Deputy City Attorney II/III Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division Housing - City of Oakland, CA

Oakland, CA

About the Job

The City of Oakland is an equal-opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.

The Office of the City Attorney ("OCA") seeks a well-qualified individual, as described below, for a Deputy City Attorney ("DCA") II or III position in the Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division. The position is available in the Housing Justice Initiative Unit of the Office of the City Attorney. Litigation experience is required for this position.

The ideal candidate for this position will have experience in affirmative litigation, such as civil rights, consumer, workers’ rights, environmental justice, housing justice, tenant protection and/or racial justice cases. Desirable knowledge and experience include a background in: litigation, including complex civil cases in state and/or federal court, writs, and appeals; policy work, including drafting proposed local legislation; community engagement, including working in coalition with nonprofits and community groups; and administrative procedure, including administrative remedies and rule-making. The DCA will work with other litigators and with advice and labor and employment attorneys in the Office.

The position is currently assigned to the Housing Justice Initiative Unit of the Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division. The DCA may be supervised on different projects by a Deputy City Attorney V, Special Counsel, Chief Assistant City Attorney and/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.

Attorneys in this diverse and exciting Office frequently work collaboratively with other attorneys and other City Departments on a wide variety of issues, and DCAs in the Housing Justice Initiative Unit frequently work with other City Attorney and County Counsel offices around the Bay Area, throughout California, and across the country.

Description

The Affirmative Litigation, Innovation and Enforcement Division includes three affirmative litigation units: (1) the Neighborhood Law Corps (“NLC”), (2) the Community Lawyering & Civil Rights Unit (“CLCR”); and (3) the Housing Justice Initiative (“HJI”).

The NLC is a longstanding community-facing unit that focuses on core life, health, and safety issues such as tenant protection, substandard housing, and public nuisance. There are five budgeted NLC attorneys; and they typically are relatively new to the practice of law. The NLC was established in 2002.

The Community Lawyering and Civil Rights Unit is dedicated to advancing systemic rights and opportunities for historically and presently marginalized communities in Oakland by enforcing, strengthening, and creating laws responsive to those communities’ needs, in furtherance of racial, economic, and environmental justice. CLCR was founded in 2016 and is typically staffed by at least two mid-level attorneys.

The HJI is dedicated to protecting marginalized Oakland tenants and preserving affordable housing in Oakland by enforcing tenants’ legal rights. HJI was founded in 2020 and typically is staffed by two mid-level attorneys.

This position requires handling a civil litigation caseload which includes, but is not limited to, case evaluation, conducting large-scale investigations, drafting complaints, engaging in motions practice, arguing motions, propounding and responding to discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing for judicial proceedings (including settlement conferences, trials, and in appellate courts), and engaging in post-judgment or post-settlement compliance monitoring. The position may also require leading administrative enforcement of local ordinances, collaborating on or leading the drafting of ordinances and resolutions, developing strategies to engage local civil society partners, and working closely with attorneys in a variety of public law offices.

City Attorney's Office

The City Attorney’s Office provides counsel to the City Council, Mayor, City Administrator, and City boards and commissions, various City-wide task forces and City agencies and departments. Incumbents perform a variety of professional legal duties involving civil municipal law issues. The City Attorney is also empowered by state law to bring certain actions on behalf of the People of the State of California.

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Working for the City of Oakland

Job Type: Full Time Civil Service

Location: Oakland, California

Agency: Office of the City Attorney

Source : City of Oakland, CA