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Job Description
Pay Range: $93,574.11 annual compensation
Job Posting Closing On: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Benefits for this position include: 11 Paid Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid Time Off, Pension Plan, Professional Development Opportunities. Find Out More!
The City of Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing large cities in the U.S. Our employees serve the needs of nearly 1,000,000 residents, promoting our values of exceptional customer experience, mutual respect, embracing our diversity, continuous improvement, ethical behavior, and accountability.
An Assistant City Attorney I - Code Prosecutor position is available with the Fort Worth City Attorney’s Office. The Fort Worth City Attorney’s Office is a collegial team of legal professionals providing excellent legal service to the City of Fort Worth. As an in-house legal department, we practice in a wide range of civil and criminal law on behalf of and for the City, including general counsel, litigation, and prosecutorial areas. This position will partner with Code Compliance and the Police Department to effectively prosecute Code violations and file civil lawsuits against dangerous or non-compliant nuisance properties.
Specifically, in addition to prosecuting violations of the City Code, the City Attorney’s Office seeks to continue its efforts to bring forth nuisance abatement lawsuits targeting properties that are defined as “common nuisances” under Ch. 125 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The law allows the City to file suit against properties where persons habitually go in order to commit certain enumerated crimes, and the owners do not take reasonable steps to abate the criminal activity. Crimes include, but are not limited to, murder, gambling, prostitution, robbery, reckless discharge of weapons, and drug violations.
Additionally, the City Attorney’s Office seeks to increase the use of statutorily available options to abate violations involving land use and code enforcement, generally. Chapters 54 and 211 of the Texas Local Government Code allow the City to file lawsuits seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief for certain violations of the City Code. These lawsuits are an effective tool against property owners who, despite being issued citations, continue violating the City Code. Because injunctive relief is often an option, the City can potentially seek an order allowing it to enter onto the property to abate the nuisance.
Local government is the form of government that is closest to the people and working for a well-managed city like Fort Worth gives meaning and purpose as you see the direct and positive impact your legal work has on improving the community. The City Attorney’s Office highly values diversity and work life balance, and we view our office as a work family, consistently striving to be a respectful and supportive workplace with a great culture.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.
- Two (2) years of increasingly responsible experience in city or related governmental law, including relevant litigation experience.
- Possession of a license from the Supreme Court of Texas to practice.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Municipal law experience.
- Previous prosecution experience.
- Previous civil litigation experience.
The Assistant City Attorney I - Code Prosecutor job responsibilities include:
- Prosecuting State and local criminal offenses in the city’s municipal courts, conducting case screening and evaluation, case preparation, pre-trial hearings, case-in-chief presentations, appeals and other post-judgment requirements.
- Preparing and reviewing City Code ordinances carrying class “C” misdemeanor prosecution consequences, advising City departments.
- Pursuing civil remedies for enforcement of city ordinances and abatement of public nuisances; preparing case for trial; and conducting bench/jury trials.
- Appearing in court and administrative hearings to represent the city’s interests, as required, and representing City departments in litigation and administrative hearings in courts other than the City’s municipal courts.
- Preparing a variety of legal documents in support of class “C” prosecution and nuisance abatement litigation.
- Conducting research, analysis, and writing to draft legal opinions for assigned legal issues or case areas; utilizing a variety of resources for research, including computerized legal data bases and reference materials; and determining whether information is pertinent and relevant to specific issue or case.
- Engaging in litigation, including court appearances, hearings and trials; handling administrative law hearings or notices; conducting written discovery; attending and taking depositions; presenting oral arguments; negotiating settlements; and monitoring general compliance with local, state and federal law.
Apply Now! Come be part of something special in Fort Worth.
Working Conditions
Applicants for this position must pass a Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) fingerprint-based background check and maintain CJIS eligibility. Due to CJIS requirements related to system access, the following will result in being disqualified for this position: Felony Convictions, Felony Deferred Adjudication, Class A Misdemeanor Conviction, Class B Misdemeanor Convictions in the last 10 years, Class A Misdemeanor Deferred Adjudication, Class B Misdemeanor Deferred Adjudication in the last 10 years, an Open Arrest for Any Criminal Offense (Felony or Misdemeanor), and ALL Family Violence Convictions regardless of class.
