[G.O. No. 994, § 3; G.O. No. 1635, § V; G.O. No. 1662, § 1]
The Town Attorney, in addition to such other functions, powers and duties as may be otherwise delegated to the attorney by the Charter and ordinances adopted or to be adopted at direction of the Mayor, Town Council or Town Administrator, shall perform the following duties:
(a) 
Ordinary duties.
(1) 
The attorney shall be the legal advisor of the Town government.
(2) 
The attorney shall advise the Mayor, Town Council, Town Administrator and other committees, boards, commissions or other bodies established by statute, this Code or other ordinances as part of the municipal organization (except the Board of Health and the Westfield Municipal Library which are dealt with elsewhere), on any and all legal matters relating to the Town government.
(3) 
The attorney shall attend all meetings of the Town Council either regular or special and all conferences of the Town Council as requested.
(4) 
The attorney shall prepare or supervise the preparation and approve all ordinances and resolutions as may be required of the attorney.
(5) 
The attorney shall prepare or supervise the preparation of all contracts, deeds and documents, except for those that are unusually complex or lengthy, required by the Town Council and Town Administrator. The attorney shall conduct such correspondence in connection therewith as may be necessary to advance such matters or as may be requested by the Town Council and Town Administrator.
(b) 
Extraordinary duties. The attorney shall:
(1) 
Conduct the purchase and sale of interest in real property including land exchanges.
(2) 
Search and clear titles.
(3) 
Prosecute cases before the Municipal Court to enforce the Town Code, housing code, or zoning ordinance.
(4) 
Represent the Board of Health or library on special projects requiring representation.
(5) 
Prepare or deal with complex or lengthy contracts and ordinances.
(6) 
Conduct arbitration where the Town or its boards, employees, commissions or other bodies are a party.
(7) 
Conduct litigation in the courts or appearance before state agencies where the Town or any department, officer, or employee thereof, shall be a party by virtue of official relationship, where the attorney shall be attorney of record, except claims defended by special counsel or counsel furnished by insurers. No affirmative legal action as a plaintiff or appellant shall be instituted without prior approval by Town Council.
(8) 
Conduct real property tax appeals at all levels.
(9) 
Deal with disputes requiring communication or negotiation with opposing counsel.
(10) 
Represent the department heads in disciplinary hearings.
(11) 
Deal with insurance representation issues.
(12) 
Deal with any and all other special projects not included under ordinary duties and assigned by the Mayor, Town Council as a whole, or the Town Administrator.
[G.O. No. 994, § 3; G.O. No. 1635, § VI; G.O. No. 1662, § 1]
The Town Attorney shall receive an annual salary fixed by the Town Council for the performance of the ordinary duties described above in Section 2-81. Said attorney shall receive additional compensation on an hourly fee basis at a rate set from time to time by the Town Council for extraordinary duties as described in Section 2-81 beyond the scope of the ordinary duties of such position.
[G.O. No. 994, § 3; G.O. No. 1662, § 1]
The Town Attorney shall have the power with the approval of the Mayor and Town Council and within the limits of available appropriations, to engage such additional or specialized counsel to aid in the performance of the functions of the department and in the preparation, trial or appeal of such cases or proceedings of importance in which the Town may be a party or be interested as he may deem necessary. The Town Council may engage such additional or specialized counsel as it deems necessary.
[G.O. No. 994, § 3; G.O. No. 1662, § 1]
The Town Attorney shall not without the approval of Town Council, be empowered to compromise, settle or adjust any rights, claims or demands or causes of action in favor of or against the Town, nor to permit, offer or confess judgment against the Town, nor to accept any offer or judgment in favor of the Town; provided that this section shall not operate to limit or abridge the discretion of the Town Attorney in regard to the proper conduct of trial on any action or proceeding or to deprive the Town Attorney of the powers and privileges ordinarily exercised in judicial proceedings by counsel acting for private clients.
[G.O. No. 994, § 3; G.O. No. 1662, § 1; Ord. No. 1679, § I]
There shall be a Municipal Prosecutor of the Town. The Municipal Prosecutor, who shall be an attorney-at-law of the State, shall be under the supervision of the Attorney General or County Prosecutor, who may represent the State, County, or Town in any matter within the jurisdiction of the central Municipal Court or any other Municipal Court. The Municipal Prosecutor shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Town Council for a term of one year and shall receive such annual compensation as shall be provided in the salary ordinance.
[G.O. No. 994, § 3; G.O. No. 1662, § 1]
The Municipal Prosecutor shall appear on behalf of the Town on all matters before the judge of the Municipal Court when the public interest requires and on all cases and appeals involving the violation of a municipal ordinance and in such other and different matters as may be required by the rules of the State Supreme Court. When the validity of an ordinance is questioned, the Municipal Prosecutor shall advise the Town Attorney and shall be subject to the directions of the Town Attorney.
[G.O. No. 1115, § 1; G.O. No. 1624, § I; G.O. No. 1662, § 1; G.O. No. 1691, § I]
(a) 
There shall be a Public Defender of the Town, who shall represent such indigent defendants before the Municipal Court of the Town as shall be assigned to him by the Town Magistrate in the exercise of the Magistrate's inherent discretion to assign free counsel to indigent defendants whenever justice so requires. The Public Defender shall be an attorney at law of the State, shall be appointed by the Mayor, with the consent of the Council, for a term of one year and shall receive such fixed compensation as shall be provided by the salary ordinance.
(b) 
A person applying for representation by the Public Defender shall pay an application fee of $200. The municipal Magistrate may waive this required application fee, in whole or in part, if the Magistrate determines in his discretion that the application fee represents an unreasonable burden on the person seeking representation.
[G.O. No. 1245, § I; G.O. No. 1662, § 1]
There shall be a Labor Attorney of the Town of Westfield who shall represent the Town in all matters concerning labor negotiations, contract preparation, litigation involving labor or personnel relations, and other related legal matters and such additional matters in the field of labor relations, employees and personnel as shall be assigned to the Labor Attorney by the Town Attorney or Town Administrator. The Town Labor Attorney shall be an attorney-at-law of the State of New Jersey, shall be appointed by the Mayor with the consent of the Town Council for a term of one year and shall receive such fixed annual compensation as shall be provided by the annual salary ordinance.