Deputy City Attorney III

Under general direction, performs a full range of professional level legal work involved in providing legal advice and representation to the City in legal disputes, issues, or litigation; drafts various ordinances and resolutions; and provides responsible and complex administrative support to the assigned Chief Deputy City Attorney or City Attorney.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

Deputy City Attorney III (Civil Only)--This is the advanced journey and most experienced level class in the Deputy City Attorney series. This class is distinguished from the Deputy City Attorney II by the amount of experience attained and the regular performance of difficult and complex duties and responsibilities. This position is responsible for providing proficient completion of complex legal assignments and requires the application of highly knowledgeable and experienced judgment. It is reserved for specialists, lead supervisors, team leaders, and limited to specialty civil practices.

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

Research, draft, review, and negotiate contracts and agreements including inter-local agreements, land transactions, employment, planning, sewer, business licenses, grant proposals, and redevelopment agreements and contracts.

Draft, review, evaluate, revise, and recommend City ordinances, policies, and procedures; explain and promote City policies and issues to employees, elected officials, and the general public.

Perform legal research and provide legal opinions to educate various departments, boards, commissions, agencies, and established committees regarding specific laws, contracts, and agreements.

Review, evaluate, negotiate, and consult on all claims, court complaints, cross claims, and third party accusations filed against the City; determine legal impact of specific cases on City operations.

Prepare, file, research, and represent the City in all administrative agency, state, and federal appellate actions.

Review, analyze, answer, oppose, initiate, research, and file pleadings in court actions; perform discovery including interrogatories, depositions, investigations, evidence preparation, and preparation of reports; respond to motions filed by defendants and/or attorneys.

Serve as City's counsel in court appearances, mediation, arbitration, negotiation, and conferences with opposing counsel; prepare cases for trial; prepare legal strategy for trial, discovery, negotiations, resolutions, mediation, arbitration, and court appearances; negotiate resolutions or conduct trial at various courts including Reno Municipal Court, Second Judicial District Court, Court of Appeals, District Court, and other courts; answer briefs for appeals of court decisions.

Prepare trial dockets; screen misdemeanor cases to ensure all evidence is obtained and witnesses notified/subpoenaed; interview victims and witnesses; consult with victim advocates; review and analyze the case and conduct legal research as needed; delegate additional research functions and collect additional evidence.

Conduct traffic arraignments and in-custody arraignments.

Review cases submitted by the Reno Police Department misdemeanor unit for possible issuance of warrant or summons.

Advise and facilitate communication and exchange of information between client agencies and agencies outside of the City.

Coordinate, negotiate, and interact with various local, state, federal, and other agencies.

Advise and participate in the development and conduct of assigned client agency regulation and enforcement programs.

Attend and participate in a variety of meetings; offer legal advice and respond to questions from department staff and board members.

Participate on a variety of boards and commissions.

Provide training to City employees and professional groups; prepare written materials, lectures, and supporting visual aids.

Attend and participate in professional group meetings; maintain awareness of new trends and developments in the field of municipal law; incorporate new developments as appropriate.

Perform related duties as required.

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY III

In addition to the qualifications for Deputy City Attorney I & II:

Knowledge of:

Substantial knowledge of the practice of law in the assigned area of civil practice including applicable procedures.

Substantial knowledge of the assigned City department.

Ability to:

Provide lead direction, supervision, training, consultation, and work coordination for others.

Perform the widest variety of and the most complex and difficult legal work in the assigned area of practice.

Develop, prepare, and present cases requiring court, arbitration, administrative, or quasi-judicial proceedings (based on area of practice).

Research, draft, review, and negotiate sophisticated legal agreements, pleadings, contracts, and settlements.

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

Education/Training:

Graduation from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association with a Juris Doctorate degree.

Experience:

Five years of experience as an attorney including three years of responsible experience in government law that includes trial experience.

License or Certificate:

Possession of a license to practice law in the State of Nevada.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed primarily in a standard office setting and occasionally in a courtroom environment; travel to different locations; extensive public contact.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight; to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination including use of a computer keyboard; and to verbally communicate to exchange information.