City Solicitor

**City Solicitor**:
**Regular Full Time (Excluded)**

**About Us**
One of BC’s Top Employers, the City of Coquitlam offers meaningful career opportunities to make a difference within the local community. As the sixth largest city in BC, we are home to more than 150,000 residents. Our diverse municipality is a great place to work as it continues to grow through innovative urban design, inspiring arts, progressive and diverse culture and recreation programs, and state-of-the-art transportation systems. Our brand is built on managing our resources in a responsible and sustainable manner, while supporting a vibrant, growing regional urban centre. We envision a bright future in Coquitlam that we hope includes you

**About You / What We Are Looking For**:
Are you an experienced solicitor looking for the next journey in your career? Join our dynamic team as the City Solicitor, where your expertise in local government law will shine in the regional legal landscape. The City of Coquitlam is seeking a person with drive to provide leadership and guidance to our Legal Services division and serve as the City’s chief legal advisor, providing legal advice and opinions to City Council and the senior management team. You will have a diverse range of legal expertise and experience, including municipal regulatory matters and litigation. If you're ready to make a significant impact in the legal field, read on

As a City Solicitor, your oversight will encompass a wide range of legal functions critical to our municipality's success. You will provide collaborative leadership and invaluable legal expertise to support the City of Coquitlam. Your key duties include:

- Providing leadership, guidance and mentorship to the Legal Services team.
- Preparing, reviewing and delivering legal opinions for City Council, City Manager, senior management and staff.
- Reviewing and providing input into Council reports and presenting legal advice at Council meetings.
- Acting as counsel for the City to enforce compliance with City bylaws by way of civil injunctions in the BC Supreme Court, prosecution proceedings in BC Provincial Court, and administrative hearings before City Council and acting as counsel for the City in BC Supreme Court, Small Claims, Civil Resolution Tribunal, Human Rights Tribunal, British Columbia Utilities Commission, and other levels of court or administrative tribunals on matters unrelated to bylaw enforcement on an as needed basis.
- Advising on and assisting with drafting municipal bylaws to ensure sound governance that complies with local government legislation.
- Supporting the preparation and review of a variety of complex real estate agreements, covenants, easements, leases, and other legal documents related to municipal real estate transactions.
- Supporting and identifying process and procedural improvement that lead to making City operations more efficient and effective.
- Leading recruitment, retention, professional development, and workforce planning for Legal Services.
- Mentoring and coaching staff to ensure their continuous growth and development.

**Qualifications**:

- Hold a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) or Juris Doctor (JD) degree from a recognized law school.
- Be a current member in good standing with the Law Society of your respective province in Canada.
- Possess a minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible legal experience, ideally with a municipality or a firm providing legal services to local government or a similar institution.
- Experience and expertise in local government law and litigation are strong assets.
- Have considerable experience in a management or supervisory role, coupled with sound leadership skills.
- Demonstrated expertise in real estate transactions, real estate development, and legal drafting.
- Experience in corporate governance and/or real estate transactions.
- Thorough knowledge of the Canadian land title system, including provincial variations.
- Demonstrated understanding of municipal law, local government legislation, municipal bylaws, policies, and procedures relevant to your specific province.
- Adept at providing research and thoughtful analysis on legal implications of matters of law, legislation, procedures, and operational strategic decisions within the Canadian legal context.
- Strong communication skills to present and explain complex or legally sensitive issues to interested parties.
- Exceptional writing and composition skills, especially for legal documents.
- Ability to provide leadership and guidance to your team.

For this job, you will need to undergo a Police Information Check as part of the hiring process.

**What We Offer**:
This excluded position has an annual salary from $177,768 to $216,282. The rate pay is based on a variety of factors including qualifications, knowledge, experience and skills. You'll have the chance to join a rapidly growing and diverse team dedicated to supporting the local community.

Additionally, there's an opportunity to