Office of the City Attorney

The Office of the City Attorney provides a broad scope of legal services and advice to the Mayor, City Commissioners, City Manager as well as to all City Departments.

Department Head

Victoria Méndez

The Office of the City Attorney is a full service law firm representing the City of Miami, a city known worldwide for its diverse culture and location as the gateway to Latin America. 

The Office is staffed by 61 full time employees.  This includes one (1) City Attorney, twenty-nine (29) attorneys (two of which are Deputy City Attorneys, and four that are Division Chiefs), five (5) administrative staff, nine (9) paralegals, three (3) senior legal assistants, nine (9) legal assistants, and five (5) legal services staff. 

The Office provides legal advice and serves as counsel to the City's elected public officials, as well as, all appointed officials, departments and all authorities, boards and committees. Lawyers in this Office are recognized for their excellent knowledge in the area of local government law and skills in many practice areas, which includes civil rights and tort litigation, government contracting and procurement, land use, labor and employment, public records, sunshine law and ethics. The staff of the Office has unparalleled opportunities to take a leadership role in promoting honesty and integrity in the City and assuming a prominent role in the legal representation of high profile issues that have a significant impact on public policy and quality of life in the community.

Organizational Chart(PDF, 334KB) Practice Areas

Attorney Profiles Past City Attorneys

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY POSITION – LITIGATION

The City of Miami seeks a Florida licensed attorney to join its vibrant in-house legal team to handle all aspects of civil litigation and case management from inception through post-trial motions. This position will afford the successful candidate the potential opportunity to handle litigation in a wide variety of substantive areas, including: torts, complex commercial disputes, civil rights litigation, police matters, constitutional claims, public records matters, and land use disputes. Applicants should be capable of handling all stages of litigation including discovery, depositions, and alternative dispute resolution, as well as possess excellent research and writing skills. The ideal candidate must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school, at least five (5) years of litigation experience in general civil litigation in state and federal courts, first-chair trial experience, experience working with senior attorneys and administrative staff, and be an active member in good standing of the Florida Bar. Prior experience representing a municipal or other local government is not required but preferred.

Salary and benefits for this position are competitive and commensurate with qualifications. Full Time Position – Assistant City Attorney - $90,000.00 - $175,000.00 Annually.

To Apply: Please send resume, cover letter and writing sample to: law@miamigov.com. Attention: Victoria Méndez, City Attorney c/o Domini Gibbs-Sorey, Internship and Recruitment Coordinator.

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY POSITION – WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

The Office of the City Attorney for the City of Miami seeks a highly motivated candidate with a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school, excellent research and writing skills, and a very strong sense of self-motivation to serve the City of Miami in the capacity of Assistant City Attorney. The candidate must have a minimum of five (5) years of experience handling workers’ compensation matters from inception to final hearing. The candidate will be expected to handle all aspects of workers’ compensation defense including, but not limited to, initial intake and issue identification, witness statements, preparation of detailed informational claim summaries, take and defend depositions, and attend all motion hearings, as well as evidentiary and final hearings. The candidate is expected to assist the third-party administrator as well as the Department of Risk Management throughout the claims process addressing and identifying non-litigated and litigated issues. The candidate will be expected to investigate the compensability of workplace accidents and provide the third-party administrator with continuing education on statutory/rule amendments as well as the results of recent case law. Prior experience with municipal workers’ compensation defense and/or experience with heart and lung claims is preferred.

Salary and benefits for this position are competitive and commensurate with qualifications. Full Time Position – Assistant City Attorney - $90,000.00 - $175,000.00 Annually.

To Apply: Please send resume, cover letter and writing sample to: law@miamigov.com. Attention: Victoria Méndez, City Attorney c/o Domini Gibbs-Sorey, Internship and Recruitment Coordinator.

ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY POSITION – ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

The City of Miami seeks a Florida licensed attorney to join its vibrant in-house legal team to handle administrative hearings enforcing the Florida Building Code and the City Code as well as other administrative duties associated with representation. This position will encompass representing the City at Administrative hearings that range from City to County to State administrative bodies. It may also require representation in State Court as well. The duties will require preparation of both the cases, presentation of facts and witness at the hearing as well as all internal administrative processes necessary to complete each case. Applicants should be capable of handling all stages of administrative litigation as well as possess excellent research and writing skills. The ideal candidate must have a Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school, at least three (3) years’ experience as an Assistant State Attorney, Assistant Public Defender or as civil administrative prosecutor. Candidates shall also have experience working in conjunction with other attorneys and administrative staff. Candidates must be an active member in good standing of the Florida Bar. Prior experience representing a municipal or other local government is not required but preferred.

Salary and benefits for this position are competitive and commensurate with qualifications. Full Time Position – Assistant City Attorney - $90,000.00 - $175,000.00 Annually.

To Apply: Please send resume, cover letter and writing sample to: law@miamigov.com. Attention: Victoria Méndez, City Attorney c/o Xavier Alban, Esq., and Rachel S. Glorioso Dooley, Esq.

 

The Office of the City Attorney handles employment applications only for attorneys, legal consultants and law students. Assistant City Attorneys are "at will" employees and are not members of the civil service system.

The City of Miami's Human Resources Department handles applications for all other legal positions including legal assistants and paralegals. Employees in these related legal positions, like most city employees, are in the civil service system. For information concerning any positions other than attorney, legal consultants and law student positions, you may visit the City of Miami Human Resources Department.