Legal Liaison for Enforcement and Claims Advisor (Strategic Advisor 2)
City of Seattle
- Seattle, WA
- $66.61 per hour
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Lead and model the values of an Anti-Racist organization with knowledge and commitment to a culture of belonging and inclusion.
- Acts as liaison between SDCI and the Law Department, Municipal Court, and Hearing Examiner's Office on legal issues and procedures.
- Advises and recommends actions on legal issues to management and staff as requested.
- Reviews code violation cases to determine legal grounds for prosecution and sufficiency of evidence in the file.
- Represents SDCI at pre-trial settlement conferences, which work includes review of case status and development of settlement proposals.
- Represents SDCI at citation enforcement appeal hearings to Hearing Examiner. Work includes preparation of witnesses, exhibits and other evidence, submittal of motions, and service of documents.
- Represents SDCI at Municipal Court enforcement trials. This work includes preparation of witnesses and exhibits, service as expert SDCI witness and the provision of advice to the City Attorney representing the case regarding SDCI's settlement position.
- Negotiates penalties and compliance agreements with code violators on tree protection cases, the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance program, and the full range of other enforcement cases including those under the Housing Code, Construction Codes, the Critical Areas Ordinance, the Land Use and Shoreline Codes, Vacant Buildings, Junk Storage, Vegetation, Tenant Protections, and Tenant Relocation requirements.
- Analyzes and responds to claims against SDCI for the City's risk management section
- Directs and coordinates SDCI's Director's Rules process.
- Triages constituent issues, elevates to the Division Director (if needed), and develops timely responses.
- Drafts and edits responses to interrogatories and prepares documents for production to the City Attorney's Office on behalf of the department.
- When public records requests involve enforcement cases, this position may assist the department's public records officer in preparing responses.
- Advises staff on legal issues involving interpretation of City codes and also advises and trains staff about general legal issues such as private property rights, due process, first amendment rights and compliance with applicable state laws that might come into play during complaint investigation and enforcement actions
- Responds to inquiries from City Council offices or Mayor's Office staff about controversial enforcement actions.
- Assesses proposed state legislation during the annual legislative session for impacts on SDCI enforcement authority
A Law degree and 3 years of legal experience in code enforcement or City regulatory processes. Combinations of, education, training, experience and skill necessary to meet the business needs of the employing unit will be considered.Successful candidates will possess the following experience, knowledge, skills, abilities
- Experience working with racially and ethnically diverse communities and colleagues with an anti-racism lens
- Court experience, especially with persons representing themselves pro se
- Experience working with highly stressed and uncooperative customers
- A demonstrated commitment to problem-solving
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Experience with Accela or similar permit processing, database, or CRM software