Intern - Law Clerk
City of Fort Collins

Fort Collins, Colorado

This job has expired.


POSITION TITLE: Intern - Law Clerk (Hourly)
REQUISITION #: req5890
DEPARTMENT: City Attorney's Office
LOCATION: CITY HALL
BENEFIT CATEGORY: Variable Hourly View Classifications & Benefits
EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Seasonal Hourly
HOURLY RATE: $15.00 - 20.00 per hour (based on relevant experience)
SELECTION PROCESS: Application deadline is 3:00 p.m. MT on 3/5/2023.

The City of Fort Collins is a bias-conscious employer. We ask that you please avoid the use of photos when submitting a resume and/or an application for employment. You will receive an email acknowledgment when you have successfully submitted an application. Your completed application will be forwarded to the hiring manager. You will be notified if you are selected for further testing or interviews. Please keep your contact information up-to-date. The status of your application will be updated in your applicant profile. Post-offer background check required.
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. The City may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

The Community: The City of Fort Collins sits nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains alongside the banks of the Cache La Poudre River. At 5,000 feet in elevation, residents enjoy a moderate, four-season climate, with an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. With 174,800 residents, Fort Collins is Colorado's fourth-largest city and spans 57 square miles. With the 20 year growth projection, the City of Fort Collins is expected to reach 255,000 residents.

The first people who hunted in this region arrived approximately 11,000 years ago, and Northern Colorado remains an integral part of the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute Nations. European-American trappers and traders arrived by the early 1800s but rarely established permanent settlements. Gold and silver discoveries in the Colorado mountains in the mid-1800s and the prospect of land for farming and ranching attracted people from eastern cities and across the globe to the Colorado Territory, including what would become the town of Fort Collins; an agricultural colony that emerged from its founding days as a military fort. The expansion included the sugar beet industry's growth, which brought new residents whose descendants still live here today, including Mexican-American families from southern Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, as well as Germans from Russia. Since 1879, Fort Collins has been the home of the state's land grant institution, Colorado State University, which currently enrolls 34,000 students. Along with the university, the city's major high-tech and manufacturing companies and breweries attract new residents from all over the country and world. The community's overall social diversity continues to grow.

There are abundant outdoor recreation opportunities available to the many residents who enjoy healthy lifestyles. The nearby Horsetooth Reservoir is a key attraction, as is the Cache La Poudre-North Park Scenic Byway. The Downtown district provides many venues for live music, shopping, dining, and nightlife within the city. Fort Collins is widely considered the Craft Beer Capital of Colorado. The City has a strong appreciation for arts, culture, and entertainment. Various national organizations and magazines recognize Fort Collins as one of the best places to live in the nation.

The City's long list of acknowledgements includes:

  • No. 2 Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America: American Water Works - June 2021
  • No. 5 Best Remote-Ready Cities: Livability.com Jan 2021
  • Top 30 Creative Small Cities: CVSuite - May 2020
  • No. 18 Safest Cities in America: SafeWise - April 2020
  • No. 1 Best Place to Live: Livability.com March 2020
  • No. 9 Most Fitness Friendly Places: SmartAsset - Dec 2019
  • No. 7 Safest Driving Cities: Allstate - June 2019
  • No. 4 Best U.S. Cities to Raise a Family: MarketWatch - April 2019
  • No. 9 Best Performing Cities: Milken Institute - Jan 2019
  • No. 3 U.S. Cities with Highest Economic Confidence: Yahoo - Nov 2018
  • No. 2 Brain Concentration Index: Bloomberg - Nov 2018
  • No. 1 City in America for Cycling: PeopleForBikes-May 2018
  • Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation Award: Alliance for Innovation-April 2018
  • The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award-Nov 2017
  • 18th Best City for Career Opportunities: SmartAsset - Sep 2017
  • 3rd Best College Town to Live in Forever: College Ranker - July 2017
  • 25 Best Towns Ever: Where to Live Now: Outside Magazine - June 2017
  • No. 1 Stable and Growing Housing Market: Realtor.com-June 2017
  • 11th Happiest City in America: Yahoo! Finance - March 2017
  • No. 9 Top 150 Cities for Millennials Report: Millennial Personal Finance - Feb 2017
  • No. 2 Best Cities for Small Business Owners: ValuePenguin - Feb 2017
Why Work For the City of Fort Collins?

