Job Title: Civil Deputy City Attorney
Posted By: City of Billings
Opening Date: May 14, 2025
SALARY: See Position Overview
DEPARTMENT: City Attorney
OPENING DATE: 5-14-2025
CLOSING DATE: Open Until Filled
POSITION OVERVIEW:
Salary Range: $101,925.82 - $136,565.73/annually. Salary reflects Step 1 and Step 7 of a 7-step pay scale. Salary at hiring will be dependent upon the applicant's education, experience, and training.
Work Schedule: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. This is an exempt position, hours and days of work may vary.
Job Summary:
Under general direction, performs a variety of professional duties involved in providing a full range of legal services related to municipal government operations; represents the City in civil proceedings as assigned before courts, administrative agencies and boards, and arbitrators; may occasionally prepare and prosecute misdemeanor criminal cases in courts; and advises City departments, staff, advisory boards, and commissions.
Scope of Responsibility:
Incumbent has a high degree of understanding of department and functional operations and is able to work with considerable initiative. Working with senior management guidance, incumbent applies professional and managerial principles that can affect the entire department with the potential to have a major effect on the City. Incumbent’s decisions can have a moderate to major financial impact on the overall organization. Incumbent solves complex and technical legal problems, which can have significant impact on the entire organization. Incumbent must have the ability to exercise discretion regarding confidential matters and diplomacy in communications.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Legal
• Handles legal issues related to assigned City departments, including analyzes, reviews, and drafts ordinances, deeds, releases, contracts, and other legal documents which bind or obligate the City; provides legal opinions and recommendations to ensure the City is properly and effectively represented in such matters; reviews rules, regulations, and policies to ensure legal compliance.
• Represents the City and its boards, commissions, and agents in civil and/or criminal legal proceedings before courts (including Municipal Court, Montana District Court, Montana Supreme Court, Federal Court), administrative agencies and boards (including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Montana Human Rights Commission, Board of Personnel Appeals), arbitrators, and other administrative agencies.
• Prepares pleadings, conducts legal research, prepares briefs and memoranda, appears in court, and negotiates with other parties.
• Defends and negotiates as assigned by the City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney legal disputes which may involve significant amounts of City funds.
• Provides legal advice and opinions as requested by the City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney to City employees, City Council, and City boards and commissions on a variety of legal issues; advises staff and officials on the legal requirements and consequences of proposed actions; appears and presents information at City Council meetings as required; provides training to City staff and others on current laws and effective enforcement procedures; conducts ongoing legal research in connection with legal issues pertaining to the City.
• Occasionally represents the City by prosecuting various misdemeanor criminal offenses; initiates prosecutions; prepares cases for prosecution; reviews reports and conducts legal research; prepares court orders, petitions, affidavits, and briefs; tries cases; determines and recommends appropriate sentences.
Department Duties
• Participates in the development, planning, and implementation of policies and procedures for the City Attorney’s Office; devises and implements systems and forms for most efficient operations.
• Participates in a variety of boards and commissions; attends and participates in professional group meetings; stays abreast of new trends and innovations in the field of law.
• Responds to and attempts to diplomatically resolve difficult and sensitive citizen inquiries and complaints.
Performs other duties as assigned, which may include work in the criminal area.
Required Qualifications and Skills:
• A juris doctorate from an American Bar Association approved law school
• Minimum of three years of increasingly responsible civil legal experience
• Member in good standing with the Montana State Bar
• Current license to practice law in state and federal courts in Montana
Preferred Qualifications and Skills:
• Minimum of three years of contract review, drafting, and negotiating
• Municipal or other government civil legal experience.
Unique Preferred Qualifications and Skills for this Position:
• Experience in land use planning or municipal public works
Physical Demands & Working Conditions:
Work is a normal office environment. Intermittent effort involving lifting of amounts between 5 and 25 pounds is required. Work requires high attention to detail and deadlines between 45% and 70% of the time. Incumbent may be exposed to disagreeable elements on an intermittent basis including but not limited to dealing with angry people or offensive language. Driving is required rarely.
Some requirements in this job description may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. All requirements are subject to modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.
Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills, and experience required. To perform this job successfully, the worker must possess the abilities and aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently.
This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise. The City retains the discretion to add duties or change the duties of this position at any time.
APPLICATIONS MAY BE FILED ONLINE AT:
https://billingsmt.gov
316 North 26th Street
Billings, MT 59101
4062376210
[email protected]
Position #202500097
CIVIL DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY
Contact Info
Name: Val Ronquillo
Phone: 406-237-6210
Email: [email protected]