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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.