Description

The City of McCleary is exploring options for either a firm or individual attorney to provide full 
scale legal services to the City. Proposals will be evaluated on qualifications, experience, ability to 
meet the scope of work, cost of service, method/approach and references.

Please see full RFP for submission details:  https://www.cityofmccleary.com/rfps

Requirements

SCOPE OF WORK: CITY ATTORNEY
The City Attorney provides legal advice, counsel, services, consultation, and opinions to the 
Mayor, City Council and City Management staff, on the full scope of civil municipal legal
assignments, including but not limited to: all matters related to the McCleary Municipal Code; 
state statutes and rules related to Code cities; ordinances and resolutions of the Council; land use 
planning; compliance with City, state and federal regulatory requirements; intergovernmental 
agreements; laws against discrimination; public private development partnerships; construction of 
public works; utility regulations and operations; purchasing and procurement; leasing; purchase 
and sale of property; employment legal matters; public disclosure issues; Open Public Meetings 
Act requirements; municipal risk and tort law. Support of the code enforcement and nuisance 
abatement function is also included in the City Attorney scope, but the City will accept individual 
proposals for City Prosecutor that include the code enforcement and nuisance abatement scope, 
and may choose to include such scope in the City Prosecutor contract if contracted separately. The 
City Attorney’s advice includes methods to avoid civil litigation.

1. Furnishes legal representation at all regular City Council meetings, and at other meetings when 
requested.
2. Appears before courts and administrative agencies to represent the City’s interests. Such 
administrative and court hearings include but are not limited to: appeals to the City Hearing 
Examiner of land use matters, appeals to superior court of final administrative decisions made 
by City officials, and hearings regarding code enforcement and nuisance abatement.
Particularly when opposing parties are represented by legal counsel at such hearings, the City 
may choose to also have legal representation.
3. Advises Code Enforcement on the interpretation and applicability of code provisions, the 
conduct of investigations, civil infraction preparation, nuisance abatement, and related matters.
4. Prepares and reviews ordinances and resolutions, contracts and other documents for legal 
correctness and acceptability.
5. Works cooperatively with the City Prosecutor (if separately contracted), Municipal Research 
Services Center (MRSC) and special legal counsel retained by the City for special projects.
6. Coordinates with other special counsel, as needed, to assure proper management of legal 
issues, and proper coordination and transition of legal issues among special counsel.
7. Assists City officials and employees to maintain awareness of ethical standards and appearance 
of fairness standards, and to avoid potential conflicts of interest, prohibited transactions and the 
appearance of prohibited transactions.
8. Assists City officials and employees to understand the legal roles and duties of their respective 
offices and interrelationships with others.
9. Provides the Mayor and City Council with guidance as to Robert’s Rules of Orders and related 
procedural matters relating to Council meetings.
10. Prepares legal opinions and memoranda at the request of the City or the Council.
11. Provides the Mayor, City Council, and administration a legal perspective and advice on various 
governmental issues.
12. Reviews purchases and bidding documents for legal sufficiency. 
13. Performs other legal services and tasks, as assigned by the Mayor or Designee.

SPECIFICATIONS: CITY ATTORNEY
1. The appointed City Attorney attends all City Council business meetings. Regularly scheduled 
meetings are held at 6:30 pm the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, except in
November and December, when meetings are held the first and third Wednesdays. 
Attendance at various other meetings may be required occasionally. The City Attorney is 
expected to attend all Council business meetings unless excused by the Mayor or designee, so 
that there remains continuity in representation. 
2. The City Attorney may be asked to attend other meetings as needed by the Mayor, City 
Council or city management. 
3. The City Attorney must be available by phone, cell phone and e-mail.
4. Timeliness of response from and accessibility to the City Attorney is an important aspect of the 
service. Accessibility includes the ability to be generally available to attend meetings in person 
and the ability to be reached promptly by telephone. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: CITY ATTORNEY
1. Each attorney in the proposed team must possess a Juris Doctorate degree and have graduated 
from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
2. Each attorney in the proposed team must be a member in good standing of the Washington 
State Bar Association.
3. The proposed designated City Attorney should have a minimum of five years experience in the 
field of general municipal law, with particular experience in land use and public works desired. 

