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Job Description
Description
City of Palo Alto invites applications for the position of:
Municipal Law Fellow
The Palo Alto Office of the City Attorney invites recent graduates and current judicial clerks to apply for a Municipal Law Fellowship. The Fellowship is a full-time, paid position beginning in Fall 2026 for a limited term of two years. The ideal candidate will have strong writing and speaking skills, a commitment to public service, and a willingness to engage in practical problem solving in a fast-paced environment.
As part of team of ten attorneys and three professional staff, the Municipal Law Fellow will have an opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of municipal practice, including both litigation and advice in constitutional law, land use regulation, utilities regulation, public contracting, labor and employment law, government tort liability, public ethics, and airport law. While assignments and responsibilities may be tailored to the Municipal Law Fellow's specific interests, the Office of the City Attorney is committed to providing the Municipal Law Fellow with the breadth of training, experience, and professional development opportunities necessary to launch a successful career in public service.
What’s in It for You- Competitive compensation plan and comprehensive benefits
- A collaborative, values-driven workplace
- Professional development opportunities and other perks
- The chance to make a real impact in public service
Essential Duties
Representative duties and responsibilities of the past Municipal Law Fellows may include but not limited to:- Updating local zoning code and drafting an emergency resolution to support development of affordable housing and other forms of shelter.
- Researching and drafting a firearm safety ordinance, drawing on feedback from local legislators and advocates.
- Supporting local publicly owned utility in initiating programs responsive to effects of climate change, including by responding to drought levels and supporting customers’ energy efficiency.
- Advising public officials on identifying and managing conflicts of interest.
- Ensuring City department practices comply with state and federal law, covering topics such as police and fire services, open meetings, and public records.
- Revising internal City policies for constitutional compliance, such as City social media policies.
- Reviewing state and local law and contracts to respond to questions of liability.
- Responding to state and federal inquiries to promote physical and cyber security.
- Working with various City departments to negotiate with and/or respond to the needs of private entity stakeholders, including universities, property developers, and local interest groups.
- Advice to the City's zoning code enforcement team and representation in administrative hearings.
- Researching legal issues and options for a Safe Parking program to support individuals living in vehicles.
- Drafting an ordinance incentivizing all- electric power for new construction.
- Assisting with City records management, including the production of records pursuant to subpoenas or discovery requests.
Minimum Qualifications
Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities, which would typically be acquired through:- Juris Doctorate. Applicants must be law students in their final year at an accredited law school or joint degree program, current judicial clerks recently graduated from an accredited law school, or attorneys in their first year of practice.
Licensing Requirements:
Member in good standing with the California Bar or willingness to seek admission to the California Bar upon eligibility. Failure to gain admission to the California Bar within one year of appointment may result in separation.
Supplemental Information
The Selection Process:- Job posting will be open until filled with the first review of applications on or about January 26, 2026. Applicants are asked to provide a resume, cover letter, transcript, references, and writing sample. Please direct any questions to city.attorney@paloalto.gov.
- Applicants will receive email recruitment status notifications. Governmentjobs.com account also has notification status updates.
- Depending on the number of qualified applications received, the examination process may consist of supplemental questions, online assessment, written examination, practical performance, oral examination, or any combination to determine which candidate will move forward in the hiring process.
- The screening process for this position typically may include a virtual recorded interview and/or panel interviews preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
Our online application system is provided by NeoGov. If you have problems while applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.
The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO). In compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both perspective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.
See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.
Closing Date/Time: 1/26/2026 11:59 PM Pacific - Competitive compensation plan and comprehensive benefits
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ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Palo Alto
Show moreThe Community
The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-NewsCity Government
Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.
Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.
Join an Award Winning Team
Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.
Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."
Contact Us
Phone: 650-329-2376
Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov
Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map
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