There shall be a Department of Law, the head of which shall be the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall be an attorney-at-law, qualified to practice law in the State of Ohio, appointed by the City Manager subject to approval by a majority vote of City Council.
A law firm, as well as an individual attorney, may serve as the City Attorney and in that case, the person designated by the law firm shall serve with the title of City Attorney, and other persons so designated may serve as Acting City Attorney with all the power, duties and functions of the City Attorney when the person designated as City Attorney is not available. The City Attorney shall serve as the chief legal advisor to Council, the City Manager, and all city departments, divisions, offices and other agencies, boards or commissions. The City Attorney shall represent the City in all legal proceedings and shall perform any other duties prescribed by this Charter, by ordinance or resolution or by the Administrative Code or the general laws of Ohio, except that the person or firm holding the office of City Attorney shall not be required to represent any school district or any other unit of government, other than the City, by virtue of holding the office of City Attorney. When necessary, the Council may appoint special legal counsel to represent the City, together with or in place of the City Attorney. The City Attorney shall be present at all Council meetings, and may be requested to attend any Commission and Board meetings. The person or firm holding the office of City Attorney shall not be required to be resident of the City.