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Deputy City Attorney - Litigator

Salary

$136,988.80 - $192,857.60 Annually

Location

Tacoma, WA

Job Type

Non-Classified

Job Number

P0470-25C

Department

Legal

Opening Date

10/06/2025

Closing Date

10/20/2025 5:00 PM Pacific

+ Description

+ Benefits

+ Questions

Position Description

The Tacoma City Attorney’s Office is seeking an experienced attorney with an interest in public sector law to join our tort litigation team. This is an appointive position reporting to the City Attorney. As a Deputy City Attorney, this position will be responsible for defending civil actions against the City of Tacoma, its various departments and employees.

The successful candidate will be part of a team of four attorneys, two paralegals and a legal assistant responsible for assisting with pre-litigation claims, evaluating cases, developing case strategies, preparing cases for trial, appearing in court, preparing and filing briefs and pleadings on time both in trial court and the courts of appeal, building relationships with City departments and divisions, managing outside counsel, negotiating settlement agreements, and communicating with elected and appointed officials. This is a litigation position involving tort claims, claims under the Public Records Act, employment disputes, civil rights claims and other claims against the City and its officials.

These claims span from relatively minor matters to intensely litigated cases involving severe injuries, death and/or matters of public importance.

Job Responsibilities:

This position will focus primarily on litigation, although it may involve advisory and transactional work on matters where litigation is anticipated. This position requires strong organizational skills and the ability to independently manage a busy, deadline-driven practice.

Litigators are responsible for evaluating all cases assigned to them, assessing potential liability and risk, and developing an appropriate litigation strategy in order to achieve an appropriate outcome. The practice involves all aspects of both affirmative and defensive civil litigation, including motions practice, discovery, trial, and appellate work.

The successful applicant must be able to meet professional and ethical standards in a fast-paced and ever-changing litigation landscape while managing both routine and highly scrutinized matters of public importance, and must have the ability to build relationships within the organization, remain informed of new developments in state and federal law, and be adept at communicating with people of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds. Because this is a general litigation position, this position requires the ability to quickly learn and develop strategies regarding a wide variety of substantive areas of the law, and to collaborate with the litigation team to find creative solutions to a myriad of case and client-related concerns.

Qualifications

Minimum Education*

Juris Doctorate

Minimum Experience*

4 years of professional-level legal counsel experience (civil, criminal or administrative matters). Depending on assignment, some positions may require experience directly related to area of assignment.

*Equivalency: 1 year of experience = 1 year of education

Desired Qualifications

+ 4 years of litigation experience

+ Experience as in-house counsel, e.g., Assistant Attorney General, or municipal attorney, or experience in insurance defense or other government-related law practice

Licensing, Certifications and Other Requirements

Admission to the Washington State Bar Association and license to practice law in Washington

Knowledge & Skills

+ Demonstrated ability to independently manage litigation in state and federal court.

+ Ability to effectively represent elected and high-profile clients in prominent matters

+ Demonstrated proficiency in research, writing, and communication skills. Effectively complete complex assignments independently and a wide variety of tasks simultaneously.

+ Comfort with novel legal issues and emerging areas of law.

+ Ability to show commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity in alignment with the City of Tacoma's Anti-Racist Society and Equity and Empowerment Initiatives.

Selection Process & Supplemental Information

City of Tacoma Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At the City of Tacoma, we're on a mission to make our workforce as diverse and inclusive as the community we serve. We're committed to eliminating racial and other disparities, and we actively seek out candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. Join our team at the City of Tacoma and help us build a more vibrant, inclusive, and equitable community for all.

The City of Tacoma believes that diversity of thought, background, and experience contributes to our success and innovation. If you’re passionate about this role and our mission, we encourage you to apply. If you have a less traditional background, we want to hear about your transferrable skills and experience. We value a variety of perspectives and are excited to see what you bring to the table.

Apply

Interested individuals should apply online by completing the application and attaching a resume, cover letter, and a legal writing sample that is less than 10 pages, which can be an excerpt from a larger sample, by the closing date and time listed on the job announcement. Applications received without attaching the required materials may not progress in the selection process.

