ARTICLE VI.
LAW DEPARTMENT

Sec. 6.1. City Attorney — Appointment, Removal — Full Time.

The Mayor shall appoint, and may remove, both with the approval of the Council, a City Attorney who shall be the chief legal officer of the City, and who shall serve as such on a full-time basis, with office in the City Hall.

Sec. 6.2. City Attorney — Qualification.

The City Attorney shall be an attorney admitted and qualified to practice in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, and who shall have practiced law within the State of Washington for not less than three (3) years next preceding his or her appointment. The City Attorney shall be chosen by the Mayor on the basis of qualifications as an attorney and legal adviser, with special reference to actual experience in, or knowledge of, municipal law and the duties of office.

Sec. 6.3. City Attorney — Duties — Assistants.

The City Attorney shall be the legal adviser of the City officers; shall conduct all actions and proceedings not in charge of special counsel to which the City may be a party or in which it may be interested and shall perform such other legal services as may be required by the Mayor. The City Attorney shall keep a docket and record of all cases and of their proceedings; shall keep copies of all official written communications, and shall deliver such communications to his or her successor in office. The City Attorney shall have power to appoint and remove professional staff legal assistants who shall also be attorneys admitted and qualified to practice in the Supreme Court of the State of Washington.

Sec. 6.4. Interim and Special Counsel.

The Mayor, with the approval of the Council, may employ special counsel to take care of special matters, or to assist the City Attorney, or to perform on an interim basis the duties of the City Attorney, in the event of a vacancy in the City Attorney office, until selection and appointment of a full-time City Attorney can be made.