West Linn’s Kaylie Klein enthusiastic about new city attorney role

When Kaylie Klein saw the job posting for West Linn’s newly-created in-house city attorney position, she got excited.

“I felt this continual pull to invest closer to home and get to know my community more,” said Klein, a West Linn resident of five years.

Having spent close to nine years working at the Oregon Department of Justice, Klein will start her new role as West Linn city attorney in September.

Though she’ll have to build the city’s new legal department from scratch, Klein has relevant experience and helpful colleagues to rely on.

In her first four years at the state’s department of justice, Klein worked as general counsel for the public utility commission, a role that shared many similar aspects to her new role as city attorney. She said the utility commission operated in a manner similar to the City Council, with a body of decision-makers governed by public meeting laws and served by staff. In many commission meetings she was a part of, the commission heard input from several opposing sides. Ultimately she had to listen to all sides, understand their arguments and give the commission the best advice she could offer, much like how she’ll advise the council.

“Though it’s state government, there are a lot of similarities to how local governments run, from public meetings and records to statutory interpretation, drafting ordinances and code, community outreach, internal communication between departments, preventative advising, litigation that comes up,” Klein said.

Her more recent role with the Oregon Attorney General’s Office also taught her to quickly learn and adapt.

She also noted the ability to benefit from advice and experience of other municipal legal departments through organizations like the League of Oregon Cities.

Klein also looks forward to working closely with and learning from City Council and staff.

“As the first in-house attorney, it’s so important that I get to know city leaders and city staff and get to build those strong, professional relationships so I’m a true integrated part of the team,” she said.

Overall, Klein is excited to try to make a difference in the town she calls home. She expects working close to home will help her with the role.

“When you live here, you want all the same things that residents want as well. You want a safe, enjoyable place to live, work and play,” she said. “When you live in a community you’re usually more in tune to the issues and how they affect people and what people think.”

The road to creating and finding an in-house city attorney has been a bumpy one for West Linn. The city put forth multiple ballot measures in recent years seeking to alter or clarify City Charter language related to the office of the city attorney and who has the power to oversee it. After numerous debates, the City Council decided in 2022 to hire an in-house city attorney who would report to the council. The body also decided it would keep some of its current contracted legal representatives on retainer to help with specialized issues. But even after the council made that decision, the city struggled to hire someone for the position.

The city hired a recruitment firm in March 2023 but then announced in September that it “did not find a viable candidate in the first round of searching.”

It later became clear, however, that one hopeful candidate for the position withdrew from consideration after they said they were harassed by then-Councilor Scott Erwin and another candidate withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

Now, both Klein and the city are ready for a new chapter.

“I really look forward to serving the community,” Klein said.