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Job Description
Salary
- The Position
***Continuous Recruitment***
Recruitment may close at any time
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply immediately
The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.
Salary Range: Worker Protection Attorney: $164,730.72 to $202,265.88 for eleven months, depending on experience
Benefits: Health, dental, vision, pension, telecommuting opportunities, and other competitive benefits.
Location: City Hall, Oakland, CA
Initial Application Requirements: Cover letter and resume
Deadline to Apply: Open until filledTHE POSITIONThe Office of the City Attorney (“OCA”) seeks a well-qualified individual, as described below, for a new Worker Protection Attorney position, focusing on wage theft in Oakland and helping to establish a Worker Protection Unit in the Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division. Employment, labor, and/or plaintiff-side litigation experience is preferred for this position. California Bar admission is required.
The ideal candidate for this position will have experience in affirmative litigation, such as worker’s rights, civil rights, consumer, environmental justice, housing justice, tenant protection and/or racial justice cases. Desirable knowledge and experience include a background in: litigation, including complex civil cases in state and/or federal court, writs, and appeals; policy work, including drafting proposed local legislation; community engagement, including working in coalition with nonprofits and community groups; and administrative procedure, including administrative remedies and rule-making. The attorney will work with a Worker Protection Attorney, other litigators, labor and employment attorneys and other attorneys in the Office.
The Worker Protection Attorney may be supervised on different projects by a Deputy City Attorney V, Special Counsel, Chief Assistant City Attorney and/or the City Attorney. Attorneys in this diverse and exciting Office frequently work collaboratively with other attorneys and other City Departments on a wide variety of issues, and the Worker Protection Attorney may work with other City Attorney and County Counsel offices around the Bay Area, throughout California, and across the country.
The position is a second newly-created role funded by a grant through the California Department of Industrial Relations. This is an eleven month at-will grant-funded position. The Worker Protection Attorney will work on existing wage theft cases and develop new wage-theft litigation.DESCRIPTIONThe Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division currently includes three affirmative litigation units: (1) the Neighborhood Law Corps (“NLC”), (2) the Community Lawyering & Civil Rights Unit (“CLCR”); and (3) the Housing Justice Initiative (“HJI”). This is a rare opportunity to continue the development of a new, fourth affirmative litigation unit: the Worker Protection Unit.
The NLC is a longstanding community-facing unit that focuses on core life, health, and safety issues such as tenant protection, substandard housing, and public nuisance. There are four budgeted NLC attorneys; and they typically are relatively new to the practice of law. The NLC was established in 2002.
The Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit is dedicated to advancing systemic rights and opportunities for historically and currently marginalized communities in Oakland by enforcing, strengthening, and creating laws, and filing lawsuits that protect and advance the of those communities, to secure racial, economic, and environmental justice. CLCR was founded in 2016 and is typically staffed by at least two mid-level attorneys.
The HJI is dedicated to protecting marginalized Oakland tenants and preserving affordable housing in Oakland by enforcing tenants’ legal rights. HJI was founded in 2020 and typically is staffed by two mid-level attorneys.
The Worker Protection Unit will be staffed by two attorneys.
This position requires handling a civil litigation caseload which includes, but is not limited to, case evaluation, conducting large-scale investigations, drafting complaints, engaging in motions practice, arguing motions, propounding and responding to discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing for judicial proceedings (including settlement conferences, trials, and in appellate courts), and engaging in post-judgment or post-settlement compliance monitoring. The position also may require leading administrative enforcement of local ordinances, collaborating on or leading the drafting of ordinances and resolutions, developing strategies to engage local civil society partners, and working closely with attorneys in a variety of public law offices.ABOUT THE OFFICEThe City Attorney’s Office provides counsel to the City Council, Mayor, City Administrator, and City boards and commissions, various City-wide task forces and City agencies and departments. Incumbents perform a variety of professional legal duties involving civil municipal law issues. The City Attorney is also empowered by state law to bring certain actions on behalf of the People of the State of California, including for certain violations of the California Labor Code, as well as for violations of the Oakland Municipal Code, such as minimum wage and other worker protection ordinances.JOB DUTIESDuties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Participating in or leading affirmative litigation (including case evaluation, conducting investigations, drafting complaints, engaging in motions practice, arguing motions, propounding and responding to discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing for judicial proceedings (including settlement conferences, trials, and in appellate courts), and engaging in post-judgment or post-settlement compliance monitoring).
