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City attorney skills for your resume and career
15 city attorney skills for your resume and career
1. Litigation
- Handled City Prosecutions in Municipal Court and eminent domain proceedings for City and supervised outside counsel on other litigation matters.
- Handled diverse general litigation practice in construction defect, product liability, contracts, municipal law and anti-discrimination enforcement.
2. Legal Research
- Conducted extensive legal research including interpreting laws and court decisions in preparation of cases and overcoming objections during trial.
- Provided legal research on personnel matters regarding military/FMLA leave of absence.
3. Legal Advice
- Provided legal advice to criminal investigators and counselors in the alternative dispute resolution program.
- Provide legal advice to all departments and governing body of municipal corporation.
4. Legal Issues
- Communicated with Dallas City Council on all legal issues surrounding sexually oriented businesses and certain controversial ordinances.
- Lead counsel in multiple lawsuits, as both plaintiff and respondent, covering a wide degree of legal issues.
5. Municipal Law
- Tracked and presented developments in municipal law at statewide conferences.
- Preside over day-to-day operations of municipal law office.
6. District Court
- Prosecuted misdemeanor appeals of City charges in circuit court and all DUI offenses in general district court.
- Covered weekly arraignment, pretrial, and trial court calendars in district court.
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- Prosecuted civil service appeals of disciplined city employees.
- Represented departments in grievance appeals and arbitration proceedings.
8. Municipal Court
- Prosecuted municipal ordinance violations in St. Louis Municipal Court Conducted trials and negotiated plea bargains with defendants and opposing counsel
- Prosecuted criminal and administrative cases in municipal court.
9. Legal Opinions
- Prepare legal opinions and defend departmental decisions in administrative hearings.
- Provided legal opinions on federal, state and local issues such as property rights and regulation of natural resources.
10. Legal Services
- Identify relevant issues and implement systems and procedures consistent with improving the overall delivery of quality legal services.
- Assisted in coordinating various activities of the Legal Services Department, such as Right of Way easement acquisitions and court presentations.
11. City Ordinances
- Prosecuted city ordinance violations, effectuating enforcement, collection of fines and compliance.
- Drafted and reviewed City ordinances arising out of capital improvement projects.
12. Bench Trials
- Represented the state in dozens of bench trials and was first-chair in over thirty-five DUI and prostitution jury trials.
- Tried 35 jury trials to verdict & in excess of 100 bench trials until leaving in 1981.
13. City Officials
- Analyzed and applied California and federal statutory law in relation to City officials and entities.
- Defended City officials in administrative matters from inception to appeal.
14. Civil Litigation
Civil litigation is a legal process that is followed when a non-criminal legal dispute occurs between two parties. Such a legal process does not involve any criminal charges or penalties. The plaintiffs in such cases only seek compensation for the damages done by the defendants.
- Work on several e-discovery projects for large-scale civil litigation in various areas of law including pharmaceutical, medical device and anti-trust regulations
- Manage administrative and civil litigation cases related to execution, enforcement and breach of contracts, trademarks and copyright infringements.
15. Administrative Hearings
Administrative hearings are like trial proceedings done before an administrative agency or court judge. They are however shorter than regular trials but the evidence is provided and testimonies entertained just like fair hearings. However, administrative hearings are hearings that involve disputes under government agencies and are more informal in nature. The hearings are characterized by facts obtained and leads to the resolution of cases under the authority of government agencies.
- Presided over administrative hearings involving violations of the City's ordinances.
- Lead counsel or sole counsel for City in numerous lawsuits and administrative hearings with a 95 percent successful case resolution rate.
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What skills help City Attorneys find jobs?
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What skills stand out on city attorney resumes?
James Tomaszewski
Director of the Center for Professional Development, University of Cincinnati
What soft skills should all city attorneys possess?
James Tomaszewski
Director of the Center for Professional Development, University of Cincinnati
What hard/technical skills are most important for city attorneys?
James Tomaszewski
Director of the Center for Professional Development, University of Cincinnati
What city attorney skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Hanna Royce
Assistant Dean of Career Services, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law
List of city attorney skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a city attorney resume and required skills for a city attorney to have include:
- Litigation
- Legal Research
- Legal Advice
- Legal Issues
- Municipal Law
- District Court
- Appeals
- Municipal Court
- Legal Opinions
- Legal Services
- City Ordinances
- Bench Trials
- City Officials
- Civil Litigation
- Administrative Hearings
- Administrative Proceedings
- Settlement Agreements
- Subpoenas
- Risk Management
- Public Works
- Code Enforcement
- Criminal Cases
- Federal Courts
- Jury Trials
- Real Property
- Employment Law
- Code Violations
- Local Government
- Economic Development
- FLSA
- Motion Practice
- Arbitration
- Civil Rights
- Legal Proceedings
- Real Estate Transactions
- Eminent Domain
- Civil Actions
- Circuit Court
- Probate
- Domestic Violence
- Legal Memoranda
- State Courts
- Municipal Ordinances
- Court Proceedings
- Employment Issues
- DUI
- Collective Bargaining
- Property Damage
- Civil Division
Updated January 8, 2025