- Potential for paid personal leave and paid holidays

- Employee Assistance Program: counseling, legal, and financial assistance

- Wellness program, workout facilities

- Personal & professional learning opportunities plus potential for career mobility

- Collaborative work environment

Job Summary: The Fort Collins City Attorney's Office is offering an in-person/hybrid, paid ($15-$20/hr) summer internship opportunity in 2023 for one (1) 3L student (or 2L with relevant law or government experience).

Position is designed for student to gain broad understanding of in-house municipal law practices with municipal prosecution, land use code amendments, planning/zoning hearings, election policy, diversity/equity/inclusion policy, utility services, and public broadband. Position may be eligible for academic credit as determined by the University. Students completing the program may be considered for post-graduation full-time clerkship and fellowship opportunities.

The City Attorney's Office provides in-house advisory, transactional, and litigation legal services for the City of Fort Collins organization, including advising the City Council and administrators, supporting police services, prosecuting municipal code offenses in municipal court, and advising on telecom, technology and intellectual property matters.

City Competencies
  • Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
  • Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
  • A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
  • A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.

Job Qualifications/Requirements: The City Attorney's Office seeks candidates with exceptional research, writing, and reasoning skills, experience drafting legal memoranda and case summaries, legislative review, strong communication/interpersonal skills, and well-organized, efficient, and capable team members to collaborate with seasoned attorneys in a mentoring atmosphere. Candidates should be proficient with Westlaw and Microsoft Office applications, and enthusiastic about a remote learning experience with exposure to diverse substantive legal projects, including observing and participating at meetings of elected officials. Preference will be given in selection for candidates with prior government experience and affiliation with or interest in practicing law in Colorado.

Additional skill and knowledge testing will be conducted, along with a post-offer background check. Candidates receiving offers will also be required to sign post-offer agreements, including a volunteer application with the City of Fort Collins and a Volunteer Program Agreement regarding confidentiality and conflicts of Interest.

Job Duration: Between 30-40 hour/week position beginning by June 12, 2023 and running up to 10 weeks into August 2023 with a flexible weekly schedule based on work assignments and as coordinated with supervising attorneys.

Location(s): Hybrid - Remote and Fort Collins, Colorado United States

Desired Class Level: Entering 2L, 3L

Additional Information: The City Attorney's Office will conduct electronic interviews (e.g., Zoom) for the position during the week of May 8, 2023 or by other arrangement, as determined by Career Services, with follow up interviews held the week of May 15, as appropriate.

Application Materials to Include:
  • Resume
  • Cover Letter
  • Law School Transcript
  • Undergraduate Transcript
  • Provide case brief of Colorado Court of Appeals decision in Roane v Archuleta, decided December 15, 2022, Case No. 22 CA 0204
  • List of References (up to 3)
The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call (970) 221-6535 for assistance.

Notice Regarding Medical and/or Recreational Marijuana Use:
Because the possession and use of marijuana, whether for medical use or otherwise, constitutes a federal offense and because the City is a drug free workplace, the City will not accommodate the medical use of marijuana and enforces written policy prohibiting working for the City while marijuana is in the body. The fact that state law recognizes medical marijuana as a prescribed, or otherwise permitted, medication does not alter or otherwise change this policy.

The City of Fort Collins is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants are considered for positions for which they have applied without regard to gender (regardless of gender identity or gender expression), race, color, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, age 40 years or older, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, pregnancy or other characteristics protected by law. For the purpose of this City policy "sexual orientation" means a person's actual or perceived orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality.

POST OFFER BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED.

Note: Some information in your application may be public information under the Colorado Open Records Act.

Job Summary: The Fort Collins City Attorney's Office is offering an in-person/hybrid, paid ($15-$20/hr) summer internship opportunity in 2023 for one (1) 3L student (or 2L with relevant law or government experience).

Position is designed for student to gain broad understanding of in-house municipal law practices with municipal prosecution, land use code amendments, planning/zoning hearings, election policy, diversity/equity/inclusion policy, utility services, and public broadband. Position may be eligible for academic credit as determined by the University. Students completing the program may be considered for post-graduation full-time clerkship and fellowship opportunities.

The City Attorney's Office provides in-house advisory, transactional, and litigation legal services for the City of Fort Collins organization, including advising the City Council and administrators, supporting police services, prosecuting municipal code offenses in municipal court, and advising on telecom, technology and intellectual property matters.


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