Deputy City Attorney

Pay Range: $138,822 – $183,939 annual compensation 

Job Posting Closing on: Monday, August 26, 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 Deputy City Attorney position is available with the Fort Worth City Attorney’s Office. This position is a senior management role and is responsible for managing the newly formed Government Affairs Division of the City Attorney’s Office. The Government Affairs Division develops and executes the City’s legislative program and provides guidance to the Fort Worth City Council and its legislative committee, city management, and city departments on state and federal legislative and administrative matters. This position will provide direction, oversight, and guidance in strategic legislative planning and advocacy, and will participate in City of Fort Worth activities related to state and federal legislative/congressional sessions. This position will also manage transactional legal work related to implementation of adopted legislation, management of relationships with third-party legislative consultants and lobbyists, drafting of multi-governmental agreements, and coordination of City Council-level projects. This position reports directly to the City Attorney, who reports directly to the City Council. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.
• Ten (10) years of increasingly responsible experience in City or related government law, law, including three years of administrative and supervisory responsibility and 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.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in and subject matter expertise on state (Texas) and federal legislative affairs and processes.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
• Strong public policy research skills
• Experience in legislative drafting, tracking, lobbying, and strategic planning.
• Experience successfully leading a dynamic and diverse team.
• Municipal experience.

Deputy City Attorney – Government Affairs Division job responsibilities:

• Delivers high levels of support to City Council, city management, and city staff related to legislative and agency matters at the state and federal level.
• Supervises the development of the City’s state and federal legislative agendas in conjunction with elected officials and city management.
• Works closely with the City’s lobbying team to support legislative and administrative engagement; manages legislative consultant and lobbyist contracts.
• Supervises staff, which includes prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; ensuring staff is trained; ensuring employees follow policies and procedures; maintaining a healthy and safe working environment; and, making recommendations on hiring, termination, and disciplinary decisions.
• Monitors and evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of the legislative affairs program for the City; assesses and monitors work load of supervised personnel; identifies opportunities for improvement; reviews same with the City Attorney; and implements improvements.
• Coordinates with the City Attorney to handle and direct pending legal matters affecting the City of Fort Worth.
• Assists in the development, administration, and management of the department’s and program’s annual budgets; directs the monitoring of and approves expenditures; and implements adjustments, as necessary.
• Serves as liaison for the City Attorney’s Office and the City of Fort Worth with other city departments and divisions, outside agencies, the City’s legislative and congressional contingents, and state and federal administrative agencies. Negotiates and resolves controversial issues.
• Supervises and participates in compiling and codifying city ordinances; and drafts contracts involving municipal transactions.
• Researches legal questions and evaluates the impact on city policies and procedures.
• Researches public policy questions, evaluates options and their impact on the City, and makes recommendations.
• Conducts legal research; prepares legal opinions; and provides legal advice to the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, and other city officials; evaluates policies and procedures; and makes recommendations.
• Coordinates office activities with those of other departments and outside agencies and organizations; provides staff assistance to the City Attorney; and prepares and presents staff reports and other necessary correspondence.

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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