys receive in-house training for their positions. We highly value diversity and work life balance and we consistently strive to be a respectful and supportive work place with a great culture.

A Sr. Assistant City Attorney position is available with the City of Fort Worth City Attorney’s Office in the Transactional Division. This position does not involve litigation, although the attorneys in the Transactional Division will work with and advise litigators in the litigation division on matters.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.
• Eight (8) years of increasingly responsible experience in City or related government law, including relevant trial and/or transactional experience.
• Possession of a license from the Supreme Court of Texas to practice law is required at the time of hiring.
• Experience with administrative proceedings before TCEQ and PUC involving water and wastewater, and experience advising water and wastewater utilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Municipal experience.
• Extensive experience practicing before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Public Utilities Commission, and the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

The Sr. Assistant City Attorney job responsibilities include: 

• Advising staff and drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts, renewals and amendments, sales contracts and other water related documents.
• Handling water administrative proceedings before regulatory agencies(TCEQ, PUC) and the State Office of Administrative Hearings, water issues related to land use and development, water quality issues and water utility authorizations, including CCN applications and amendments, and water rates.
• Providing and rendering legal advice to the City Council, members of City commissions, boards and committees and City staff on a wide range of municipal law issues including interpretation of the City Charter.
• Researching legal issues and drafting and reviewing opinions, ordinances, resolutions, regulations, contracts, and other legal documents. Approving the same as to form and legality. Handling matters ranging from routine to complex, which may vary based on experience, expertise, and demonstrated proficiency.
• May attend meetings of the City Council or other City commissions, boards, or committees as legal counsel or on a project-by-project basis. Assists other attorneys on complex legal matters. 
• Performing other related duties as required.

Working Conditions

Depending on assignment, positions in this class typically require touching, talking, hearing, seeing, grasping, standing, walking and repetitive motions.

Applicants for this position must pass a Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) fingerprint-based background check and maintain CJIS eligibility. Due to CJIS requirements related to system access, the following will result in being disqualified for this position: Felony Convictions, Felony Deferred Adjudication, Class A Misdemeanor Conviction, Class B Misdemeanor Convictions in the last 10 years, Class A Misdemeanor Deferred Adjudication, Class B Misdemeanor Deferred Adjudication in the last 10 years, an Open Arrest for Any Criminal Offense (Felony or Misdemeanor), and ALL Family Violence Convictions regardless of class.

Physical Demands

Sedentary Work – Depending on assignment, positions in this class typically exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, a negligible amount of force frequently, and/or or constantly having to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Conditions of Employment

The City of Fort Worth is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. It is the policy and practice of the City to recruit, hire, train and promote a diverse workforce without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, parental status, military service, or another non-merit factor.

The City of Fort Worth is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions.

Candidates who do not meet the Education requirement, may be considered if they have more relevant work experience than the position requires. Those selected for employment will be required to pass Pre-Employment checks depending on the position requirements. Those could include, but are not limited to: criminal background check, drug screen, education verification, etc. criminal convictions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Employees are paid by direct deposit only.

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