SCOPE OF WORK: EMPLOYMENT/LABOR ATTORNEY
The Employment/Labor Attorney provides legal advice and assistance on matters of employment, 
labor negotiations, policy and litigation that may arise in regards to employment issues. The 
Attorney will assist with workplace conduct or other employment-related issues including internal 
investigations and litigation as necessary. Labor counsel assists the City by ensuring the 
organization follows evolving lawsrelated to hiring, management, employee benefits, workplace 
safety and discipline. Labor counsel provides advice regarding contract interpretation and grievance 
processing and provides representation in arbitration hearings on behalf of the City. Counsel ensures 
the City is made aware of changes in labor and employment law and best practices that impact the 
organization. Through collective bargaining, the City engages in contract negotiations every year 
for three contract units. Labor counsel assists management with negotiations to ensure fair contracts 
are struck while advancing the goals of the organization. 
1. Advising clients on aspects of employment law and providing written legal advice. 
2. Drafting or preparing legal documentation, such as contracts, collective bargaining 
Agreements, policies or employment agreements.  
3. Assist the City with collective bargaining negotiations and attend sessions as needed. 
4. Represent the City in mediation, arbitration, court or other agency hearings in regard to labor 
and employment issues. 
5. Provide advice and assist in internal investigations, employee complaints and risk mitigation. 
6. Other duties as may be requested related to employment issues. 

SPECIFICATIONS: EMPLOYMENT/LABOR ATTORNEY
1. The Employment/Labor Attorney may be asked to attend meetings as needed by the 
Mayor, City Council or city management. 
2. The Attorney must be available by phone, cell phone and e-mail.
3. Timeliness of response from and accessibility to the Attorney is an important aspect of the 
service. Accessibility includes the ability to be generally available to be reached promptly by 
telephone or provide advice in short period of time. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: EMPLOYMENT/LABOR ATTORNEY
1. Each attorney in the proposed team must possess a Juris Doctorate degree and have graduated 
from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
2. Each attorney in the proposed team must be a member in good standing of the Washington 
State Bar Association.
3. The proposed designated Employment/Labor Attorney should have a minimum of five years 
experience in the field of employment law, with particular experience in municipal collective 
bargaining. 

SCOPE OF WORK: CITY PROSECUTOR
City Prosecutor services fall into four categories: a) criminal prosecution in municipal court; b) 
traffic infractions; c) Animal Control issues and Aggressive Dog Hearings (hearings very 
infrequent); and d) support of code enforcement activities, including administrative and court 
hearings (optional scope, the City requires all proposals for City Attorney to include the code 
enforcement and nuisance abatement scope, but will accept individual proposals for City 
Prosecutor which include the code enforcement and nuisance abatement scope, and may choose to 
include such scope in the City Prosecutor contract if contracted separately). The attorney selected 
as prosecutor will be responsible for all aspects of prosecution in the McCleary Municipal Court, 
Animal Control issues and Aggressive Dog hearings, and support of the Code Enforcement 
program (optional), including:
1. Making filing decisions on criminal cases, with input from City police.
2. Advising City police on the conduct of investigations, trial preparation, seizures, and related 
matters.
3. Interviewing witnesses and victims of crimes.
4. Advising victims regarding their rights and responsibilities.
5. Representing the City at arraignments, pretrial hearings, bench and jury trials, and review 
hearings and appeals in connection with criminal misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases 
and certain contested infraction matters, and traffic infractions upon request; and at 
Aggressive Dog hearings.
6. Making appropriate sentencing recommendations and decisions to the court.
7. Preparing and presenting legal memoranda, subpoenas, jury instructions, and other related 
materials.
8. Providing legal research, training, and assistance to City police in criminal matters, including 
statutory interpretation, enforcement issues, and case decisions.
9. Advising Code Enforcement on the interpretation and applicability of code provisions, the 
conduct of investigations, civil infraction preparation, nuisance abatement, and related matters 
(optional scope for City Prosecutor).
10. Representing the City at administrative and court hearings on code enforcement related civil 
infractions and related matters (optional scope for City Prosecutor).
11. Preparing and presenting legal memoranda regarding code enforcement and other related 
materials (optional scope for City Prosecutor).
12. Creating and maintaining appropriate files.

SPECIFICATIONS: CITY ATTORNEY
1. The City contracts with Grays Harbor County District Court for the City Municipal Court 
Services. Court is held the third Friday of each month in Montesano, WA. There are some 
instances where a case will be heard outside of that date if they are in custody. The City has 
averaged 600 cases per year over the past 4 years, most are traffic infractions. 
2. The Attorney may be asked to attend other meetings as needed by the Mayor, City 
Council or city management.
3. The City Attorney must be available by phone, cell phone and e-mail.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: CITY PROSECUTOR
1. Each attorney in the proposed team must possess a Juris Doctorate degree and have graduated 
from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
2. Each attorney in the proposed team must be a member in good standing of the Washington 
State Bar Association.
3. The proposed designated City Prosecutor should have a minimum of five year’s experience in 
prosecution and code enforcement support (code enforcement optional).