DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY II OR III - GENERAL GOVERNMENT & FINANCE

The Office of the City Attorney seeks an attorney to help the City of Oakland maintain and improve its infrastructure and preserve a clean, safe environment that all Oaklanders can use and enjoy. The incumbent, with the rest of our General Government & Finance Team, will work closely with various City leaders, departments, and bodies, including the Department of Finance, City Administrator and City Council, on a wide range of municipal government and finance matters.

Duties may include, but will not be limited to, providing legal advice and review related to: municipal finance, revenue, bonds, taxation, fees, formation of special assessment and other districts, ballot measures, ethics and conflict of interest, public records, open meetings laws, and parliamentary procedure. An interest in these areas of law is a must, and experience is a plus. 

Job Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Providing advice and legal opinions on general government matters such as municipal finance, taxes and fees, formation of special assessment and other districts, public ethics and conflict of interest, ballot measures, public contracting, grant agreements, open meetings, public records laws, constitutional law and parliamentary procedure to the City Administrator, Director of Finance and other City executives, the Mayor, City Council and City departments, boards and commissions.

• Preparing legal opinions, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal documents.

• Advising the City Administrator, department heads, elected officials, and boards and commissions on general government matters related to public ethics, conflicts of interest, and public records.

• Representing the City Attorney at meetings of the City Council, City Council committees and other public meetings, and providing advice on parliamentary procedure, the Brown Act and local Sunshine laws. 

•  The ideal candidate will have a strong interest in one or more of the following: municipal finance, taxes, budgets, master fee schedules, election measures, special assessment districts, and/or public contracting including federal and state-funded contracts and grant agreements.

• Experience in municipal bond and finance law, open meetings laws, public records, information technology contracts, and/or parliamentary procedure is a plus.

About the Office

The City Attorney’s Office provides advice and counsel to the Mayor, City Council, and all City departments, boards and commissions in a wide variety of areas spanning the range of municipal law, including but not limited to, land use, real estate, personnel, elections, conflicts of interest, municipal finance, retirement, housing, public contracting and economic development.

The City Attorney’s Office also advocates for the City’s interests in claims and lawsuits litigated in state or federal court, including high-value personal injury cases, complex civil rights actions, breach of contract, personnel disputes, eminent domain actions, inverse condemnation and alleged Constitutional violations.

The Office has approximately 82 employees and two legal divisions: the Advisory and Litigation Divisions. The Advisory Division includes the Land Use & Planning, Real Estate, General Government & Finance, Labor & Employment, and Code Enforcement units. The Litigation Division includes the General & Complex Litigation (Defense), Law & Motion/Writs & Appeals units; and the Community Lawyering and Civil Rights, Neighborhood Law Corps and Housing Justice Initiative affirmative litigation units. The work is high profile, dynamic, collaborative, and complex. And the work is of vital importance to the City’s realization of its progressive and cutting-edge policies and programs, and to the City’s delivery of services to Oakland’s residents and businesses