Mission
We
are a team of legal professionals committed to providing
excellent legal services to the City of Atlanta. This work
will be accomplished through
- an environment that is supportive and empowering;
- a team that is proactive and integrated into the
day-to-day activities of the City;
- a staff that consistently provides top quality customer
service and exhibits the highest degree of professionalism
and ethical behavior; and
- a department with an exemplary reputation that is
supported by all of the staff.
Vision
We will be
viewed as a "best in class" municipal law department – an
exemplary benchmark. We will have the trust of our clients and
be known within the legal community as lawyers who provide
excellent legal advice and perform excellent legal work that
is timely, thorough and continuously improving. We will be
considered an employer of choice for anyone seeking to perform
legal work in the public sector. Our staff will be
appropriately compensated, provided with professional
development opportunities, have access to solid
technology that creates efficiency and effectiveness in the
practice of law. We will have a staff that is proud to be part
of this organization and who always seeks to enhance the
quality of our work and of our professional reputation.
Office of City
Attorney
The City Attorney is the chief
legal advisor for the City of Atlanta and is the director of
the Department of Law. As chief legal advisor for the City of
Atlanta, the City Attorney is responsible for providing legal
counsel to the Mayor and to the Atlanta City Council. The
Department of Law is vested with exclusive authority and
jurisdiction in all matters of law relating to the executive
branch of the city government and every department, bureau,
office, institution, commission, committee, board and other
agency thereof. The Department of Law litigates all civil
matters on behalf of the City of Atlanta; provides for the
defense of city officers and employees in certain situations
involving civil litigation arising out of the performance of
official duties of the officer or employee; provides written
legal opinions on questions of law connected with the interest
of the City of Atlanta to the Mayor, any department head, and
president or member of the Atlanta City Council; attends all
meetings of the Atlanta City Council and meetings of the
committees of the council as requested; supervises,
administers and performs all claims work under O.C.G.A. §
34-9-1, et seq., and performs any other services as are
consistent with the usual and customary duties of municipal
corporation counsel.
The Department of Law does not provide legal advice to
members of the public. The Department of Law is limited to
providing legal advice, counsel and representation to the
Mayor, City Council members, City officials and departments in
all civil matters regarding the City of Atlanta,
Georgia.
Finance and Real
Estate
Serena Sparks, Deputy City
Attorney
This group is responsible for providing legal
oversight of financial and procurement matters, commercial
transactions, and real estate
transactions.
Litigation and
Employment
Jerry L. DeLoach, Deputy
City Attorney
The Litigation and Employment Practice
Group handles all lawsuits in which the City, any of its
employees, elected officials or its agents are named as
defendants, and that have not been assigned to outside
counsel. This includes all tort litigation and constitutional
claims, whether filed in federal or state court. In addition
to handling lawsuits, Litigation and Employment provides
substantive legal advice on employment matters, workers
compensation, and to the public safety entities which include
Police, Fire, Corrections and Courts.
Litigation and Employment also includes the Claims
Department which facilitates the handling of claims which are
filed against the City as required by state
law.
Government Counsel,
Development and Infrastructure
Stacey
Abrams, Deputy City Attorney
This group provides
legal counsel to the Office of the Mayor, City Council,
Departments of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs;
Planning and Community Development; Public Works; Watershed
Management, Information Technology, and related authorities,
boards and commissions in the arrears of economic development,
public infrastructure and general municipal legal
matters.
Aviation
Jennifer Tetrick, Deputy
City Attorney
The Aviation Practice Group acts as
Counsel to the City of Atlanta’s Hartsfield
Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Members of the
Practice Group represent the City in a wide variety of
transactions concerning the Airport including transactions
with airlines, vendors and contractors doing business with the
Airport.
Currently, the members of the Aviation Practice Group are
working on legal matters related to the $5.4 billion expansion
of the Airport. The Hartsfield Jackson Development
Program is a 10-year project that includes the construction of
a 5th Runway, a new International terminal, enhanced road
& rail access, additional packaging facilities and a new
Consolidated Rental Car Facility.
Compliance
Jeffrey B. Norman,
Compliance Manager
The Compliance Unit is
responsible for proactively evaluating, reviewing, and
enhancing compliance standards and processes within the City
of Atlanta, with a centralized focus on preventing and
reducing the potential for municipal liability with regard to
the City of Atlanta’s compliance with federal, state, and
local laws and regulations. The Compliance Unit is also
responsible for conducting thorough and impartial
investigations into the affairs of any city department, board,
bureau, commission, institution, authority, retirement system,
or any other instrumentality or agency of the city. These
investigations may also include any city official,
employee or any person or organization to the extent that the
person or organization shall have had any dealings with the
City of Atlanta or any department, board, bureau, commission,
institution, authority, retirement system, or other
instrumentality or agency of the city.
Administration
Laurette W. Cadres,
Business Manager
The Administrative unit is
responsible for assisting the City Attorney in managing the
day-to-day administrative functions of the Law
Department. This includes management and oversight of the
department's Financial and Budget processes, Human Resources,
Technology and Office
operations.