The Litigation Division represents the City of Austin, City officials and City employees in civil litigation matters. Assistant City Attorneys defend the City of Austin and its employees in cases venued in state and federal court and all appellate courts. The types of cases include civil rights, contract disputes, personal injury, employment, and land use matters. The Division also initiates legal action to recover damages to city property, to enforce code requirements, to abate criminal nuisances, condemn property needed for a public purpose, to collect delinquent hotel taxes, to protect the environment and to enforce anti-discrimination laws related to fair housing. The Division also processes and adjusts between 800-900 pre-suit insurance claims through the City’s tort liability self-insurance.
The General Litigation group has two claims investigators who investigate and process approximately 700 claims against the City per year.
AFFIRMATIVE LITIGATION
The City Attorney created the Affirmative Litigation group in November 2008. This Division focuses on protecting the health and safety of Austin citizens. The Affirmative Litigation Division initiates legal action to recover damages to city property, to enforce code requirements, to condemn property needed for a public purpose, to collect delinquent hotel taxes and to protect the environment. The Division also assists Austin Police Department with nuisance abatement cases, and assists the Fair Housing Office with discrimination complaints.
- About Meghan Riley, General Litigation Division Chief
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Meghan serves as Division Chief for Litigation. She hails from Minnesota where she braved several brisk winters to receive her J.D. from the University of Minnesota with high honors.
After eight years as an Assistant City Attorney for Minnesota’s capital city, Meghan joined the City of Austin in 2007 as an Assistant City Attorney in the Litigation Division. Later, she also served in the office’s General Counsel division, where she advised city departments and officials on sensitive labor and employment law matters.
In 2014, Meghan became Division Chief of Litigation, a division of 23 attorneys and professionals who represent the City in federal and state civil litigation, oversee the city's self-insured tort liability program, and coordinate the City's participation in amicus brief efforts. The division represents the City in high-profile appeals as well, and in 2023, prevailed before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case involving the First Amendment and the City’s regulation of commercial billboards.
Meghan serves on the steering committee for the state bar’s Texas Minority Counsel Program and is a member of the Travis County Women Lawyers Association, a frequent presenter at events held by the International Municipal Lawyers Association, and a member of the Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court. In 2022, she received the Burk E. Delventhal Legal Advocacy Award, a national award recognizing a leader who has advanced the interests of local government and who, through litigation, legislative work, and educational efforts, has promoted the health, safety, and welfare of the community the attorney serves. Meghan is licensed to practice in Texas, Minnesota, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 5th and 8th Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court..