Commitment to Service

The mission of the City Attorney’s office is to provide premier legal services to the City in a cost effective and efficient manner and maintain the highest level of confidence and trust with the citizens, city boards, and fellow employees.  We strive to minimize the City’s exposure to legal liability through early intervention by advising city boards and departments on a wide range of issues.  Our pro-active approach to legal advocacy safeguards taxpayer resources from being spent on costs associated with claims and litigation and insures that decisions are made in a lawful manner.

Office Overview

The City Attorney’s office provides services to the City Council, City Manager and other City boards and departments.  We do not provide legal advice to members of the public.

The City Attorney’s office consists of the City Attorney, two Deputy City Attorneys,   three assistant City Attorneys and five support staff.  Our primary responsibility is to advise departments and officials of the laws relating to their duties, draft or review any documents associated with city operations, and represent officials and employees in litigation as well as administrative hearings both locally and before state and federal agencies.   The office also prosecutes Class C misdemeanors in the City of Plano Municipal Court. 

 Our office also has an active collections program to pursue claims for damages to city property and injury to City employees caused by third parties.   Since 2001, over $1.2 Million Dollars has been recovered through this program.

Professional Development and Innovation

Our attorneys have been speakers at a number of national, state and local conferences on legal topics including Immigration and local reform; Medicare Secondary Payer Act, employment local regulation of religious institutions; and many other topics.  Two attorneys are recognized as Local Government Fellows by the International Municipal Lawyers Association.

 In the late 1990’s, the City Attorney’s office collaborated with  the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski  and established Plano’s Loaner Attorney Program. Fulbright’s attorneys volunteer their time prosecuting cases  in Plano’s  Municipal Court under the guidance  and supervision of an Assistant City Attorney.  The volunteer attorneys receive trial experience and the City benefits by receiving a cost free legal services.  Since the program’s inception, the volunteer attorneys have tried over 1,600 trials with a conviction rate of 86%.  The program has allowed the City Attorney’s office to reduce its personnel by one full-time attorney at a cost savings of over $55,000 a year.  This equates to a half million dollars in savings realized by the City since the program’s inception.  

The City Attorney’s office has twice received the Texas City Attorney Association’s Excellence Award.  This award recognizes and encourages the achievements of Texas cities in meeting the challenge of municipal government through innovative problem-solving. Our recognition was based upon our innovative and comprehensive training on a number of topics including ethics for public officials and our comprehensive Employment Life Cycle training. The other recognition was based upon our innovative staffing which included the Loaner Attorney Program. Both of these recognitions are examples of the department’s commitment and dedication to excellent service to the city of Plano.