DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY III - ACE

City Attorney

Exempt | Location: Civic Center

Annual Salary

$131,669 - $249,328

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. With over 1,000 legal professionals, including 500 attorneys, the Office provides the City of Los Angeles (“City”) with the highest caliber of legal services, ranging from prosecuting criminal misdemeanors and playing a leading role in criminal justice reform to advising on homelessness initiatives, defending civil lawsuits and claims, and bringing 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 ACE Program is an alternative method of enforcement for violations of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. An administrative citation/ticket is issued to a violator in lieu of a criminal citation or arrest. The current criminal court process results in a criminal conviction with penalties that may include probation, fines and jail. An administrative citation can be resolved through the payment of a fine and there is no resulting criminal record. ACE offers an alternative to criminal sanctions for appropriate offenders and is aligned with national, state and local efforts to promote new “smart justice” prevention, intervention and diversion approaches. There is a significant number of city enforcement personnel issuing citations to offenders through the ACE Program. Current participating City Departments are: Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD); Department of Animal Services (DAS); Department of Parks and Recreation; the Bureau of Street Services (BOSS); Housing Department; Building and Safety; and Sanitation.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Deputy City Attorney III is responsible for the following:
• Reviewing and tracking administrative citations; ensuring that all information is accurately documented in the program’s database. Assisting in preparing statistical documents, City Council reports and other reports as needed;
• Regularly meeting with ACE staff to review open citations and hearings, handle initial reviews of contested citations, prepare cases for administrative hearings and oversee administrative hearings;
• Assisting in the recruitment, training and monitoring of volunteer ACE hearing officers;
• Responding to inquiries from members of the public regarding issues affecting quality of life in neighborhoods;
• Communicating and coordinating with a variety of law enforcement and regulatory agencies on joint projects, City Attorney policies, guidelines, filing requirements, legislative changes and other matters of interest concerning the successful resolution of quality-of-life issues;
• Ensuring uniform implementation of City Attorney policies concerning the filing and disposition of ACE citations;
• Regularly meeting and discussing procedures and issues with the supervising attorney of the ACE Program;
• Assisting in the continued development and expansion of the Administrative Citation Enforcement Program;
• This position will be highly involved with the processing of citations issued by the Housing Department under Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance;
• Other assignments as requested.

Requirements
• Licensed to practice law in all courts in the State of California.
• Excellent oral communication skills and the ability to effectively engage in oral advocacy.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully interact with a wide variety of members of the public, law enforcement, governmental entities, public officials, and the court system with tact, sensitivity and good judgment.
• Strong research and writing skills.
• Applicants must have effective skills in written and verbal communications, presentation of administrative and judicial cases, and effective appellate advocacy.

Desired Qualifications
• Demonstrated ability to complete multiple tasks under abbreviated time deadlines and an ability to quickly prioritize and complete a variety of staff assignments.
• Ability to efficiently work in a program with a high volume of demands for information, dealing with a wide variety of issues and city departments.
• Experience and proficiency in the administration of misdemeanor criminal law, procedure, and appellate advocacy. The applicant should also have misdemeanor case management procedural experience. In addition, the applicant should have experience with state court writ practice.
• Applicant should have experience in the area of administrative and regulatory law.

How to apply

Requirements for Application
• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Candidates are required to submit two recent writing samples personally authored in the last two years.

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

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

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