About Us
The Law Department represents, as its only client, the City of Independence. Under the direction of the City Counselor, the Law Department defends lawsuits against the City; drafts ordinances, contracts and other legal agreements for the City; provides legal advice to the City staff and officials on a multitude of issues; and prosecutes municipal ordinance violations. The Law Department advises the City Council, Mayor, City Manager, boards, commissions, and all of the departments of the City in matters such as contract disputes, personal injury and civil rights cases in which the City is a party. Counselors within the Law Department practice in areas of litigation, tort, contracts, real estate, land use, environmental, taxation, collections, labor relations, workers compensation, administrative and constitutional law.Prosecutor
All City ordinance violations are prosecuted by the City Prosecutor through the Independence Municipal Court. Thousands of municipal ordinance violations are investigated and prosecuted each year. The Domestic Violence Prosecutor handles the prosecution of cases in the Domestic Violence Court.
Claims
The Law Department processes damage claims made against the City for personal
injury and property damage. Each claim is sent through a review process which can
take several weeks. This somewhat lengthy period of time for processing claims is
a result of special procedures which must be followed when dealing with public funds.
To learn more about the claim process, go to Filing a Claim.