About the City Attorney's Office
The City of Austin Law Department is a mid-size, in-house law firm averaging 60 attorneys. The department meets the vast majority of the City's legal needs, ranging from areas as diverse as animal control to zoning. The City Attorney is appointed by the City Manager and cannot provide legal advice to private citizens on personal legal matters. Instead the City Attorney provides legal advice and representation to the Mayor, City Council, City Officers, City Manager, city departments, boards and commissions of the City. Our key activities are to advocate and resolve disputes, to review and develop contracts, and to render opinions and advice.
Over the years, the Law Department has striven to develop "subject-matter" experts in certain demand areas, while maintaining a balance of full-service lawyers to meet the City's overall legal needs. The Department is organized into several functional divisions:
- Litigation Division
- Land Use & Real Estate Division
- Municipal Operations Division
- General Counsel Division
- Criminal Prosecution Division
- Open Government Division
- Utilities and Regulatory Division
- Financial Group
- Administration and Human Resources
Additional Information
- For information on Interim City Attorney Deborah Thomas
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Deborah Thomas currently serves as the Interim City Attorney, since Anne Morgan retired in August of 2024. Deborah’s area of expertise is land use law. She works closely with city departments such as Planning, Development Services, Watershed Protection, Transportation and Public Works, Parks, Austin Resource Recovery, and Housing.Deborah received a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Planning and Administration from the Pennsylvania State University and a Masters degree in Health Administration from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Deborah received her law degree from The University of Houston Law Center.
Deborah worked as a hearings examiner for the Texas Water Commission (now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) from 1989 to 1994 and in 1994 went to work for the City of Austin Law Department. In her time with City, Deborah has served as the Division Chief of the Land Use and Real Estate Division, Deputy City Attorney, and now Acting City Attorney.