First review of applications will begin on Tuesday, October 21, 2025; candidates whose applications are received by this date will have first consideration.

Reference checks will be conducted on final candidates and appointment is subject to passing a background check.

Compensation & Benefits

Pay Details:

Hourly Rate: $65.86 - $92.72

Annual Salary: $136,988.80 - $192,857.60

Employee Benefits | City of Tacoma (https://tacoma.gov/government/departments/human-resources/employee-benefits/)

Get Assistance

For assistance with the application process or questions regarding this job announcement please contact the Human Resources office at (253) 591-5400 by 4:00 p.m. of the closing date of the job announcement.

For technical difficulties using the NEOGOV system, call the applicant support line at 1-855-524-5627 between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. This will allow us to assist you before the job announcement closes.

Communication with the City of Tacoma

We primarily communicate via email during the application process. Emails from Tacoma.gov and/or governmentjobs.com should be placed on your safe domain list to ensure that you receive notifications in a timely manner. As a precaution, you may also want to check your junk email folders.

The City of Tacoma provides excellent medical, dental and vision plans for the whole family; paid holidays and paid leave; participation in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System (alternate plan for Police/Fire); continuing education and advancement opportunities and a growing variety of City-sponsored health and wellness opportunities and incentives.

Medical Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.

Dental Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.

Vision Coverage: For eligible employees and their eligible dependents.

Paid Leave: City employees are entitled to received paid holidays, sick/vacation leave or personal time off (PTO), depending upon union affiliation and appointment type.

Insurance Plans: Employees are covered by a long-term disability plan. Short-term and expanded long-term disability insurance plans are also available to employees. The State Industrial Insurance Act also covers employees.

Deferred Compensation: Income can be set aside on a pretax basis and invested for supplementation of normal retirement income.

Retirement: All employees of the City, except members of the Police and Fire services, Tacoma Rail and certain project employees, are included in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System. Information on the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System can be found at www.cityoftacoma.org or by calling (253) 502-8200.

Other Employment Information

Direct Deposit: Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule by direct deposit.

Salary Increases: Based on satisfactory job performance, the City provides for a regular progression of salary increases for most classifications according to the salary schedule.

Union Affiliation: Many job classifications are covered by union security provisions which require union membership, dues, or payment of equivalent service fees.

Note: The provisions of this job announcement do not constitute an expressed or implied contract. Any provision contained herein may be modified and/or revoked without notice.

01

Responses to supplemental questions must be original content created by the applicant using their own words. The use of online tools or resources to create responses, such as Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, etc.), Google, Bing, etc., or plagiarism in any form, is considered cheating and falsification of the application. I understand that any form of cheating or falsification will disqualify my application for further consideration.

+ Yes

+ No

02

Do you have a Juris Doctorate and 4 years of professional-level legal counsel experience (civil, criminal or administrative matters)?

+ Yes

+ No

03

Do you have admission to the Washington State Bar Association and license to practice law in Washington?

+ Yes

+ No

04

Have you attached a cover letter, resume and a legal writing sample that is less than 10 pages (this can be an excerpt from a larger sample)?

+ Yes

+ No

05

One of the City's Principles that guides us is Equity. Describe what equity means to you and describe any experience you have working with diverse groups of people.

06

Please tell us how you learned about this job opening.

+ Job Interest Card notification

+ Professional organization

+ Military organization

+ City of Tacoma employee

+ Online job board posting

+ Word of mouth

+ LinkedIn

+ Tacoma Training & Education Program (TTEP)

+ Indeed

+ Facebook

+ Instagram

+ Careers in Government

+ Government Jobs

+ Outreach Event

+ National Diversity Network

+ African American Job Network

+ Disability Job Network

+ Asian Job Network

+ Latino Job Network

+ Retirement Job Network

+ LGBT Job Network

+ Veteran Job Network

+ Other

07

Please provide specific information regarding how you learned about this job opening. Thank you, your feedback will be used to evaluate our success reaching the public and refine our methods for future job postings.

Required Question

Employer

City of Tacoma

Address

Human Resources Department 747 Market Street Tacoma, Washington, 98402-3764

Phone

253-591-5400

Website

http://www.tacoma.gov

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