Assistant City Prosecutor

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Assistant City Prosecutor

Salary

$67,776.61 - $76,248.68 Annually

Location

City County Building, IN

Job Type

Full Time

Job Number

07874

Department

Office of Corporation Counsel

Opening Date

11/20/2023

Closing Date

Continuous

• Description

• Benefits

Position Summary

The Office of Corporation Counsel (OCC) provides legal services to the City and County through its three main divisions. First, OCC represents the City, County agencies, and City-County employees in litigation, handling a diverse docket that ranges from tort and contract matters to constitutional law. Second, through its counseling division, OCC provides legal advice to City and County agencies, officials, and oversight bodies to ensure that public entities remain compliant with the law and standards of ethical conduct, to safeguard public funds, and to promote the efficient functioning of local government for Marion County taxpayers. OCC’s third division is the Office of the City Prosecutor, which is responsible for enforcing City-County ordinances. OCC also oversees the Office of Equal Opportunity, which administers the City’s human relations and equal opportunity ordinance, protecting against discrimination in employment and other contexts. In exercising these crucial legal functions, OCC cultivates a productive, collaborative, and compliant work environment that prioritizes the needs of our clients and the residents of Indianapolis and Marion County.

The holder of this position will be a front-line attorney in the Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) with immediate responsibility for handling a wide range of civil ordinance enforcement litigation matters on behalf of City-County agencies. The position may, on occasion, require the Assistant City Prosecutor to assist an OCC litigator on federal litigation coming out of a state court ordinance enforcement matter. The position holder will serve as an assistant corporation counsel within OCC. This position reports to the City Prosecutor.

All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. We value diversity in perspectives and experiences among colleagues and the residents of this city of whom we serve.

Position Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of an Assistant City Prosecutor is to represent the City and related agencies in civil litigation matters in ordinance enforcement in state court and in administrative hearings. The position may, on occasion, require the Assistant City Prosecutor to assist an OCC litigator on federal litigation coming out of a state court ordinance enforcement matter.

This position will provide immediate experience in all facets of code enforcement prosecution. On most cases, the holder of this position will assume the role of the primary attorney. This role representing our public agency clients includes preparing complaints, answers, and other pleadings; researching and filing motions and briefs; handling discovery and depositions; judicial hearings; settlement negotiations; and trial advocacy. Assistant City Prosecutors benefit from the assistance of more experience co-counsel and supervisors in many cases but should expect to have immediate responsibility for handling a diverse, challenging caseload.

On litigation matters for which the attorney is not the primary attorney but is assisting a more senior attorney, case assignments will involve conducting in-depth legal research of issues presented by a case, communicating with client agencies and employees as part of the discovery process, assisting in the drafting of pleadings, briefs, and other court filings, and other essentials of diligent case management.

The Assistant City Prosecutor attorney position also involves the following additional responsibilities:

• Providing advice to client agencies with regard to litigation strategy and settlement negotiations.

• Representing City-County agencies in administrative hearings or similar settings.

• Keeping apprised of relevant legal developments at the state and federal level.

• Overseeing the support work of the support staff team.

• Performing other duties as assigned by the City Prosecutor or the Corporation Counsel.

Skills Required

Strong independent judgment. Guidance from more senior attorneys will be available, but successful attorneys must have the good judgment to take responsibility for what they can handle themselves and seek assistance when doing so is in the client’s best interests.

Analytical ability and intellectual curiosity. This position faces a wide variety of legal issues and fact patterns. While attorneys are encouraged to develop areas of expertise over time, the position requires rapidly digesting new information, integrating it into an existing body of knowledge, and adeptly using legal research tools to acquire mastery of all the issues raised by each litigation matter as it arises.

Proficiency at legal writing and other written communication. This includes more formal work product like summary judgment briefs, motions to dismiss, and memoranda. Attorneys must also be skilled at more informal communications, including messages to clients, communications with opposing counsel, and summaries of legal research.

Oral communications skills. Our attorneys will have immediate opportunities to argue cases, whether in administrative proceedings, pre-trial hearings before judicial officers, or bench trials. Attorneys must concisely, effectively communicate their arguments, be adept at improvising and thinking on their feet, and be able to adapt their tone and messaging to the needs of different audiences in different settings.

Zealous advocacy. Some of the enforcement matters handled by this position will be higher profile. Attorneys must keep in mind that their client is ultimately the public and must treat their work with the attention and seriousness that it deserves.

Time management skills. Assistant City Prosecutors will be responsible for considerable caseloads. Success in the position requires efficiency, strong time management, and the ability to prioritize the most pressing or important tasks.

Ethics and professionalism. Holders of this position are public servants, and so are their clients. All attorneys at the Office of Corporation Counsel are expected to uphold the highest standards of professional ethics and responsible advocacy.

Qualifications

Minimum Job Requirements and Qualifications

• Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from an ABA-accredited law school.

• Valid license to practice law in Indiana.

• Admitted to practice in the Southern District of Indiana.

• Proficiency in legal research tools, including Westlaw, and familiarity with electronic filing and records management systems.

Preferred Job Requirements and Qualifications

• At least two years’ experience in the practice of law as a licensed attorney (may include a judicial clerkship).

• Professional experience (as an attorney or non-attorney) in local government, law enforcement, public service or administrative procedure.

• Knowledge of, or experience in, local government and/or the administrative process.

• Experience in conducting complex discovery, authoring dispositive motions, oral advocacy, or trials.