Deputy City Attorney I/II - PUBLIC RIGHTS BRANCH

City Attorney

Exempt | Location: Civic Center

Annual Salary

$108,367.20 - $188,734.32

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 Rights Branch pursues civil enforcement matters, including complex, high impact matters, focusing on a variety of areas including unfair business and housing practices, wage theft, environmental protection, consumer protection, nuisance abatement and cannabis regulation. The Branch uses a variety of statutory authorities, including the Unfair Competition Law, the False Advertising Law, the Public Nuisance Law and various Health & Safety Code regulations. The Branch also pursues False Claims Act and other civil claims, and engages in debt collection for the city.

Duties and Responsibilities

The primary role of the attorney selected for this position will be debt collection. This includes filing litigation to reduce outstanding debt to a judgment, enforcing money judgments, and monitoring and potentially participating in bankruptcy proceedings concerning City debtors. The attorney may also be called upon to support litigation concerning the Branch’s other practice areas (described above) as needed, or as time allows.

Requirements

• Licensed to practice law in all courts in the State of California;

• Experience in civil litigation;

• Either substantial experience with debt collection litigation and enforcement procedures, or a strong desire and ability to learn and practice in this area of law;

• Ability to handle litigation independently with little oversight;

• Ability to learn new areas of law through legal research;

• Careful attention to detail, including oversight of numerous open accounts;

• Demonstrated high-level written and oral communication skills;

• Strong analytical and strategic skills; and

• Strong desire to serve the public interest.

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with asset search databases; and

• Experience working with governmental agencies, elected officials, and public officials.

How to apply

Application and Deadline

Interested candidates should go to: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacityattorney/ to apply online.

Qualified applicants will be invited to interview.

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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