Supervising Attorney

Description:

About Us:
The Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney is one of the nation's largest municipal law offices. With over 1,000 legal professionals, including 500 attorneys, the Office provides the City of Los Angeles (“City”) with the highest caliber of legal services, ranging from prosecuting criminal misdemeanors and playing a leading role in criminal justice reform to advising on homelessness initiatives, defending civil lawsuits and claims, and bringing civil enforcement actions in the name of the People of the State of California.

Guided by an overarching commitment to integrity, accountability and transparency, we find great meaning in the work we do and the services we provide.

We seek collaborative team players who understand that fulfilling our mission is key to making a positive impact.

Description:
The Criminal Branch is responsible for filing and prosecuting misdemeanor criminal cases from court offices located throughout Los Angeles. The Branch also litigates appeals and extraordinary writs arising from Criminal Branch cases in state and federal courts. The cases involve a wide variety of offenses including California Penal Code violations (such as theft, battery, domestic violence, child physical and sexual abuse, elder abuse, human trafficking offenses, and many others), Los Angeles Municipal Code violations (including both personal and property-related offenses), California Vehicle Code violations such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and other state code violations. The Office of the City Attorney works closely with local law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and numerous city, county, state, and federal regulatory agencies to prosecute crimes occurring in the City of Los Angeles.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The Brady, Ethics and Compliance Section (BEC) addresses issues involving prosecutorial ethics, prosecutorial misconduct, Brady compliance, and criminal discovery procedures. The Supervising Attorney works closely with prosecutors, supervisors, Criminal Branch management and the Executive Office to create and apply policies that ensure compliance with statutory duties, ethical obligations, and other rules and regulations regarding professional conduct. BEC serves as custodian of records for the Criminal Branch and provides training to attorneys in the Criminal Branch.

The duties and responsibilities of the Supervising Attorney of BEC include:

• Organizing and directing the daily assignments of attorneys and support staff assigned to or working with BEC;
• Interacting directly with the Branch Chief on matters being handled by BEC;
• Advising Branch management to ensure that Branch Operations are fully compliant with all state and federal laws, regulations, and guidelines;
• Advising and working with Branch management on developing and implementing policies and initiatives that reflect the Office's policies and goals for its criminal practice;
• Participating in the daily oversight, supervision, training and mentoring of attorneys, including collaborating with attorneys in carrying out their assignments;
• Conducting formal and informal training, devising and editing projects and presentations;
• Participating in personnel matters for both attorneys and support staff, including disciplinary matters, evaluations, and performance reviews;
• Responding to inquiries from Criminal Branch management, Executive Management, other agencies or departments, law enforcement agencies and members of the public;
• Working closely with other sections of the Office to facilitate effective and efficient administration of justice, including responding to CPRAs and other inter-office issues;
• Preparing reports, statistics, surveys, and budgetary recommendations, including addressing requests and referrals from the Executive Office and Branch Management;
• Coordinating with the Director of Technology when technology is used to assist with discovery and other compliance obligations;
• Advising the attorneys in the Criminal Branch regarding interpretation of policies and best practices;
• Responding to requests from the City Attorney, Criminal Branch Chiefs and other Supervisors on novel issues that require a swift response;
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:
Applicants for this position must have a license to practice law in all of the courts in the State of California. Additional requirements include:

• Five (5) years of prosecutorial experience with demonstrated strengths in Brady, criminal discovery, prosecutorial ethics and prosecutorial misconduct issues;
• Broad knowledge of criminal law and procedure, including extensive experience in pretrial, trial, and post-conviction Law and Motion practice;
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills, the ability to prioritize, concurrently complete multiple assignments;
• Ability to work well under time pressure with minimal supervision;
• Demonstrated supervisory skills including: ability to guide and train staff, provide feedback and evaluations, performance management and conflict resolution,
• Thorough understanding of current trends in criminal law and issues affecting substantive and procedural criminal law;
• Command of misdemeanor filing, arraignment, calendar and trial court operations and procedures;
• Proven ability to produce engaging instructional resources and technical training aids tailored to diverse learning styles;
• Experienced in collaborating and interfacing with technical development teams to ensure the criminal case management system aligns with operational and compliance requirements;
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written;
• Ability to represent the Office in meetings with community stakeholders, the judiciary and law enforcement;
• Skilled at navigating complex relationships with public officials, executive leadership, and the general public
• Ability to prepare reports, memoranda, budget requests and analysis of statistical data and trends;
• Dedicated to fostering a supportive environment for attorneys navigating complex legal issues;
• Strong sense of ethics and the ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidences;
• Supervisory experience is desirable but not required for the position.

Requirements for Application

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Candidates are required to submit two recent writing samples personally authored in the last two years.

Supplemental Information:
Current Location
City Hall East, 200 N. Main Street, Los Angeles. Position is subject to assignment at any location within the County of Los Angeles.

Probation
Appointment to this exempt position (non Civil-Service) will be subject to a two year probationary period as required by Section 1050 of the City Charter. Successful completion of the two year probationary period will result in tenure with the office.

Classification:
For internal applicants only – Placement in this position will initially be as a lateral transfer with the selected candidate assuming the position in their current classification.

Application and Deadline
Interested candidates should go to: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacityattorney/ to apply online.

Qualified applicants will be invited to interview.

Conflict-of-Interest
This position is designated as Category 1 on the Conflict-of-Interest Code.

Contact:

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