Local Government Clinic

Students in the Local Government Clinic work with the General Law Team of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office or at other Bay Area city attorney offices. Interns research and write on a range of substantive issues, including constitutional and statutory questions about the structure of state and local government; public meeting and disclosure requirements; and delegation of authority among federal, state, and local governments. Interns may also draft ordinances and accompany city attorneys to public meetings and hearings. The course component covers basic local government law, ethical responsibilities of lawyers who represent local governmental agencies, and legislative drafting.

To enroll in the Local Government Clinic, identify the offices where you want to extern. Each office has its own deadlines and requirements, some of which are described below. Please note that deadlines for a spring externship are often early in the preceding fall semester. If UC Hastings students have externed in an office in the past, the Center for State and Local Government Law can provide you with evaluations of the placement.

Contact Rachel Goodman in the Center for State and Local Government Law at goodmanr@uchastings.edu to let us know the offices where you are interested in externing;

Apply to the office or offices where you are interested in externing.

Once you have accepted an offer from a placement, notify Rachel Goodman in the Center for State and Local Government Law and you will be given approval to enroll through WebAdvisor.

Approved Local Government Offices & City Attorney’s Offices

San Francisco

Website: http://www.sfcityattorney.org/index.aspx?page=16

Instructions:

Send a cover letter, résumé, and brief writing sample to
Marisa Moret,
Managing Attorney,
City Hall, Room 234,
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place,
San Francisco, CA 94102.

Applications submitted by e-mail or fax will not be considered.

Spring 2012 Deadline: October 17, 2011.

Contact: Ms. Laurel Turner, Managing Attorney, (415) 554-4727

What are the teams in the SF City Attorney’s Office?

Attorneys in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office are organized into teams based on practice areas. We encourage intern candidates to state a team preference in their cover letter, however, final assignments are based on office needs. Internships may be available on any of the following teams:

• Airport (located at SFO)
• Child Protection and Family Services
• Code Enforcement
• Construction
• Complex Litigation
• Energy and Telecommunications
• Ethics and Elections
• Finance and Real Estate
• Government
• Government Oversight and Transaction
• Health
• Labor
• Land Use
• Litigation
• Port (located at Pier 1 in San Francisco)
• Public Utilities
• Taxation
• Transportation
• Workers’ Compensation

• [The Local Government Externship program’s focus is on planning and advisory work; the curriculum is not designed to support litigation placements. Students interested in externing with a team marked with asterisks, whose primary focus is litigation, should contact Rachel Goodman at the Center for State and Local Government Law for further information]

Alameda

Website: http://www.cityofalamedaca.gov/City-Hall/CC-City-Attorney

Instructions:

Submit a résumé, cover letter, and writing sample to Donna Mooney by mail to the Office of the

City Attorney,
2263 Santa Clara Avenue, Room 280,
Alameda, CA 94501
or by e-mail to dmooney@ci.alameda.ca.us.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis until the start of the semester.

Contact: Ms. Donna Mooney, Acting City Attorney, (510) 747-4750

Berkeley

Website: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/attorney

Instructions:

Submit a résumé, cover letter, and writing sample by e-mail to attorney@cityofberkeley.info.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, but ideally should be submitted by October 31, 2011.

Contact: Ms. Sarah Reynoso, Assistant City Attorney, (510) 981-6984

(Note: If Ms. Reynoso is unavailable, direct questions to her assistant, Ms. Joanna Rudy, (510) 981-6998.)

Hayward

Website: http://www.hayward-ca.gov/CITY-GOVERNMENT/DEPARTMENTS/CITY-ATTORNEY/

Instructions:

E-mail a résumé and cover letter describing your interest in local government to Michael Lawson at Michael.Lawson@hayward-ca.gov.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Contact: Mr. Michael Lawson, City Attorney, (510) 583-4455

Oakland

Website: http://www.oaklandcityattorney.org/home.html

Instructions:

Submit a résumé, cover letter, and writing sample, either by mail to the

Office of the City Attorney,
City Hall,
One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, 6th Floor,
Oakland, California 94612,
Attention: Mary Miles or by e-mail to msmiles@oaklandcityattorney.org.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Students are recommended to submit their applications a month or more in advance of their desired start date. Positions are made available according to the needs of the office.

