Position Description
The Harris County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) is seeking a highly self-motivated and energetic attorney to join our newly created property tax collection team in the Compliance and Revenue Division which specializes in lawsuits for debt collection and enforcement of laws that protect the interest of Harris County. The Assistant County Attorney in this role is responsible for creating the team to handle pre-litigation, litigation, or post-judgment property tax collection along with the direction of management. The Assistant County Attorney will be responsible for creating the process and procedures for the team, supervising personnel, and maintaining the team’s standard and quality of work. This includes managing relevant employees, setting deadlines, communicating with management about the state of the project, prepare reports for upper management regarding status of the projects, ensuring projects stay on track and on budget, and adjusting if necessary to meet new requirements and scope changes. The Assistant County Attorney is also responsible for legal cases and counsel to various Harris County departments.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Provide legal counsel for Harris County.
- Strong work ethic, great organizational skills, superb inter-personal and social skills, self-starter, responsible, and enjoy working as part of a team.
- Creates and develops property tax team.
- Manages, trains, and supervise personnel.
- Communicates effectively with senior management, elected officials and their staff, stakeholders, and other public agencies.
- Research and analyze legal issues related to the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector (“HCTO”) policies and procedures relevant to property tax collections.
- Develop and manage relationships with clients, the public, attorneys, and other work groups related to assigned cases.
- Work closely with staff on collection and litigation activities.
- Review all facts, legal issues, and documents in a case prior to court appearance.
- Draft, prepare, review, and negotiate settlement agreements relevant to property tax collections.
- Suit preparation and review, motion practice, discovery, large caseload management, substantial trial work in tax court, District Courts, and appellate process.
- Perform multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining an effective balance of priorities and high productivity.
- Maintains knowledge of the procedures to open, close, and update files and notes accurately using the case management database and run reports.
- Respond promptly to phone calls, emails, and other correspondence.
- Participate in one-on-one sessions with management to give and receive feedback.
- Encourage and mentor attorneys, paralegals, interns, and law clerks.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Other Duties:
- This Job Description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this position.
- Management may, at its discretion, assign, or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer
https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/EqualEmploymentOpportunityPlan.aspx
If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email [email protected].
This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.
Requirements
Supporting Job Application Documents:
Applicants should provide a cover letter, resume, and three (3) professional references with their application.
Education and Experience:
- Active Bar License in Good Standing for the State of Texas.
- A minimum of seven (7) years of legal experience.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Excellent research, writing, and communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills and ability to communicate and work in a collaborative group.
- Proficiency with technology and legal tools such as Windows 10, Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Adobe Acrobat Software, PowerPoint, JIMS, TLO, and DEEDS.
- Knowledge of The Texas Tax Code, the Local Government Code, the Texas and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Bankruptcy, and the Texas Rules of Professional Conduct.
- Knowledge of Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector (“HCTO”) policies.
- Ability to comply with the Harris County Personnel Policies and Procedures and the policies of the County Attorney.
- Ability to gather, organize, and summarize legal issues quickly for clients or management, in person or via email.
- Ability to perform thorough legal and factual analyses and exercise good judgment.
- Occasional ability to work extended hours to accommodate case load demands.
- Ability to problem solve, organize, and prioritize assignments to meet deadlines.
- Ability to comply with office training requirements.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment.
- Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends as needed.
NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. “See Resume” will not be accepted for qualifications.
General Information
Located in downtown Houston, the Harris County Attorney’s Office represents Harris County government, the Harris County Flood Control District, the Harris County Toll Road Authority, and the Greater Harris County 9-1-1 Emergency Network in all civil matters, including lawsuits. The office also provides legal advice to county officials and employees.
Position Type and Typical Work Schedule:
- This is a full-time position.
- Days and hours of work are typically Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with occasional weekends and holidays as necessary.
- Hours may vary based on the business needs of the HCAO.
Work Environment:
- This position primarily operates in a professional office environment.
- The person in this role uses standard office equipment such as computers, printers, scanners/copiers, and phones.
Physical and Mental Demands:
- This is largely a sedentary role that requires standing or sitting for prolonged periods, exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body, repetitive motions requiring dexterity such as keyboarding that may include the wrists, hands, and/or fingers, communicating with others to exchange concepts and information, problem-solving, decision-making, organization, the ability to read/write, and the ability to manage workplace stressors such as adversarial interactions.
Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.
Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.