Staff Attorney, Town of Mount Pleasant
JOB SUMMARY The Staff Attorney provides legal services and support on Town matters to the Corporation Counsel, Town Council, designated Boards and Commissions, and management. The position assists in representing the Town in administrative hearings, municipal court cases and negotiations, identifying potential legal issues with Town operations, providing legal guidance, and drafting ordinances, contracts and various other legal documents.
The position also assists in providing legal support for matters arising under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including advising departments on compliance, responding to complex public records requests, and assisting in developing policies and procedures to ensure consistent administration of FOIA requirements.
The position requires the ability to: • Analyze complex legal issues and apply legal principles to a wide variety of factual situations. • Interpret and apply federal, state, and local laws, regulations, court decisions, ordinances, and policies. • Exercise sound judgment, discretion, and independent decision-making when providing legal advice and recommendations. • Conduct legal research, evaluate information from multiple sources, and develop legally defensible conclusions.
• Knowledge of principles and practices relevant to municipal government functions with experience in a broad range of municipal law including land use, public safety, employment law, and the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. • Knowledge of electronic records management systems, document management platforms, and public records request management software, including workflow management, reporting functions, and best practices for administering and tracking Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
• Knowledge of state and federal laws as they apply to local government issues and employment law; • Knowledge of basic government processes, both legislative and administrative; • Knowledge of legal research principles and methods, as well as methods of qualitative and quantitative research. • Knowledge of principles and practices of program administration and management. • Knowledge of principles and applications of critical thinking and analysis. • Knowledge of principles and techniques of effective oral presentations. • Knowledge of principles and practices of conflict resolution.
• Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws, codes, regulations. • Knowledge of customer service principles. • Skill in providing legal fact finding, research and analysis. • Skill in organizing, interpreting, and applying legal principles. • Skill in providing legal advice, counsel, or representation. • Skill in interpreting, monitoring, and reporting legal information and statistics. • Skill in researching industry trends, solutions, and best practices.