About the Office

The City Attorney’s Office provides advice and counsel to the Mayor, City Council, and all City departments, boards and commissions in a wide variety of areas spanning the range of municipal law, including but not limited to, land use, real estate, personnel, elections, conflicts of interest, municipal finance, retirement, housing, public contracting and economic development. The City Attorney’s Office also advocates for the City’s interests in claims and lawsuits litigated in state or federal court, including high-value personal injury cases, complex civil rights actions, breach of contract, personnel disputes, eminent domain actions, inverse condemnation and alleged Constitutional violations.

The Office has approximately 82 employees and two legal divisions: the Advisory and Litigation Divisions. The Advisory Division includes the Land Use & Planning, Real Estate, General Government & Finance, Labor & Employment, and General Government & Code Enforcement units. The Litigation Division includes the General & Complex Litigation (Defense), Law & Motion/Writs & Appeals units; and the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights, Neighborhood Law Corps and Housing Justice Initiative affirmative litigation units. The work is high profile, dynamic, collaborative, and complex. And the work is of vital importance to the City’s realization of its progressive and cutting-edge policies and programs, and to the City’s delivery of services to Oakland’s residents and businesses

Job Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Providing advice and legal opinions on general government matters such as municipal finance, taxes and fees, formation of special assessment and other districts, public ethics and conflict of interest, ballot measures, public contracting, open meetings, public records laws, constitutional law and parliamentary procedure to the City Administrator and other City executives, the Mayor, City Council and City departments, boards and commissions.
• Assisting departments in soliciting, awarding, managing and enforcing contracts for services, from minor construction to major infrastructure improvements.
• Preparing legal opinions, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents.
• Advising the City Administrator, department heads, elected officials, and boards and commissions on general government matters related to public ethics, conflicts of interest, and public records.
• Representing the City Attorney at meetings of the City Council, City Council committees and other public meetings, and providing advice on parliamentary procedure, the Brown Act and local Sunshine laws.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION

Any combination of experience and education that likely would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience:

• For DCA III position: Four years of increasingly responsible work experience in one or more relevant areas of law.
• For DCA IV position: Two years of increasingly responsible work experience comparable to a Deputy City Attorney III position in the City of Oakland.
• The ideal candidate will be experienced in one or more of the following: public bidding and contracting, construction, capital improvements, franchise negotiations and agreements, and federal grant agreements and regulations.
• Experience in municipal bond and finance law, open meetings laws, public records, information technology contracts, and/or parliamentary procedure is a plus.
• Candidates must have excellent writing and oral presentation skills.

Education

• Law school graduate.

License or Certificate:

• A member in good standing of the California State Bar.
• Selected individuals will be required to maintain a valid California Driver’s License during City employment or demonstrate the ability to travel to required locations in a timely manner. Due to assignments and hours or work, public transportation may not be an efficient method for traveling to required locations.

Additional Desirable Skills:

• Working knowledge of municipal, state and federal laws affecting City governance.
• Language skills, especially in Spanish, Cantonese and/or Mandarin.

Ability to:

• Interpret and apply various government codes and ordinances.
• Conduct research on legal problems and prepare sound legal opinions.
• Analyze and prepare a wide variety of legal documents.
• Handle stressful and sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy, including across lines of difference and throughout the spectrum of diversity.
• Provide professional leadership, guidance and technical expertise to assigned staff.
• Work independently or as part of a team.
• Bring compassion, creativity, and clarity to challenging legal issues related to poverty and racial justice.
• Communicate effectively in both oral and written form with City officials, representatives of outside agencies and the public, and in litigation.
• Complete varied assignments within a narrow time frame.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and other contacts in the course of work.
• Inspire confidence and respect for legal advice.
• Skillfully and professionally present legal advice to clients, including the elected and high- level appointed officials.

HOW TO APPLY

Submit a cover letter and resume by email to: jobs@oaklandcityattorney.org

Candidates selected to proceed in the hiring process will be asked to submit additional information (e.g., a writing sample, references, answers to supplemental questions, and a formal City of Oakland employment application).