Deputy City Attorney II/III

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, accountability and transparency, 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.

The Criminal Branch is responsible for filing and prosecuting misdemeanor criminal cases from court offices located throughout Los Angeles. The Branch also litigates appeals and extraordinary writs arising from Criminal Branch cases in state and federal courts.  The cases involve a wide variety of offenses including California Penal Code violations (such as theft, battery, domestic violence, child physical and sexual abuse, elder abuse, human trafficking offenses, and many others), Los Angeles Municipal Code violations (including both personal and property-related offenses), California Vehicle Code violations such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and other state code violations. The Office of the City Attorney works closely with local law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and numerous city, county, state, and federal regulatory agencies to prosecute crimes occurring in the City of Los Angeles.

The Brady, Ethics and Compliance Unit (BEC) addresses issues involving prosecutorial ethics, prosecutorial misconduct, Brady compliance, and criminal discovery procedures.  Attorneys in BEC work closely with prosecutors, supervisors, Criminal Branch management and the Executive Office to create and apply policies that ensure compliance with statutory duties, ethical obligations, and other rules and regulations regarding professional conduct.  BEC serves as custodian of records for the Criminal Branch and provides training, advice, and law and motion support to attorneys in the Criminal Branch.

The duties and responsibilities of a Deputy City Attorney of BEC include:

• Responding to requests from attorneys on novel legal and ethical issues that require swift response; 
• Providing oversight, training and mentoring of attorneys, including providing law and motion and in court assistance; 
• Maintaining the Officer Alert List, including coordinating with all law enforcement agencies that bring criminal cases to the City Attorney’s Office for timely inclusion;
• Interacting directly with the Branch Management on matters being handled by BEC;
• Advising and working with Branch Management on developing and implementing policies and initiatives that ensure that Branch operations are fully compliant with all state and federal laws, regulations, and guidelines, and reflect the Office’s policies and best practices for criminal practice;
• Coordinating with the Training Unit to provide training on current legal trends as it relates to ethics, criminal procedure, and best practices, conducting formal and informal training, and devising and editing projects and presentations;
• Responding to inquiries from Criminal Branch Management, Executive Management, other agencies or departments, law enforcement agencies and members of the public;
• Responding to or assisting in responding to CPRA requests for Criminal Branch records;
• Representing the Branch at meetings with judges, law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and members of the public as well as criminal justice groups; 
• Preparing reports, statistics, surveys, and budgetary recommendations, including addressing requests and referrals from the Executive Office and Branch Management;
• Coordinating with the Director of Technology when technology is used to assist with discovery and other compliance obligations;
• Other duties as needed for the criminal prosecution of misdemeanors and other work of the Criminal Branch as determined by operational needs.

Applicants for this position must have a license to practice law in all of the courts in the State of California.  Additional requirements include:

• Five (5) years of prosecutorial experience with demonstrated strengths in Brady, criminal discovery, prosecutorial ethics and prosecutorial misconduct issues;
• Broad knowledge of criminal law and procedure, including extensive experience in pretrial, trial, and post-conviction Law and Motion practice;
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, the ability to prioritize, concurrently complete multiple assignments; 
• Ability to work well under time pressure with minimal supervision;
• Demonstrated supervisory skills including: ability to guide and train staff, provide feedback and evaluations, performance management and conflict resolution, 
• Thorough understanding of current trends in criminal law and issues affecting substantive and procedural criminal law;
• Command of misdemeanor filing, arraignment, calendar and trial court operations and procedures;
• Proven ability to produce engaging instructional resources and technical training aids tailored to diverse learning styles;
• Experienced in collaborating and interfacing with technical development teams to ensure the criminal case management system aligns with operational and compliance requirements;
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written;
• Ability to represent the Office in meetings with community stakeholders, the judiciary and law enforcement;
• Skilled at navigating complex relationships with public officials, executive leadership, and the general public 
• Ability to prepare reports, memoranda, budget requests and analysis of statistical data and trends;
• Dedicated to fostering a supportive environment for attorneys navigating complex legal issues;
• Strong sense of ethics and the ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidences;
• Supervisory experience is desirable but not required for the position.

Requirements for Application 

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

Current Location

City Hall East, 200 N. Main Street, Los Angeles. Position is subject to assignment at any location within the County of Los Angeles.

Work Location and Parking

This position requires regular onsite work. Employer-provided parking is limited and may not be available for this classification. Employees may be responsible for securing and paying for parking at nearby facilities.

Applicants are encouraged to review available commute and transportation resources through the City’s COMMUTEwell program. For more information, please visit: https://lacommutewell.com. 

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. Successful completion of the two-year probationary period will result in tenure with the office.

Classification

For internal applicants only – Placement in this position will initially be as a lateral transfer with the selected candidate assuming the position in their current classification. 

Retirement Benefits

Employees participate in the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS), which includes mandatory employee pension contributions through payroll deduction. The City also contributes toward the employee’s retirement benefit. Contribution rates are established by the applicable retirement system and may

vary based on employee classification, membership status, and other factors. For more information, please visit: https://www.lacers.org. 

Application and Deadline

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

Apply by July 20, 2026.

Conflict-of-Interest

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

Contact

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

AS A COVERED ENTITY UNDER TITLE Il OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY AND, UPON REQUEST, WILL PROVIDE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION TO ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS TO ITS PROGRAMS, SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES. TO REQUEST A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, PLEASE CALL THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION AT (213) 978-7160.