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Job Description

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY IV

(Non-classified)

JOB CODE 10140

Effective Date:	Rev. 06/02A

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:

The fundamental reason this classification exists is to provide legal services to City Council and management; to plan, investigate, and try major cases and appeals to highest courts in the state and federal systems; to perform difficult professional and administrative legal work, including major code development or revision, client consultation on major departmental problems and projects to assist decision makers with the legal implications of their decisions; to draft and negotiate contracts and development agreements to meet the needs and projects of the various departments. Work is performed in accordance with general policies and established standards and practices of the legal profession and reviewed by department management. The Assistant City Attorney IV classification is distinguished from the Assistant City Attorney III by the greater complexity and responsibility of work assigned, and work generally is reviewed only for results achieved.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Serves as counsel to one or more City departments;
• Determines the propriety of major decisions under the City Charter, State Constitution, and state and federal law;
• Attends City Council meetings and conferences with City officials to determine the intent of official actions, considers possible alternative legal and administrative solutions to problems confronting these bodies, and renders oral and written opinions on legal questions and issues;
• Reviews and revises City Charter and Code provisions;
• Represents the City in federal and state courts and in appellate actions;
• Reviews proposed laws pending in the State Legislature which affect the enforcement of laws in the City of Phoenix and counsels City departments regarding such legislation;
• Appears before county, state, and federal legislative and administrative bodies;
• Demonstrates continuous effort to improve operations, decrease turnaround times, streamline work processes, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality seamless customer service.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• State and federal constitutional and statutory provisions relating to municipalities.
• Accepted legal principles and court decisions.
• Principles of criminal and civil law.
• Rules of civil and criminal procedure and evidence.
• Organization, function, and legal limitations on the authority of various City departments and enforcement and procedural problems.
• Legal principles and court decisions relating to the subject matter involved with the specific department or program to which the incumbent is assigned.

Ability to:

• Negotiate contracts with third parties and produce complex documents and contracts.
• Produce documents written in the English language using proper sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.
• Analyze, appraise, and organize facts, evidence, and precedents and present them in oral and written reports.
• Comprehend and make inferences from written material.
• Utilize City codes, charter, and ordinances.
• Present and argue cases in court and meet unanticipated problems.
• Analyze alternative approaches to problems.
• Work cooperatively with other employees, customers, clients, and the public.
• Communicate orally in the English language with customers, clients, and the public using a telephone and in group and face-to-face, one-to-one settings.
• Review or check the work product of others to ensure accuracy.

Additional Requirements:

• Some positions require the use of personal or City vehicles on City business. Individuals must be physically capable of operating the vehicles safely, possess a valid driver's license, and have an acceptable driving record. Use of a personal vehicle for City business will be prohibited if the employee is not authorized to drive a City vehicle or if the employee does not have personal insurance coverage.
• Some positions will require the performance of other essential and marginal functions depending upon work location, assignment, or shift.
• Admission to the State Bar of Arizona.

ACCEPTABLE EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING:
Four years of experience as a practicing civil or criminal attorney, including experience in the practice of municipal law; the review, negotiation, and drafting of contracts or other primary responsibility for participation in transactional work; significant client contact; primary responsibility for civil litigation, pleading and motion-practice; and one year of government law practice; and a working knowledge of the legal subject matter involved with the department to which assignment will be made; and graduation from an accredited school of law. Other combinations of experience and education that meet the minimum requirements may be substituted.