Description:
Job Description:About the Strategic Advocacy Team
The Strategic Advocacy Team is a new team established to respond to complex and novel issues at the intersection of litigation and advice work. Currently the team is exclusively focused on developing, coordinating, and implementing strategies to respond to federal administration actions that threaten the City and County of San Francisco and its residents. In the future, the team may also address other major issues that require significant litigation and legal counsel. The team acts as a force multiplier that allows the Office to leverage internal and external resources to deliver meaningful results on high-priority matters.
Our litigation docket is currently in federal courts across the country and generally involves cases with significant public policy implications, constitutional claims, novel legal issues, and multiple parties. Our advice work typically addresses matters of citywide concern or issues that relate to pending or anticipated litigation. We also handle projects and assignments that extend beyond traditional legal work. No task is too big or too small for this team, and we aspire to be low ego, high energy, creative, collaborative, and nimble.
Special Counsel for Federal Litigation - Position and Responsibilities
The Special Counsel for Federal Litigation will handle both affirmative and defensive matters involving the federal government. These matters typically require working collaboratively with other lawyers and professional staff across the Office, as well as with client departments and co-counsel. The Special Counsel should be prepared to handle all aspects of litigation, including case development and assessment, litigation strategy, discovery, motion practice, oral arguments, and appeals. The Special Counsel will be expected to lead some cases and play a contributing role in others, including mentoring other attorneys.
The Special Counsel may also be assigned to handle special projects and other matters. Attorneys on the Strategic Advocacy Team perform complex legal and factual research; monitor and analyze federal executive, legislative, and regulatory actions; identify litigation trends and propose litigation strategies; and provide written and oral reports to the City Attorney and other City officials. They also coordinate with other attorneys in the Office to provide oral and written advice on a broad range of legal issues, including interpretation of local, state, and federal laws and the legal risks of proposed actions.
Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications:
Licensed to practice law in California
Desired Qualifications:
Verification
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.
Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.
All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.
Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.
Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.
Selection Procedures
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the oral/performance interview.
The Strategic Advocacy Team is a new team established to respond to complex and novel issues at the intersection of litigation and advice work. Currently the team is exclusively focused on developing, coordinating, and implementing strategies to respond to federal administration actions that threaten the City and County of San Francisco and its residents. In the future, the team may also address other major issues that require significant litigation and legal counsel. The team acts as a force multiplier that allows the Office to leverage internal and external resources to deliver meaningful results on high-priority matters.
Our litigation docket is currently in federal courts across the country and generally involves cases with significant public policy implications, constitutional claims, novel legal issues, and multiple parties. Our advice work typically addresses matters of citywide concern or issues that relate to pending or anticipated litigation. We also handle projects and assignments that extend beyond traditional legal work. No task is too big or too small for this team, and we aspire to be low ego, high energy, creative, collaborative, and nimble.
Special Counsel for Federal Litigation - Position and Responsibilities
The Special Counsel for Federal Litigation will handle both affirmative and defensive matters involving the federal government. These matters typically require working collaboratively with other lawyers and professional staff across the Office, as well as with client departments and co-counsel. The Special Counsel should be prepared to handle all aspects of litigation, including case development and assessment, litigation strategy, discovery, motion practice, oral arguments, and appeals. The Special Counsel will be expected to lead some cases and play a contributing role in others, including mentoring other attorneys.
The Special Counsel may also be assigned to handle special projects and other matters. Attorneys on the Strategic Advocacy Team perform complex legal and factual research; monitor and analyze federal executive, legislative, and regulatory actions; identify litigation trends and propose litigation strategies; and provide written and oral reports to the City Attorney and other City officials. They also coordinate with other attorneys in the Office to provide oral and written advice on a broad range of legal issues, including interpretation of local, state, and federal laws and the legal risks of proposed actions.
Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications:
Licensed to practice law in California
Desired Qualifications:
- Ten or more years of complex civil litigation experience
- Ability to identify, develop, and litigate affirmative cases as well as vigorously defend defensive matters
- Ability to assume responsibility quickly, work both collaboratively and independently, and think deeply and thoroughly about novel substantive and procedural legal issues
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, as well as project management skills
- Excellent judgment and risk assessment capabilities, and the ability to gather and distill information and make recommendations quickly and confidently, but also inclusively
- Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines, produce high-quality work on tight timelines, embrace last-minute assignments, and demonstrate grace under pressure
- Excellent interpersonal skills, a strong interest in working as part of a team, and comfort being in or out of the spotlight
- Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment
- Interested candidates are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet all of the above desired qualifications.
Verification
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.
Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.
All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.
Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.
Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.
Selection Procedures
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the oral/performance interview.
