The Van Zandt County Criminal District Attorney’s Office is hiring a civil lawyer. This is a
unique opportunity for a civil practitioner to be on the ground floor of creating the Division with
the DA’s office. The position will report directly to the First Assistant and the CDA. The job
duties include those listed. It is anticipated that the County will continue to use outside counsel
for litigation matters. This position will serve as liaison to those attorneys as well as assist in
trial and pretrial matters.
Public Information Act Inquiries and Responses:
• Assist District Attorney’s office and all other County departments with legal questions
concerning the Texas Public Information Act via phone and email.
• Draft responsive letters to Requestors and request for opinion letters to the Attorney
General, if necessary.
• Research, identify, and designate PIA exceptions for responsive documentation.
• Assist in any county PIA training for DA’s Office and any other county department upon
request.
Handling of Asset Forfeitures:
• Attend asset forfeiture hearings.
• Interact with law enforcement agencies regarding asset forfeiture proceedings.
• Draft all pleadings, discovery, discovery responses, and motions for asset forfeiture
proceedings.
• Conduct legal research related to asset forfeiture proceedings.
• Conduct asset forfeiture trials.
County Government Inquiries:
• Answer questions and advise elected officials and county employees in areas including,
but not limited to, employment law, election law, county government law, civil litigation,
Public Information Act, real estate transactions, health and safety government issues,
economic development, tax law, contract law, etc.
• Provide legal research and brief material to elected officials upon request for legal
opinions.
• Provide correspondence and draft letters on behalf of commissioners, elected officials,
and department heads.
• Provide training, drafting assistance, and answers regarding policy/legal implementation
questions from county employees and personnel.
• Recommend policies, procedures, practices, and specific actions to best deal with critical
issues facing the District Attorney’s office and issues facing other County departments.
• Respond to calls from county officials/department heads/and employees across every
county department regarding county-civil issues.
• Respond to email inquiries from county officials/department heads/and employees across
every county department. memo response.
Civil Law Cases and/or Litigation Matters:
• Attend mediation and depositions on behalf of the county. Prepare deposition witnesses.
• Attend any/ all initial, pretrial, and trial civil settings.
• Coordinate and communicate with outside counsel regarding pending litigation.
• Research and draft EEOC and WC complaint responses. Assist HR and relevant
departments with document production related to employment law litigation.
Commissioners’ Court Research and Drafting
• Conduct research and drafting of legal memorandum, orders, and other documents
necessary to assist the commissioners’ court and commissioners’ court agenda items.
• Prepare any back up assistant district attorney functions necessary to support the
commissioners’ court and commissioners’ court agenda.
Qualifications
• Must have a Texas law license.
• Must be an active member and in good standing with the Texas State Bar Association.
• 3-5 years experience preferred.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Knowledge of civil law, law enforcement, and court procedures.
• Ability to prepare and analyze comprehensive legal documents.
• Ability to carry out assigned projects to their completion.
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees, county
officials, the court system, and the general public.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret the most complex documents.
• Ability to use a personal computer, including word processing and spreadsheet programs;
calculator, telephone, copy machine, and fax machine.
The Van Zandt County Criminal District Attorney’s Office is an exciting place to work with
an outstanding environment. We pride ourselves on being the best law firm in the county.
With a newly adopted salary structure we are able to offer highly competitive packages
including compensation, health insurance, life insurance, holiday and vacation pay. We are
45 minutes east of Dallas and 35 minutes west of Tyler.
Resumes should be sent to the CDA at [email protected]