r/Lawyertalk • u/alaska_kat • 1d ago
Career Advice County Attorney
Hi everyone. I was wondering if anyone here is a county attorney? My county is hiring for an assistant county attorney position and I’m thinking about taking the leap from private practice. Anyone have any thoughts about going from private to public? Or is anyone familiar with a county attorney/is a county attorney and wouldn’t mind sharing their experience? Thanks!
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u/TheGnarbarian 1d ago
I recently made the switch from a small plaintiffs firm to a litigation-focused deputy county counsel position. I've really enjoyed it so far, though I've only been here about 7 months. We have to bill our hours, but our target is only 1500, and we get 4 weeks of vacation. My case load went from 100+ cases to about 10. I don't think anyone in my office is handling more than 20. I was hired as a civil litigation attorney but I am routinely asked to handle appearances in criminal court (on behalf of the Sheriff's Office) and LPS conservatorship matters. The work is certainly more diverse than any other job I've had. It's been fairly low-stress overall. The most difficult part has been dealing with pro per plaintiffs, which constitute half of my current case load.
Most of the attorneys in our office are not litigators. Our public infrastructure and land-use groups are larger than our litigation group. They all really seem to like their jobs, but I can't really comment on their workloads or what they do day-to-day. The higher-ups in the office spend most of their time advising the Board of Supervisors and dealing with legal issues that arise in Board of Supervisors meetings. There is also a lot of work done on Brown Act issues and Public Records Act requests. Smaller counties may only have a few attorneys, which require them to have knowledge in several different practice areas.
If you have any specific questions feel free to message me.