Contact: Ms. Mary Miles, Executive Assistant to the Chief Assistant City Attorney, (510) 238-3601

Palo Alto

Website: http://city.palo-alto.ca.us/depts/aty/default.asp

Melissa.tronquet@cityofpaloalto.org. It is preferred that students intern 16 hours per week and are available on Mondays (staff meeting days). If students cannot be available on Mondays other arrangements can be made.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Contact: Ms. Melissa Tronquet, Senior Deputy City Attorney, (650) 329-2171

Sacramento

Website: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/cityattorney

Instructions:

E-mail a résumé, cover letter, and writing sample to Kathleen Rogan at KRogan@cityofsacramento.org.

Interns are required to work a minimum of 16 hours per week. Spring 2012 Deadline: November 1, 2011

Contact: Ms. Kathleen Rogan, Senior Deputy City Attorney, (916) 808-5346

San Jose

Website: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/index.aspx?NID=287

Instructions:

E-mail a résumé, cover letter, and writing sample to Ellen Donnelly at ellen.donnelly@sanjoseca.gov. Both 2L and 3L students are welcome to apply, although 3L students are preferred.

Spring 2012 Deadline: TBD, check the internship program website above for updates.

Contact: Ms. Ellen Donnelly, Senior Legal Analyst, (408) 535-1900

San Mateo

Website: http://www.ci.sanmateo.ca.us/

Instructions:

Submit a résumé, cover letter, transcript, and references through UC Hastings Careers Online www.hastingscareersonline.com.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Check www.hastingscareersonline.com for updates.

Vallejo

Website: http://www.ci.vallejo.ca.us/

Instructions:

E-mail a résumé, writing sample, three references, and a cover letter (describing your interest in local government and indicating a preference to work in one of the Office’s specialties: transactions, ordinances, and litigation) to Claudia Quintana at cquintana@ci.vallejo.ca.us with a CC to sue@ci.vallejo.ca.us.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Contact: Ms. Claudia Quintana, Assistant City Attorney, (707) 648-4545

As of Spring 2011, these offices do not have the capacity for interns:

• Concord
• Daly City
• Fremont
• San Rafael
• Santa Clara

Approved County Counsel’s Offices

Marin

Website: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/CL/main/index.cfm

Instructions:

E-mail a résumé, cover letter addressed to Mr. Patrick K. Faulkner, County Counsel, and writing sample to Jeanine Michaels at jmichaels@marincounty.org.

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Contact: Ms. Jeanine Michaels, Administrative Assistant to the County Counsel, (415) 499-6117

San Mateo

Website: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/portal/site/countycounsel

Instructions:

Submit a résumé and cover letter through Hastings Careers Online

Spring 2012: November, 2011, check www.hastingscareersonline.com for updates.

Contact: Mr. Eugene Whitlock, Deputy County Counsel, (650) 363-4250

Santa Clara

Website: http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/cco/agencychp?path=/v7/County%20Counsel,%20Office%20of%20the%20(DEP)/Employment%20Opportunities/Internships%20-%202011

Instructions:

Send a résumé, cover letter (describing your interest in working with local government, any relevant experience, and the practice areas in which you are most interested), the names and telephone numbers of two references, an unofficial law school transcript, and writing sample to internships@cco.sccgov.org.

Spring 2012 Deadline: December, 2011, check the internship website or Hastings Careers Online [Link] for updates

.

Contact: Mr. Robert M. Coelho, Deputy County Counsel, (408) 299-6942

Sonoma

Website: http://www.sonoma-county.org/counsel

Instructions:

Spring 2012 Deadline: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Contact: Ms. Jennifer C. Klein, Deputy County Counsel, (707) 565-2421

As of Spring 2011, these offices do not have the capacity for interns:

Napa

Website: http://countyofnapa.org/CountyCounsel/