Deputy City Attorney III (Labor & Employment)

The Position

CITY OF OAKLAND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY III

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

Recruitment is being conducted by the Office of the City Attorney.

Salary: $161,500.68 - $198,299.88 annually
Benefits: Health, dental, vision, pension, hybrid work-from-home, and other competitive benefits.
Recruitment Opens: January 17, 2025
Deadline to Apply: Open until filled

The Oakland City Attorney’s Office seeks a well-qualified individual to join our office’s labor & employment advisory unit. The incumbent will be exposed to a wide range of personnel matters across a variety of City departments, with an emphasis on police personnel matters including accountability and public-safety reform.

Duties will include, but will not be limited to: working collaboratively with other attorneys, City staff, and City leadership to analyze labor and employment issues and resolve disputes; advising City investigators and Department heads on employee-misconduct, due process, and related grievances, including advising on police-officer investigations and discipline; representing the City in administrative hearings to resolve labor and/or employment disputes; drafting and reviewing opinions, legislation, contracts and other legal documents which require the application of labor law and/or employment law.

This position is represented by International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21. The incumbent may receive general supervision from a Deputy City Attorney V, Special Counsel, Chief Assistant City Attorney or the City Attorney. The City Attorney may assign the selected attorney to new, additional or different duties or practice areas in litigation, advice or transactional work.

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 including 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 80 employees and three divisions: Advisory, Litigation, and Operations. The work is high profile, dynamic, collaborative, and complex. 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. The office currently allows for a flexible, hybrid in-office / work-from-home schedule.

Examples of Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to:

• Advising on administrative investigations of misconduct as well as the discipline process, including throughout the pendency of the grievance process.
• Advising on the investigation and resolution of labor and employment or personnel-related claims and complaints against the City or City management and recommending actions to be taken.
• Advising clients, including the City Administrator, Employee Relations Director, Human Resources Director, Chief of Police and Office of the Inspector General, on personnel matters to help them comply with laws and policies and to help them identify various risks and manage them accordingly.
• Representing the City in administrative proceedings, including labor arbitration hearings, Civil Service Board hearings, and hearings before the Public Employee Relations Board.
• Advising the City Administrator, Employee Relations Director and other designated labor negotiators in preparation for and during labor-contract bargaining and other labor negotiations.
• Developing training materials and providing training to staff on relevant legal issues.
• Performing legal research; interpreting and applying laws and court decisions; preparing opinions for departments, programs, boards, commissions and officials.
• Preparing, reviewing and revising ordinances, resolutions, employment contracts, MOU's, settlements and other legal documents; revising such documents as necessary to meet legal standards.

Ability to:

• Interpret and apply various government codes and ordinances.
• Conduct research on legal problems and prepare sound legal opinions.
• Analyze and prepare a wide variety of legal documents.
• Present cases in court or administrative proceedings.
• Handle stressful and sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy.
• Provide professional leadership, guidance and technical expertise to assigned staff.
• Work independently or as part of a team.
• Form or work with a multidisciplinary team.
• Manage multiple demanding programs, cases and projects with competing deadlines.
• Communicate effectively in both oral and written form with City officials, representatives of outside agencies and the public, with an emphasis on working with law enforcement and civilian oversight investigators.
• Complete varied assignments within a narrow time frame.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients and other contacts in the course of work.
• Inspire confidence and respect for legal advice.
• Skillfully and professionally present legal advice to clients, including the elected and high-level appointed officials.

Minimum Requirements for Application

Any combination of experience and education that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Education

• Graduation from an accredited School of Law.

Experience

• Two years of increasingly responsible work experience comparable to a Deputy City Attorney II in the City of Oakland. (This is equivalent to f our years of increasingly responsible work experience in one or more relevant areas of law.)

License or Certificate

• A member in good standing of the California State Bar.

Desirable Qualifications

• Working knowledge of municipal, state and federal laws affecting City governance, particularly laws related to open meetings and public records.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas: labor and employment law matters; conducting and/or advising on workplace or misconduct investigations; police accountability or civilian oversight; employee due-process; or collective bargaining and labor-dispute resolution.
• Language skills in Spanish, Cantonese and/or Mandarin.

Supplemental Information

HOW TO APPLY

Submit a cover letter and resume by email to: jobs@oaklandcityattorney.org

Candidates selected to proceed in the hiring process will be asked to submit additional information (e.g., a writing sample, references, answers to supplemental questions, and a formal City of Oakland employment application).

This job announcement and additional employment information including the application form is available on-line at: http://www.oaklandcityattorney.org/

The City of Oakland is an Equal Opportunity / ADA employer

The City of Oakland is committed to the wellbeing of its employees and offers comprehensive health and wellness services along with an array of other benefits for most positions. Benefits may include*:

• CalPERS Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Medical Waiver Plan - Cash-In-Lieu
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Commuter Benefits
• Group & Supplemental Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH)
• Pension Benefits
• Deferred Compensation

* Specific benefits may vary depending on the assignedspecific bargaining unit. Information regarding most benefits can be reviewed here: Employee Benefits Information Current MOUs may be reviewed here: City of Oakland Labor Agreements

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• City of Oakland

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