SENIOR DEPUTY COUNTY COUNSEL

Position/Program Information

EXAM NUMBER

U9207M-FR

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT

Open Competitive - Emergency

FIRST DATE OF FILING

Applications will be accepted from Friday, May 15, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. (PT) until the needs of
the service are met and is subject to closure without prior notice.

The LA County Board of Supervisors has unanimously ratified a Proclamation of Local Emergency in response to the windstorms and wildfires , including the Palisades and Eaton Fires, that have devastated communities across the County. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to assist the County in mobilizing resources and support needed to help our residents recover and rebuild. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

County Counsel is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency Senior Deputy County Counsel vacancies related to this unprecedented natural disaster.

Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

During your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%. Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to Senior Deputy County Counsel .

ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY OFFICE OF THE COUNTY COUNSEL

The Office of County Counsel provides legal representation, advice and counsel to the Board of Supervisors, County departments, special districts, and other public agencies, such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), as mandated and authorized by the County charter and State statutes. The Office provides a broad range of legal services directed at promoting the public service objectives of the County and other entities, while protecting the County and other entities from loss and risk. The Office of County Counsel is committed to inclusion, diversity, equity, and antiracism (IDEA), and we believe these principles are necessary to build a culture of belonging for all employees, volunteers, and contractors. Our commitment is to deliberately and intentionally advance IDEA and, by doing so, more effectively serve the County of Los Angeles.

BENEFITS
The County of Los Angeles offers one of the strongest public-sector benefits package in the nation, including a wide range of health care options, pensions through LACERA, 401k and 457b savings plans with matching, and 13 paid Holidays.

DEFINITION
Performs the most difficult legal assignments in providing advice to and representing the Board of Supervisors and the County and its departments/agencies and/or the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in litigation and may supervise subordinate attorneys.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS
These positions are allocated only to the Office of the County Counsel and typically receive general direction, from an Assistant County Counsel, primarily pertaining to policy. Senior Deputy County Counsel positions are responsible for assignments involving the most difficult and complex legal matters, which requires a high degree of initiative, skill and specialized legal knowledge or acting as principal legal advisor to a large County department or special district or a separate agency, such as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This class is the first level at which supervisory duties may be assigned and requires that incumbents be able to exercise knowledge of the principles of supervision and have a thorough knowledge of legal principles and their application. In addition, incumbents must possess the ability to appear in federal and state court, and administrative hearings.

Essential Job Functions

• Is assigned, both directly and through supervision, complex transactional, advisory, or litigation matters involving such areas as transportation, public safety, and civil rights, healthcare, including behavioral health, tort liability, contract, regulatory actions and/or labor and employment.
• Acts as principal legal advisor to a large County department or a special district, and/or a separate legal agency, such as LACMTA, supervising and participating in the resolution of difficult legal questions regarding powers, jurisdiction, procedures and operations.
• Provides in-depth legal advice to the Board of Supervisors, special districts, special boards and/or a separate legal agency, such as LACMTA, including its Department of Public Safety, which has been created to carry forth community policing practices, and innovate solutions to enhance safety and security across the LACMTA transit network.
• Supervises less experienced attorneys and oversees outside counsel on the conduct of their assigned cases, discussing questions of law and questions related to the procedure or strategy to be used in trial.
• Oversees the review and resolution of complex, multi-agency issues, requiring coordination within the office and between County departments/agencies, and/or a separate agency, such as LACMTA.
• Drafts or oversees the drafting of ordinances, legislation, and amendments to State and County codes and/or rules and regulations applicable to LACMTA related to the most complex issues.
• Engage in and advance the Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) mission of the Office of the County Counsel.

Requirements

REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY
Five (5) years of experience in the practice of public agency law, or civil law experience in the areas such as labor and employment, civil rights law, police misconduct litigation, police liability, security guard liability, criminal law, public safety law, or laws and regulations relating to medical and behavioral health care providers.

You MUST meet the above requirement(s) in order to be appointed to fill any vacancies related to this recruitment.

LICENSE
Admission to practice law in all courts of California*.

A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS
Physical Class II - Light : This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

Additional Information

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION
*A copy of a valid and active California Bar card with a visible watermark of the year - OR - A printed copy of the member profile information from the State Bar of California website, with an "Active" status designation. If you are unable to attach the required document(s), you must email them to CoCoExams@counsel.lacounty.gov .

Applications received without this required documentation, at the time of filing or within five (5) calendar days from the application submission date, will be rejected as incomplete.

AT THE TIME OF FILING, you are encouraged to provide a copy of your resume, which details relevant professional experience.

Please DO NOT attach or upload your writing samples, or confidential case files to your application.

We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.

EXAMINATION CONTENT
During your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
Additional consideration will be given to candidates with experience beyond the requirements in the practice of transportation, public safety and civil rights, healthcare, including behavioral health, tort liability, contracts, regulatory actions, labor and employment, or litigation.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION
Applications must be filed online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis. If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application. This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.

Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add smillan@counsel.lacounty.gov as well as noreply@governmentjobs.com , and info@governmentjobs.com to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

You have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County. Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance before the deadline as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty , you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

Fill out your application completely. The acceptance of your application depends on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Requirements to qualify as listed on this job bulletin. Provide any relevant job experience in the spaces provided so we can evaluate your qualifications for the job. For each job held, give the name and address of your employer, your job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed. If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.

Important: Please note that all information included in the application materials is subject to verification at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made per Civil Service Rule 6.04. Falsification of any information may result in disqualification or rescission of appointment. Utilizing verbiage from the Class Specification and Selections Specialty serving as your description of duties will not be sufficient to demonstrate that you meet the requirements. Doing so may result in an incomplete application, and you may be disqualified.

ANTI-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI)
The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. The Office of the County Counsel is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT PUBLIC LIBRARIES
For applicants who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD
All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

ADA Coordinator Phone: 213-974-1570
Teletype Phone: 800-899-4099
Alternate Teletype Phone: 800-897-0077
California Relay Services Phone: 800-735-2922

Department Contact Name: Stephanie S. Millan
Department Contact Email: CoCoExams@counsel.lacounty.gov

Exam Number: U9207M-FR

For detailed information, please click here

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• Los Angeles County

• (800) 970-5478

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