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1 Office of the City Attorney Committed to serve the City and dedicated to excellence.

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Presentation on theme: "1 Office of the City Attorney Committed to serve the City and dedicated to excellence."— Presentation transcript:

1 1 Office of the City Attorney Committed to serve the City and dedicated to excellence.

2 2 Values OWNERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY TRANSPARENCY

3 3 Mission To provide quality legal services to the City, its Commission, Administration, and other Boards, Authorities and Committees in a timely, efficient, and cost effective manner.

4 4 Goals & Objectives Personnel Resources Systems Programs Plan of Work

5 5 Miami Charter Sec. 21 Serves as the Chief Legal Officer; Counsels City Commission, Administration and all officers; Prosecutes and defends all lawsuits for and on behalf of the City; Prepares all contracts, bonds and legal instruments; Issues legal opinions. The City Attorney: Provides in essence:

6 6 All attorneys employed by the City All outside counsel Miami Code Sec. 2-111 The City Attorney supervises and controls: Provides in essence:

7 7 Results of assessments: Skills Talents Knowledge Ability

8 8 Attorneys’ Experience Experience 15 or more years Between 7 and 14 years Less than 7 years Total number of attorneys With the Office of the City Attorney 4 6 17 27 Practice in Local Government Law 8 3 16 27 Number of Attorney Admitted to the Florida Bar 16 7 4 27

9 9 Implementing the process Matrix Legal services request Reporting to the client Timing of work Client feedback

10 10 Who is the client? Define ultimate client Define authorized client Authority to request legal service Note: Under tab number 2 in the notebook is the list of Departments/Clients and their respective codes.

11 11 Legal Services Request Form City of Miami Office of the City Attorney Legal Services Request To: Office of the City AttorneyDate: _____________ From: _______________ Contact Person _____________________ Department _______________ Title _____________________ Telephone Legal Services Requested: Authorized by: _______Date response requested by: ________ Complete form and forward to the Office of the City Attorney. Do not assume that the Office of the City Attorney ………. Once your request has been assigned, the lower half of this form will be completed by the Office of the City Attorney and returned to you. BELOW PORTION TO BE COMPLETED BY THE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY Assigned Attorney: ______________ City Attorney Approval: __________ File No._______________ Date: _______________ D/R Date: _______________ Type: _______________ Matrix: _______________ Category: _______________ Comments:_______________ ________________________ Copy returned to Client

12 12 Matrix CodePractice Group 100–Litigation & Appellate practice 200–Transactional 300–Land Use & Environmental Law 400–Legislation, Labor, Personnel & Police Legal

13 13 100 – Litigation & Appellate Practice (See tab no. 4 for complete listing) CodeAreasDefinitions 101TortsLitigation against the City, its officials and employees under state law for allegedly intentional or negligent conduct that causes injury to person or damage to property, and related appeals. 105FinanceLitigation filed against the City arising from the City’s governmental power to tax, impose special assessments and fees. 108Workers’ Comp Claims filed under Chapter 440 Florida Statutes involving work- related injuries, and related appeals.

14 14 200 – Transactional (See tab no. 5 for complete listing ) CodeAreasDefinitions 201AgreementsIssues relating to the review, negotiation and drafting of agreements such as professional services agreements and use agreements. 203Public Works/ Transportation Issues relating to the review, negotiations and drafting of public works and construction related contracts, CCNA contracts, CIP and transportation contracts/issues. 208Real PropertyIssues relating to the negotiation and drafting of purchase and sale agreements and related financings, leases, easements, license agreements, deeds and other instruments relating to the acquisition, use and disposition of real estate by the City, other than for affordable housing.

15 15 300 – Land Use & Environmental Law (See tab no. 6 for complete listing ) CodeAreasDefinitions 301Historic and Preservation Environmental (HEP) Matters relating to compliance with Chapters 17 and 23 and the protection of the historic, environmental, archaeological resources of the City, including tree protection. 307Major Use Special Permits (MUSP) Matters related to Review and approval of Major Use Special Permits 309Building CodesMatters relating to the Florida Building Code and Building Department orders and permits.

16 16 400 – Legislation, Labor, Personnel & Police Legal (Office Administration) (See tab no. 7 for complete listing ) CodeMattersDefinitions 401State and Local Legislation Preparation, Agenda Process Process for preparation of legislation for City Commission agenda and statutory amendments, oversight of agenda preparation; Legistar, election. 403Labor/EmploymentIssues related to City personnel policies and procedures, including employment, collective bargaining, union contract administration and grievances, disciplinary maters, civil service board, civil service board and arbitrations. 406General Local Government Issues related to matters that do not fit into a specific matrix, including public records, legislative review, elections, Charter, lobbying, telecommunications, advisory boards, sunshine law, ethics, and gift law issues.

17 17 The Value of Timekeeping Managed time maximizes legal resources Clients are promptly and properly served Professionals and staff are held accountable Objective criteria is obtained for performance evaluation

18 18 Reporting to the Client Hours recorded for specific client Hours recorded for specific client by area of law Hours recorded for specific project, assignment, case, etc. Individual attorney cumulative hours recorded for specific time period

19 19 We will be more valuable to our client by investing in hiring and training in-house attorneys to do the work that now goes to outside counsel. Reducing outside counsel costs

20 20 Number of matters handled by outside counsel by area of practice FY ’03 – 04

21 21 Outside counsel fees invoiced and/or paid by area of law FY ’03 – 04 * $800,000 City recovered

22 22 Office Wide Initiatives Professionalism Mentoring Client Delight

23 23 Strategies for attracting and retaining highly skilled and motivated attorneys and staff Aggressive recruiting Training Mentoring Fulfilling career Financial reward

24 24 Client Feedback Does my lawyer keep me informed? Does my lawyer anticipate my needs? Does my lawyer contribute to the team approach? Does my lawyer work competently and efficiently? Does my lawyer answer the unasked question?


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