Assistant to General Counsel II

About the role

This role provides legal representation to the Williamson County Commissioners Court, its departments, and, periodically, other Williamson County elected and appointed officials. Representation includes but is not limited to protecting the interests of Williamson County in various legal areas.

Responsibilities

• Provides legal advice and counsel as a trusted legal advisor to the Williamson County Commissioners Court, its departments, and other elected and appointed officials on matters impacting the interests of Williamson County
• Affords legal guidance and advice to the Williamson County Purchasing Department relating to procurement issues, laws, and requirements
• Participates in and provides legal guidance for Williamson County competitive procurement processes
• Drafts, reviews, revises, and negotiates contracts to which Williamson County is a party, such as county roads, parks and building construction contracts; professional services agreements for architectural, engineering, surveying, and consulting services; purchase agreements for services and goods; interlocal agreements between a multitude of federal, state, and local entities
• Affords legal guidance to the Williamson County Benefits Committee
• Conducts sophisticated legal research and analysis and prepares high priority legal opinions on complex legal issues for the Williamson County Commissioners Court and, upon request, Williamson County officials
• Provides legal advice and assistance on open government matters (Texas Open Meetings Act and Texas Public Information Act)
• Reviews applications for pauper burials and prepares orders for Commissioners Court
• Periodically attends open sessions and confidential executive sessions of the Williamson County Commissioners Court and provides legal opinions and advice on parliamentary procedure and contemplated actions, and implementation of policies and agendas for the Williamson County Commissioners Court
• Might be assigned to periodically assist senior counsel on matters regarding human resources or risk management, such as employment matters, liability claims, and litigation
• Might be assigned to assist the Williamson County Office of Emergency Management during emergency and disaster situations
• Communicates frequently with the Williamson County Commissioners Court members and other elected and appointed Williamson County officials, department heads and employees, attorneys, outside entities, and the public
• Effectively communicates both verbally and in writing
• Develops and manages productive relationships with coworkers, clients, the public, attorneys, and other work groups related to assigned areas
• Demonstrates a strong work ethic, including precise attention to detail, accuracy in work product, effective organizational skills, professional and positive interpersonal and social skills, self-starter, responsible, and enjoys working both independently and as part of a team
• Receives and applies regular performance feedback and annual performance reviews from management to improve job performance and meet organizational goals
• Attends and participates in all meetings and training courses as required
• Performs other duties as assigned – management may assess and reassign work assignments within the department from time to time to ensure equitable and effective workload distribution

Requirements

• Doctor of Jurisprudence from an accredited law school and five (5) years of experience as an attorney in the practice of law for a county, municipality, or state governmental agency OR six (6) years of experience as an attorney in general civil, transactional and litigation law
• A clear knowledge and understanding of contractual principles and theory
• Previous experience with county, municipal, state, federal and common law, including their relationship with the authority and functions of a Texas county government
• Working knowledge of Westlaw/LexisNexis, Microsoft Office Suite, and Adobe Acrobat
• Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal (written & verbal) skills including legal writing

Qualifications

• Seven (7) years of experience representing governing bodies of local Texas governments, with stronger preference for representation of Texas commissioners courts or city councils
• Six (6) years of government procurement, transactional, and policy drafting experience for a local government, with stronger preference for experience with Texas counties or municipalities
• Previous experience handling Texas Public Information Act matters and Texas Open Meetings Act matters
• Previous experience with public sector litigation, with stronger preference for litigation relating to Texas counties

Skills

• Strong analytical, communication, and interpersonal (written & verbal) skills including legal writing

Benefits

The County also provides retirement benefits. Full-time & part-time employees participate in the Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS), and employees may also participate in a retirement savings program (Deferred Compensation).

Pay

Salary range: $100,000 - $120,000 annually

Schedule

Full-time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM