Assistant City Attorney, Senior (Natural Resources/Environmental)

Nature of Work

The City of Bellingham is seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Assistant City Attorney to join our team in the City Attorney?s Office. In this exciting role, you'll work on a wide range of impactful legal matters in environmental law, natural resources, and public infrastructure. Key areas of focus will include water quality and water resource management (including stream adjudication), real estate transactions involving environmentally sensitive lands, and public infrastructure projects with an environmental impact. If you're passionate about making a meaningful difference in the community while addressing complex legal challenges, we want to hear from you!

Research has demonstrated that salary negotiation can further inequality due to bias across gender and race. To prevent negotiation bias, the City places new employees within the published salary range based on qualifications and professional experience as listed on the application material, in accordance with City policy. This is in line with the City's commitment to accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Candidates who exceed the minimum experience requirements shall be given credit for advanced step placement at the rate of one additional pay step for each two full years of directly related or equivalent professional experience beyond the minimum requirements. Candidates who meet minimum qualifications or have experience that is not directly related or in a lower-level position will be placed at step one in the salary range. For positions that require a bachelor?s degree, one additional step may be granted for applicants with a master?s degree in a related field when the master?s degree is not required to meet minimum qualifications. The City's HR Department regularly evaluates minimum qualifications to provide equitable employment opportunities.

For internal candidates, placement within the range is based on City Pay Placement Procedures.

At the City of Bellingham, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that helps you thrive in both your career and personal life. Join our team and enjoy peace of mind knowing that you and your loved ones are well cared for. Here?s a closer look at the outstanding benefits that come with being part of our team. You can find more details on our employment benefits page and labor agreements page.

• 13.33 hours of vacation leave per month, with increased accrual over time
• 12 paid holidays + 1 floating holiday per year
• 40 hours of sick leave upon hire + 8 hours accrued monthly
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their families
• Life insurance and long-term disability coverage
• Flexible spending accounts and medical insurance opt-out program
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Washington State Retirement plan (DRS) for retirement security
• Optional 457 deferred compensation savings plan and 401(a) Retirement Savings Plan with employer match

Leave accruals are based on 1.0 FTE, accruals are pro-rated if part-time and require employees to be in paid status at least 120 hours/month.

This position is open until filled with a first review on Monday, 06/23/2025 at 8:30 am. The position may be closed at any time following the first review.

• Maintains current knowledge of laws, litigation, regulations, court cases, and issues affecting municipal governments.
• Provides legal counsel and representation in assigned areas of specialty which may include any of the following: municipal law, planning, land use, infrastructure development, environmental law, water rights, water quality, real estate transactions, risk management, employment law, public records, municipal finance, elections, technology law, ethics and conflicts of interest, procurement law, interlocal contracting, public works, general contracting, and public/private partnerships.
• Performs lead litigation responsibilities, including pretrial practice, investigation, evidence/testimony development, discovery, motions practice, and trials; assumes similar responsibilities as to administrative hearings and arbitrations; and assigns litigation support work to legal support personnel.
• Handles liability claims by directing the investigation of claims and the activities of staff that assist with and coordinate claims evaluation; makes recommendations to the Mayor and City Council on claims disposition.
• Reviews and negotiates City contracts for construction projects, garbage collection and disposal, franchises, real estate transactions, agreements with other governmental entities, property development, management of City facilities, and related matters.
• Drafts legal documents such as ordinances, resolutions, releases, settlement agreements, real estate documents, and interlocal agreements.
• Provides legal support, conducts legal research and advises staff and departments on a variety of issues. Represents departments in legal proceedings and before boards and commissions. Acts as principal liaison to outside counsel as needed. This position requires working with independence consistent with an attorney-client relationship.
• Reviews and makes recommendations on indemnity and insurance provisions of City contracts.
• Reviews requests for documents under the Public Records Act, ensuring the City responds as required by law and appropriately applies exemptions.
• Provides advice to departments regarding risk management. Manages general liability insurance program including preparing the budget, generating quarterly and annual claims reports, and consulting with brokers, the Mayor, and the City Council regarding insurance concerns.
• Manages legal related projects such as environmental cleanup process, municipal code updates and revisions, and modifications to City processes.

• Performs other related work of a similar nature or level.

Experience and Training

• Admission to the Washington State Bar and a member in good standing throughout duration of employment, and
• Four years of professional legal experience as an attorney with a preference for experience that is substantially related to one or more responsible areas of practice, OR
• Four years of experience as Assistant City Attorney with the City of Bellingham.

Necessary Special Requirements

• Employment contingent upon passing a criminal background check.
• Verification of ability to work in the United States by date of hire.
• Incumbents may not engage in the private practice of law while employed.

Selection Process

**You are encouraged to print a copy of this job announcement for your reference as the process moves along**

Please ensure your application is complete and all required information has been provided. Standard completeness means all application fields (contact information, personal information, education, work experience, references, and supplemental questions). Application materials should comprehensively document your experience and skills related to the position responsibilities and experience/training requirements. As part of the City?s commitment to reducing bias in the hiring process, Human Resources redacts personally identifiable information for reviewers. Only the documents listed as required will be reviewed.

A relevant 10-page legal memorandum is required as part of the application.

• A subset of a larger document is allowed.
• Please do not include more than one writing sample. Links to electronic documents cannot be accepted.

Interviews for the most qualified candidates are tentatively scheduled for the week of July 7, 2025. Invitations to participate in the Interview process will be sent via e-mail on or around July 2, 2025.

Please Note: Candidates will receive updates regarding application status via email. Please be sure to check your email frequently, including your spam folders for messages filtered by your email providers.

Equal Opportunity:

Our environment is characterized by respect for cultural backgrounds, belief systems, and ethnic diversity. The City of Bellingham is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in its work force. We do not make decisions on the basis of an individual's race, religion, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, age (40+), disability, retaliation, sexual orientation or gender identity, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, or any other basis prohibited by local, state, or federal law. All are encouraged to apply for employment.

Fair Hiring Practices

• The City provides individuals who have been arrested or convicted of a criminal offense an equal and fair opportunity to obtain employment.
• The City will not inquire about an applicant's criminal history until after a conditional job offer has been made.
• The City will disregard the prior arrest and conviction record of an otherwise qualified individual unless the offense is directly related to the job position for which the individual has applied.
• The City will notify an otherwise qualified applicant about a potentially disqualifying conviction and give the applicant an opportunity to submit information regarding the accuracy of the criminal records as well as evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation, as appropriate.