Civil Division

Our Civil Attorneys Do All of the Following:

The Civil Division handles a variety of tasks for the numerous departments and divisions within the county government, as well as for other government entities, such as school districts, fire districts, county improvement districts and water districts. The key to the majority of the work performed by the Civil Division is based on legal research and analysis. They also represent the State in civil mental health commitment hearing. The Civil Division consists of three attorneys and three support staff.

The Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct (Ethical Rules or ER) govern the conduct and ethical rules of licensed attorneys practicing law in Arizona, including the Deputy County Attorneys of the Mohave County Attorney’s Office.  ER 1.4(e) require the government lawyer (i.e. the Mohave County Attorney and the Deputy County Attorneys) to proactively identify and provide the appropriate client representative with written confirmation of the scope and pertinent details of the government lawyer's representation. The writing must also confirm that the client representative is usually not an individual client of the government law firm.  Further, ER 1.4(f) provides that a government lawyer must advise government officials, as well as any other client representative when appropriate, of the identity of the lawyer's client, the nature of the relationship between the government lawyer and the client representative, the potential impact of the government lawyer's other legal duties on the representation, and the circumstances under which a client representative may be treated as a separate client of the government lawyer.

The following notices provide general guidance regarding the Civil Division’s representation and legal advice to Mohave County, its elected officials, and Mohave County employees.  This includes information regarding the identity of the County Attorney Office’s client, the nature of the relationship between the Deputy County Attorney and Mohave County’s client representative, the potential impact of the Deputy County Attorney’s other legal duties on the representation, and the circumstances under which a Mohave County client representative may be treated as a separate client of the Deputy County Attorney.

Notices:

MCAO Civil Division Engagement Summary

MCAO Civil Division Engagement Notice