Living for the City: Michael J. Mais On Working as a Municipal Attorney

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CAREER CORNER

Living for the City: Michael J. Mais On Working as a Municipal Attorney [by Teresa Talerico] On any given day, Long Beach (CA) Assistant City Attorney Michael J. Mais might find himself advising the Airport Advisory Commission on open meetings law, explaining an intricate zoning regulation to city council members, or interviewing applicants for a summer internship position.

As head of the city attorney’s departmental

government position is to volunteer your time

A: I look for a couple of things. Number one,

counsel division, Mr. Mais provides legal

if you can. If you can get a paying job with a

they have to appear to be smart. They also

advice to city boards and commissions. In

city or county, that’s great, but a lot of times

have to have a good work ethic. I always

addition, one of his favorite parts of the job is

there’s not flexibility in the budget for that.

check the references to make sure the

working with the community.

Our office, for instance, we hire a first-year

people we’re hiring are hard workers. The

law student to work as a summer intern.

third thing I always look for is compatibility

That’s a great way to get your foot in the door

with other people in the office.

“A lot of times we have direct contact with

and see if you like this kind of work. Q: What’s a common stumbling block for new

people that live in the city: the constituents, the business people,” he said. “We’re able

What attracts a lot of people to this job

to help them out of situations they’ve got-

ultimately is the variety of the work you’re

hires?

ten themselves into, give them guidance on

exposed to as a municipal attorney. You have

A: The breadth of knowledge that you need to

which way to go. Just working with the com-

to pretty much know a little bit about a whole

handle any facet of a municipal job. If you’re

munity--we have a lot of opportunities to do

lot of different areas of the law.

litigating, for instance, you have to learn all about the California Tort Claims Act, which

that in our office.” Typically, for a young attorney, if you’re a

governs municipal litigation in the state of

Mr. Mais graduated from the University of

city attorney, civil side, you’re able to handle

California. They really don’t teach that at all

San Diego School of Law in 1978. His first

things that you, in all likelihood, would never

in law school.

job was with the city prosecutor’s office in

be able to handle on your own if you were in a

Long Beach. After a brief stint in private

large private practice. You have to go through

The other stumbling block is most law

practice, he joined the city attorney’s office.

the whole associate thing to work your way

schools don’t teach municipal law at all.

He specializes in municipal law, land use and

up the ladder if you’re in a large firm. With

There are a lot of things that are unique to

planning, aviation law, environmental regula-

most municipal law firms, you don’t really

municipal law, such as the Tort Claims Act,

tions, and other areas.

have the luxury; they get your feet wet real

the California Public Records Act, the Brown

quick. You have a lot more responsibility right

Act, which is the open meeting law. There

Q: What attracted you to working for the city?

out of the box.

are a lot of things that you have to get up to

A: I was born and raised in Long Beach, so

Q: What is one misconception people have

exposed to in law school or a private practice

working for the city seemed natural for me.

about the job?

setting.

city was stability and the benefits you get. I

A: Anybody who starts in our office that

Q: Who’s your favorite lawyer in movies, TV,

felt that working for municipal government

has come from a private practice is totally

or books?

would give me a better chance to spend time

amazed at how much work there is. A lot

with my family; I have four kids. All of those

of people in the private sector and a lot of

A: Definitely Joe Pesci (“My Cousin Vinny”).

things turned out to be true.

new attorneys starting out think, “Oh, it’s a

I watch that movie over and over. Actually

government job, it’s a kick-back job.”

Marisa Tomei had the best part in the movie,

speed on that probably you would never be

The other thing that attracted me to the

but that’s my favorite. I could say Atticus

Q: How does one get into municipal law? Q: What do you look for when hiring? A: The best way to get into a municipal

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Finch, but that’s too corny.


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