Closing Date: 9th July, 2024
Description:
Class Description
The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development is seeking an Assistant Counsel for the Permits and Litigation Division.
The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) was created in 1968 to consolidate local community development efforts with housing and building code enforcement. With over 400 employees, DHCD strengthens City neighborhoods by attracting investors, developers, and homebuyers. Through the administration of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home funds, City bond funds, and other creative financing mechanisms, DHCD's finances and guides strategic development projects to meet housing and neighborhood needs. To hold property owners accountable and keep neighborhoods safe, DHCD monitors construction and building activity and enforces the City's building, fire, zoning and related codes, as well as provides energy conservation services.
An Assistant Counsel, Code Enforcement performs progressively responsible legal work for Baltimore City addressing a wide variety of neighborhood, drug nuisance, zoning, illegal dumping and housing code enforcement issues. Attorneys try civil injunctions, receiverships, nuisance abatement actions and criminal code enforcement cases of varying complexity in circuit and district courts. Work of this class involves no supervisory duties or responsibilities.
Essential Job Functions:
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Education and Experience:
Education: A law degree from an accredited law school.
AND
Experience: Have two years of experience in the trial work, legal writing and/or municipal law and practice before circuit and district courts.
Desirable Licenses, Registrations and Certificates
The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development is seeking an Assistant Counsel for the Permits and Litigation Division.
The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) was created in 1968 to consolidate local community development efforts with housing and building code enforcement. With over 400 employees, DHCD strengthens City neighborhoods by attracting investors, developers, and homebuyers. Through the administration of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Home funds, City bond funds, and other creative financing mechanisms, DHCD's finances and guides strategic development projects to meet housing and neighborhood needs. To hold property owners accountable and keep neighborhoods safe, DHCD monitors construction and building activity and enforces the City's building, fire, zoning and related codes, as well as provides energy conservation services.
An Assistant Counsel, Code Enforcement performs progressively responsible legal work for Baltimore City addressing a wide variety of neighborhood, drug nuisance, zoning, illegal dumping and housing code enforcement issues. Attorneys try civil injunctions, receiverships, nuisance abatement actions and criminal code enforcement cases of varying complexity in circuit and district courts. Work of this class involves no supervisory duties or responsibilities.
Essential Job Functions:
- Researches, prepares and tries civil and criminal code enforcement actions, drug nuisance cases and criminal tenant/landlord cases as both a Special Assistant State's Attorney and Special Assistant City Solicitor for Baltimore City in the Circuit Court and District Court of Baltimore City.
- Performs research and renders legal opinions on code enforcement and related questions that are raised and submitted by City government departments and agencies.
- Drafts and prepares a wide variety of legal documents, including but not limited to, briefs, interrogatories, motions, pleadings, charging documents and civil complaints for the filing and prosecution of cases in the Baltimore City District and Circuit Courts.
- Represents the interests of the Department and the City at hearings and meetings of boards, commissions, community and landlord/tenant organizations and other groups; assists in developing strategic plans and addressing housing code, drug nuisance and related concerns.
- Provides housing code enforcement litigation counsel to agency staff and representatives of other City agencies on code enforcement programs, strategies and joint case prosecutions.
- Researches, locates and identifies property owners and tenants involved in code enforcement cases.
- Advises and informs superiors on trial proceedings, status and problems.
- Utilizes business and legal databases and systems in analyzing legal facts, formulating legal decisions and coordinating the processing cases through the legal system.
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of law and court procedures.
- Knowledge of appropriate Baltimore City Code and Charter provisions and Federal, State and City statues dealing with code enforcement.
- Knowledge of Maryland criminal and civil law and procedures.
- Skill in conducting legal research utilizing a wide variety of sources and technology.
- Skill in using a personal computer and commonly utilized business and legal software packages and databases.
- Skill in the preparation of legal documents.
- Ability to prepare and try cases of varying complexity.
- Ability to organize, interpret and apply legal principles in the research and prosecution of a case.
- Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
- Ability to manage a full caseload of trial cases.
- Ability to coordinate multiple priorities.
Education and Experience:
Education: A law degree from an accredited law school.
AND
Experience: Have two years of experience in the trial work, legal writing and/or municipal law and practice before circuit and district courts.
Desirable Licenses, Registrations and Certificates
- Admission to the Bar of the State of Maryland is required.
- A valid Maryland Class C Noncommercial driver's license or equivalent out-of-state driver's license acceptable to the Division of Safety of the Office of Risk Management is required.
