Closing Date: 15th September, 2026
Description:
Job Description:The Senior Associate City Attorney for the City of Raleigh handles a variety of litigation of varying complexity in state and federal courts and administrative forums. The position is responsible for developing case strategy, managing matters through discovery and dispositive motions, conducting hearings and trials, and handling or supporting appeals. In addition to the primary litigation focus, this position may provide legal advice to the City Council, the City Manager and City Officials and staff and draft legal opinions and other documents.
To be eligible for this position, applicants must attach a resume and cover letter at the time of applying.
Duties and Responsibilities:
The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities performed by employees in this job. Employees may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.
- Represents the City in a variety of litigation matters at the local administrative level as well as in state and federal court.
- Provides litigation-focused legal services related to municipal operations as directed by the City Attorney, including early case assessment, risk analysis, litigation strategy, and coordination with City departments, witnesses, experts, insurers, and outside counsel. Advises on disputes, claims, threatened litigation, and other City issues from a litigation and risk-management perspective, interpreting and applying statutes, case law, court rules, and regulations. Serves as a member of a team of experienced professionals in a dynamic law office setting.
- Researches a variety of legal issues and provides legal advice and direction to City representatives, who may include the City Council or City Departments.
- Works with City Departments in providing day-to-day advice on departmental operations to mitigate risk. May serve as lead attorney to one or more assigned City Departments or Offices.
- Reviews and assists in the drafting of changes to the City Code and provides advice relating to interpretation of the same.
- Reviews and drafts contracts and provides legal guidance to City departments.
- May represent the City Attorney's Office when attending staff, Council, community, and other meetings.
- May review and draft City policies, ordinances, and city regulations.
- Assists the City Attorney or other attorneys in addressing matters as they may arise.
Typical Qualifications:
Education and Experience:
Graduate Degree in Law; 1 to 3 years' experience in providing professional public or private sector legal services
Or
Any equivalent combination of training and/or experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities may be substituted
Licensing and Certifications
- License to practice law in North Carolina by hire date
- Admission before U.S District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina may be required after hire date
Preferred Qualifications:
- Six (6) years of increasingly responsible experience including substantial litigation experience and demonstrated success handling matters of at least moderate complexity and organizational risk
- Ten (10) years of law practice experience
- Experience with meaningful first-chair or comparable responsibility for civil litigation, including discovery, motions practice, hearings or trials, and appeals
- Experience in municipal, governmental, employment, land-use, tort, civil-rights, or other public-sector litigation as well as is an interest in local government and public service
Additional Information:
Knowledge of:
- Effective litigation techniques in all forums, at trial level and on appeal
- Techniques and methods for organizing, prioritizing, assigning and monitoring work
- Principles and practices of municipal office administration
- Principles and practices of intergovernmental relations
- Principles and practices of business office administration and management
- Best practices, trends and emerging technologies
- Principles and methods of qualitative and quantitative research
- Principles and applications of critical thinking and analysis
- Principles and practices of business correspondence
- Principles and practices of group facilitation and building consensus
- Principles and practices of conflict resolution
- Business math concepts
- Records management principles
- Applicable federal, state and local laws, codes, regulations (based on assignment)
- Customer service principles
- Specialized equipment relevant to area of assignment
- Modern office technology
Skill in:
- Teamwork, in a professional setting
- Managing an active litigation docket; coordinating court, discovery, and filing deadlines; prioritizing competing case demands; and assigning/monitoring litigation work performed
- Overseeing the implementation and adherence to quality assurance and standards
- Reading, analyzing, evaluating, interpreting and summarizing written materials and statistical data
- Reviewing research and implementing industry trends, solutions and best practices
- Compiling and sorting data and articulating issues and recommendations
- Authoring and editing complex reports and documents
- Facilitating group discussions and building consensus using persuasive reasoning
- Exercising political acumen, tact and diplomacy
- Overseeing the management and maintenance of official records and documents
- Interpreting and applying applicable laws, codes, regulations and standards (based on assignment)
- Providing customer service
- Utilizing a computer and relevant software applications
- Utilizing communication and interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisors, the general public and others to sufficiently exchange or convey information and to receive work direction
Work Environment and Physical Effort:
Sedentary: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, a negligible amount of force frequently, and/or constantly having to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
Work Environment:
Work is typically performed in an office or similar indoor environment.
Work Exposures:
Work in this position does not require frequent environmental exposures.
City of Raleigh is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. Accommodations for individuals with disabilities are provided upon request.