Conditions of Employment
The City of Fort Worth is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. It is the policy and practice of the City to recruit, hire, train and promote a diverse workforce without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, parental status, military service, or another non-merit factor.
The City of Fort Worth is committed to full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions.
Candidates who do not meet the Education requirement, may be considered if they have more relevant work experience than the position requires. Those selected for employment will be required to pass Pre-Employment checks depending on the position requirements. Those could include, but are not limited to: criminal background check, drug screen, education verification, etc. criminal convictions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Employees are paid by direct deposit only. -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Fort Worth
Show moreThe Community
The City of Cowboys & Culture is known for its Texas hospitality. The stunning and sprawling City of
Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. And it’s no wonder — With great neighborhoods, scenic terrain and a rich history of arts and culture, paired with world-class opportunities for business and education, it’s not only fun to visit Fort Worth, it’s even more rewarding to call it home.Fort Worth truly offers all the benefits and amenities of a bustling metropolitan city, while keeping the small- town charm that keeps it unpretentious and charismatic in all the right ways. Designated as one of America’s “Most Livable Communities” by the Partners for Livable Communities, the city truly offers a melting pot of culture, commerce, community and yes, cowboys.
There are over a dozen remarkable districts full of treasured history among modern luxuries and unique places to have fun, making it the No. 1 tourist destination in Texas and welcoming more than 9.4 million visitors annually.
Being one of the fastest-growing among large cities in the country, Fort Worth has received multiple accolades, including number one downtown (Livability), and the second-best City in the nation for job seekers (Forbes). Our employees serve the needs of over 900,000 residents representing culturally diverse communities.
Exciting Growth & Future Development
One of the most fascinating aspects of the City of Fort Worth is its almost unprecedented growth over the past several years. Both in terms of population and industry, and as the 12th largest city in the United States, Fort Worth is truly booming — which presents both challenges and opportunities to truly develop this city in the right way. Every 30 minutes a new person moves to Fort Worth, so we’re looking for candidates who can embrace an evergrowing and changing environment and improve on it with solutions that work for the entire community of Fort Worth.
Mission
We are working together to build a strong community that others can look to as a pillar of unity and excellence. Through grassroots efforts within the community, and large scale construction and transportation plans that continue to add the infra- structure a growing city like Fort Worth needs, we’ll provide the public services our community requires to continually cultivate the unique city we call home.
Vision
Fort Worth’s vision is to be the most livable and best managed city in the country. We’ll do this by taking care of our citizens, implementing the highest quality standards in our schools, continually improving the neighborhoods we thrive in and the facets of the city that make our town so unique.
Benefits That Are Well Worth It
The City of Fort Worth continues to be dedicated to its employees’ well-being by providing competitive health benefits, a well-rounded wellness program and a Zero Accident Philosophy® workplace. All regular full-time employees and those employees who work 30–39 hours per week are eligible for all City of Fort Worth Benefits. Part-time employees who work 20–29 hours per week are eligible for dental, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, flexible spending accounts, 457 Deferred Compensation plan and other voluntary benefits.
Medical Program
The City offers two plan options through Meritain Health, an Aetna company.
The Health Center Plan – Offers employees and their family’s
primary health care services that are 100% completely free and unlimited. Employees can visit any one of the three City of Fort Worth Employee Health Centers and receive guaranteed same or next day appointments for sick visits. Also, services are available at any one of the five satellite locations that serves employees across the city.
The Consumer Choice Plan – Is offered to employees at no cost or low monthly premiums to cover eligible dependents and provides the financial benefits of a Health Savings Account (HSA).
• Preventative services are covered at 100% on both plans.
• Prescription Drug coverage including mail order pharmacy are also included.Vacation
Eligible for 3 weeks of vacation: After successful completion of probationary period (usually
6 months), employees may take time off for rest, relaxation, vacation, illness, religious observances, and personal business.Holidays
Available on the first day of employment, the city provides employees with paid holidays, including two personal holidays.
Wellness Program
The city’s Healthy Challenge Wellness Program rewards all full-time, benefit-eligible employees on the city’s health insurance. The Healthy Challenge Program utilizes a points system. Participants may earn points throughout the year (Jan. 1-Dec. 15) for completing specific program activities and participants can redeem points at the end of the year for a cash reward. By participating, individuals can earn $150, $200 or $250 by accumulating program points.
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