City Commission Names New City Attorney

March 01, 2018

Last night, the Tallahassee City Commission voted to offer the position of City Attorney to Cassandra K. Jackson. Prior to her appointment, Jackson served as the Interim City Attorney, following the retirement of Lewis Shelley in January, and Deputy City Attorney for two years before that.

Jackson received Bachelor and Juris Doctorate degrees with high honors from Stetson University. Currently, she is a member of The Florida Bar, United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Jackson is also an active member of the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and the Tallahassee Bar Association.

Since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1987, Jackson has devoted her career to working as a public servant for local and state governments. She has served as an Assistant City Attorney for the cities of St. Petersburg, Lakeland and Tallahassee and as Assistant County Attorney for Leon County, specializing in labor relations, personnel and employment discrimination matters.

In 1998, Jackson was appointed by Governor Lawton Chiles as a Commissioner on the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission and was subsequently appointed as Deputy General Counsel to the Florida Department of Management Services.

In 2015, Jackson joined a unique group of Florida attorneys when she became a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in City, County and Local Government Law. Members of this Board represent less than one percent of all licensed attorneys in Florida.

The City Attorney's office provides legal counsel and representation to the Tallahassee City Commission, City Manager, City departments and City-appointed boards and commissions in any suit, action or proceeding filed by or against them. The office provides legal advice at Commission meetings, performs legal research, offers advisory opinions and responds to requests from the Commission and City staff to draft or review contracts, ordinances and other legal documents. The office also provides litigation services to the Commission and officers, as well as employees of the City.

For more information about the Office of the City Attorney, please visit Talgov.com