• Communicating with, including as witnesses, City staff, community members, and stakeholders, in an intentional and trauma-informed manner, including across lines of difference.
• Participating in or leading administrative hearings, including citation appeals, administrative writs, and traditional writs.
• Working closely with City administrators, elected officials, and agency and department executives to develop or enforce City laws and policies.
• Developing or assisting in the development of local legislation to further the Units’, Office’s, and City’s priorities, which may also include reviewing staff reports and writing City Council reports.
• Creating or developing constructive, collaborative relationships with civil society groups.
• Working with other attorneys in the Office and in partner offices on various matters.
• Being a key player in cultivating a strong, thoughtful, cooperative, and dynamic team.
• Exercising sound judgment.
• Clearly explaining legal advice to attorneys and lay people; and
• Attendance at some evening and late-night meetings.
Read the complete job description by clicking the link below:
Deputy City Attorney III
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Working for the City of OaklandMINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION
Education:Graduation from an accredited School of Law.Experience:We are seeking candidates who are highly motivated problem-solvers, able to communicate effectively with diverse communities, and who enjoy a high level of responsibility.
Other Desirable Skills
• Foreign language skills, especially in Spanish, Cantonese, and/or Mandarin – are a plus and will be a factor in selecting a candidate for the position.
• Working knowledge of municipal, state and federal laws, ordinances and codes affecting City government.
• Expert knowledge of and experience in federal and state court, administrative agency procedures, and municipal government law and procedures; and
• Litigation experience that is transferable.
The applicant must be a graduate of an accredited law school and a member in good standing of the California State Bar at the time of hire. The successful applicant also will be asked to submit to and pass a background check.- License or Certificate / Other Requirements
- A member in good standing of the California State Bar.
- Attorneys in this position are required to maintain a valid California Driver’s License during City employment or demonstrate the ability to travel to required locations in a timely manner, to the extent feasible depending on disability-related accommodations.
Ability and/or Willingness to Learn to:
• Investigate and litigate all aspects of a complex civil case in state and/or federal court (and, at minimum, demonstrated experience at the time of application in several key aspects of complex civil litigation);
• Negotiate and draft settlement agreements;
• Interpret and apply various government codes and ordinances;
• Conduct research on legal problems to prepare sound legal documents, including in litigation and in other contexts (e.g., legal opinions);
• Analyze and prepare a wide variety of legal documents, with demonstrated excellence in legal writing.
• Present cases in court and in administrative proceedings.
• Handle stressful and sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy, including across the spectrum of diversity.
• Provide professional leadership, guidance, and technical expertise to the Office and to City staff.
• Work independently and as part of a close-knit team;
• Form or work with a multidisciplinary team and/or with partners of different backgrounds;
• Manage multiple demanding programs, cases, and projects with competing deadlines;
• Communicate effectively and persuasively in both oral and written form with City officials, representatives of outside agencies and the public, and in litigation;
• Complete varied assignments in a well-organized fashion and with attention to detail within a narrow time frame;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide variety of audiences;
• Inspire confidence and respect for legal analysis and advice; and
• Skillfully and professionally present legal advice to clients, including elected and high-level appointed officials.
Disaster Service Workers
All employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.
HOW TO APPLY
Apply prior to the closing time of the job announcement and allow at least two to three hours to submit your application if you are a new user of the system. APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED ONLINE ONLY. You may apply and view current openings by visiting our employment opportunities webpage at:
http://agency.governmentjobs.com/oaklandca/default.cfm.
If you do not have access to a computer, there are computer stations available at any City of Oakland Public Library. There are also workstations at the Human Resources Management Department, 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 2nd Floor, Oakland, CA 94612. Workstations are available during regular business hours (normally 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
Our online application system is provided by GovernmentJobs. If you have problems while applying online, please contact GovernmentJobs Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday. You may also call the City of Oakland Human Resources Management Department during regular business hours at (510) 238-3112 for information; however, we are unable to provide technical support for the online application system.
For recruitment-specific questions, please contact Mark Forte at mforte@oaklandcityattorney.org.
- $164,730.72 - $202,265.88/year
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