TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Noel Pfeffer, City Attorney
DATE: May 3, 2016
Title
APPOINTMENT OF ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to approve appointment of Assistant City Attorney.
Body
Background:
The City Attorney’s Office requests the appointment of Lynn DeSanti as Assistant City Attorney.
Section 4.08(A) of the City Charter requires that the City Attorney seek City Commission approval to appoint Assistants.
The Assistant City Attorney assists the City Attorney on various legal matters including representing the City in litigation and other claims against the City, the review and drafting of agreements, bid documents and legislative matters, advises City Boards and employees and provides legal guidance on a wide range of legal issues. This position was previously filled by Assistant City Attorney Michael Dutko who had extensive litigation experience.
In anticipation of this vacancy, a notice of the job opening was posted on both the City’s and the Florida Bar’s website on March 30, 2016. The job posting was sent in a “job email flash” to all Florida Bar members on April 6, 2016. The job was also posted on the local government lawyers blog. The City received more than 120 resumes in response to the notices, and the City Attorney conducted a number of interviews of qualified applicants over a 2 week period.
As a result of this process, the City Attorney is recommending the appointment of Lynn DeSanti for the position of Assistant City Attorney. Ms. DeSanti is currently the Chief Assistant Public Defender for Broward County. She is one of eight lawyers serving in a Chief capacity in an office with 125 lawyers. In addition to maintaining her own caseload, Ms. DeSanti is responsible for providing legal guidance to lawyers on a daily basis with respect to pending cases, creating and maintaining ongoing legal education programs for the office, and making attorneys ass...
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