DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY III - Public Pensions General Counsel

City Attorney

Exempt | Location: Civic Center

Annual Salary

$163,887.00 - $239,618.00

contact information

Human Resources
2139787160
atty.recruit@lacity.org

job description

About Us
The Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney is one of the nation's largest municipal law offices. It has more than 1,000 legal professionals, including more than 500 attorneys. The City Attorney is the Chief Counsel to the City and the Chief Prosecutor for the City of Los Angeles. The Office provides a wide range of legal services, prosecutes criminal misdemeanors, plays a leading role in criminal justice reform, advises on homelessness initiatives, defends civil lawsuits and claims, and brings civil enforcement actions in the name of the People of the State of California.

Guided by an overarching commitment to integrity, service and accountability, we find great meaning in the work we do and the services we provide. We seek collaborative team players who understand that fulfilling our mission is key to making a positive impact.

Description
The Public Pensions General Counsel Division serves as general counsel to the three Los Angeles City retirement plans, which cumulatively invest more than $70 billion in trust funds and administer retirement and healthcare benefits as fiduciaries for City retirees and their beneficiaries. Division attorneys work closely with the pension boards of commissioners (Boards), executive management, and staff of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS), the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension plan (LAFPP), and the Water and Power Employees’ Retirement Plan (WPERP).

Duties and Responsibilities
Division attorneys:
(1) advise on complex and diverse areas of law including fiduciary and ethical duties, conflicts of interest, the California Public Records Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, California and federal constitutional law, plan benefits and administration, interpretation of City Charter and Administrative Code provisions, real estate and investment transactions, securities law, trust, probate, and family law, tax law, health care law, and data privacy and cybersecurity law;
(2) draft contracts, City legislation, and administrative policies;
(3) represent the plans in litigation, including defending against petitions for writs of mandamus and civil lawsuits challenging Board actions and affirmatively prosecuting securities fraud and corporate derivative actions;
(4) regularly participate in commission and committee meetings, including presenting in open and closed session, providing Board education on legal topics, and assisting the Boards to conduct disability retirement hearings; and
(5) assist the plans to serve their members by resolving legal issues and reviewing documents that affect members’ retirement benefits, including trust, dissolution, and probate documents. Attorneys also supervise and partner with specialized outside counsel on real estate, investment, tax compliance, cybersecurity, data privacy, fiduciary, and securities litigation matters.

Division attorneys have opportunities to participate in public pension attorney educational conferences on both state and national levels and to pursue professional development courses and continuing legal education.

Requirements
License to practice law in the State of California, at least three years’ experience in civil trial practice, including mediation/arbitration and actual trial experience, in the California Superior Court (both limited and unlimited jurisdictions), knowledge of the California Government Code and its application to public entities; an understanding of government claims procedures; and at least one year’s experience advising clients on non-litigation matters.

Additional requirements include:
• Excellent research and writing skills
• Strong verbal communication and advocacy skills, comfortable public speaking and presenting
• Confidence and competence using essential technology, including Office 365, Adobe, calendaring and teleconferencing platforms, and other collaborative applications
• Ability to work effectively and professionally with public officials, including appointed and elected officers
• Enthusiasm for engaging collaboratively and respectfully across City departments and with diverse pension plan stakeholders, including employee groups, community representatives, expert consultants, public safety officers, and first responders
• Familiarity with California municipal law, including the California Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act, experience in any of the practice areas described above
• Demonstrated capacity to solve problems creatively and independently
• Ability to use discretion and sound judgment to resolve sensitive issues and handle confidential information
• Commitment to the shared values of the Public Pensions General Counsel Division, including integrity, empathy, outstanding client service, innovation, and teamwork

Current Location
LACERS’ headquarters building at 977 N. Broadway Ave., Los Angeles, California 90012.

Probation
Appointment to this exempt position (non-Civil Service) will be subject to a two year probationary period as required by Section 1050 of the City Charter. Successfully completing this probationary period will result in tenure with the office.

Conflict-of-Interest
This position is designated as Category 1 on the Conflict-of-Interest Code.

Contact
Questions? Please email atty.recruit@lacity.org.

How to apply

Requirements for Application

• Cover Letter

• Resume

• Candidates are required to submit two (2) writing samples personally composed by the applicant in the last three (3) years. The first writing sample should be a brief or motion demonstrating the applicant’s advocacy skills. The second writing sample should be a research memorandum objectively advising a client or supervisor on a complex legal question. Please redact any identifying attorney-client privileged information from the research memorandum.

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exempt employment

If employment is said to be exempt, it is meant that the employment is exempted from the civil service provisions of the City Charter. In order to receive a regular civil service appointment, employees must have successfully participated in a civil service examination, received a high enough score on the examination to be placed on and receive an appointment from an eligible list, and they must serve a probationary period. Exempt employees do not compete in a civil service examination, they are not placed on an eligible list and receive an appointment from that list, nor do they serve a probationary period. As a result, exempt employees do not have what is referred to as a “property interest” in their job. Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority and can be terminated at any time without cause. Employees with a property interest in their job, i.e. civil service employees, cannot be deprived of their employment(discharged or suspended) without due process.

General Information About Exempt Employment

Exempt employees serve at the will of the appointing authority, and as such, they may be discharged, suspended or otherwise disciplined without cause. Exempt employees have no property interest in their employment, and any procedural benefit or other prerogative extended to them by their appointing authority is not intended to create and does not create any such property interest. No officer or employee of the City may make to any other officer or employee any representation of a property interest in employment which does not correspond to Charter provisions unless the City Council, by ordinance, permits such representation. No unauthorized representation can serve as the basis of an employee's reliance on, or expectation of, a property interest.

Employees Seeking To Become Civil Service Employees

There is no protective leave for an exempt employee appointed to a civil service position. Upon receiving a civil service appointment and passing probation, the former exempt employee will be subject to the Civil Service provisions described in Article X of the City Charter. Upon appointment, the civil service employee will begin to accrue displacement and layoff seniority on the first day of his/her civil service appointment and may file for promotional examinations for which s/he qualifies. A full or half-time exempt employee appointed to a full or half-time civil service position continues to: contribute to the Retirement System; accrue vacation time; accrue sick time; receive anniversary date salary increases; and, receive health and dental benefits identical to those received in the civil service position.

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