Chief Deputy County Counsel (Finance)

The Office of The County Counsel has an exciting opportunity for a Chief Deputy County Counsel to join their team in Riverside.

Under general direction, supervises, assigns, and reviews the work of subordinate deputies and paralegals; participates in the activities of the County Counsel Leadership Team; performs the more difficult and demanding legal work in the field of civil law; acts for County Counsel or Assistant County Counsel in their absence; and performs other related duties as required.

The Chief Deputy County Counsel is the full supervisory level of the Deputy County Counsel series. Incumbents confer and review with the Leadership Team to plan, organize, and assign work to attorneys and paralegals to balance the workload among various sections of the office. Additionally, Chief Deputy County Counsels are assigned the more difficult legal work, which is characterized by complex legal issues having significant legal or policy implications on County policies. This class is distinguished from the Assistant County Counsel in that the latter assists County Counsel in the day-to-day management of the office through directing and coordinating the activities of the County Counsel Management Team and performs the most difficult legal work characterized by complex legal issues having significant legal or policy implications on County policies.
The most competitive candidates will possess 10 or more years of experience as an attorney, specifically with a strong background in litigation and with jury trials. They will also have held leadership or supervisory roles over other attorneys.

This class has been designated At-Will by the Board of Supervisors, in accordance with the provisions provided under Article 6, Section 601E (2) of the County Management Resolution and serves at the pleasure of the County Counsel.
Meet the Team! The Office of County Counsel is a full-service law office that provides advisory and litigation support on issues of vital concern to the County and its residents such as health care, public safety, child welfare, land development, environmental protection, public finance, taxation and elections.

• As a member of the County Counsel Leadership Team, plan and organize the work of attorneys by assigning, reviewing, and balancing the workload among the various sections of the office.
• Supervise, assign, and review the work of subordinate deputies and paralegals in the practices of the County Counsel's Office; give advice and recommendations to other staff on difficult and complex legal problems.
• Assist in the development and refinement of skills and talents; serve as advisor to various boards and commissions whose legal problems are complex and exacting.
• Confer with and advise County and district officers and employees on the complex legal questions pertaining to their respective powers, duties, functions, and obligations.
• Represent the County in all State, Federal and Appellate Courts; study and interpret laws, court decisions, ordinances, and other legal authorities.
• Draft contracts, deeds, leases, ordinances, resolutions, and other legal instruments; prepare written opinions and render informal opinions on complex or legal questions.
• Assist with office administration, employee evaluation, and staff direction; prepare correspondence and reports.

Experience: Five years of experience as a journey-level attorney providing the fullrange of legal counsel to governmental agencies or departments.

Other Requirements:

License: A valid California Driver's License will be required at time of appointment. Active membership in the State Bar of California.

Knowledge of:

• Legal principles and their application;
• Rules of practice in California and federal trial and appellate courts;
• Court proceedings, discovery techniques, jury selection, settlement practices and other matters related to trial and appellate practice;
• Organization, powers, and limitations of complex County governmental functions, and of the California Constitution;
• Principles of civil law and their application to governmental subdivisions; methods, procedures, and practices used in the conduct of litigation and the preparation of legal instruments;
• Principles of supervision, including training methods and techniques.

Ability to:

• Analyze complex legal problems and apply legal principles and practices;
• Present facts, arguments, and laws clearly and logically in written or oral form;
• Perform legal research and analysis
• Draft ordinances, contracts, and legal instruments;
• Draft and revise pleadings, motions, and briefs;
• Assign, supervise, and review the work of subordinate attorneys and paralegals;
• Establish and maintain cooperative relations with subordinates, superiors, and others contacted in the work.

What's Next? This recruitment is open to all applicants. Applicants who are current County of Riverside employees and/or current employees of the Office of the County Counsel may be considered before other applicants depending on the volume of applications received.

General Information

If you have any questions regarding this posting, please contact Alyssa Wallace at alyssawallace@rivco.org

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