Meet Our Attorneys

The primary role of the City Attorney is to act as the legal adviser to, and attorney and counselor for, the municipality and all of its officers in matters relating to their official duties. Along with the City Manager and City Clerk, City Attorney is one of three positions filled by the City Commission.

Isabelle Lopez, who was appointed City Attorney in 2014, first joined the city in 2011 as Assistant City Attorney, where she was primary counsel to the Planning & Zoning Board, Historic Architectural Review Board and the Code Enforcement Adjustments & Appeals Board, as well as, litigation counsel on matters regarding land use and permitting. 

As the City Attorney, Ms. Lopez provides the City Commission, its boards and committees, as well as City staff, with a wide range of legal representation on issues ranging from contracts to constitutional law. Ms. Lopez attends all meetings of the City Commission, Historic Architectural Review Board, Planning and Zoning Board, and the Corridor Review Committee. Ms. Lopez also prosecutes criminal and non-criminal City ordinance violations in the County Court system.

Expertise

Her expertise in all aspects of municipal law includes a broad range of practices, from public hearings, constitutional claims and eminent domain, to compliance, code enforcement, special assessments, zoning and permitting. In addition, Ms. Lopez is experienced in the subjects of:

• Contracts and procurement
• Interlocal agreements
• Land use
• Ordinance drafting
• Prosecution of local ordinance citations

Certifications & Previous Positions

Board Certified in City, County, and Local Government Law since 2004, Ms. Lopez is a Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator, and Certified County and Circuit Civil Mediator. She is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell peer review, and has been listed in numerous publications including Florida Trend Magazine’s Florida Legal Elite, Jacksonville Magazine, and 904 Magazine.

Ms. Lopez is a past President of the St. Johns County Bar Association, and a founding member of the St. Augustine Inns of Court.  She served two terms on the Florida Bar’s City, County, and Local Government Law Board Certification Committee, and was the Chair of its annual three-day Board Certification Review Course from 2017 to 2023.  She currently serves as a member of the Florida Municipal Attorneys Association steering committee.

Prior to her positions with the city, she was a partner at two statewide law firms and worked with the Florida Department of Transportation and St. Johns County. She is a graduate of McGill University and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida.

April Owen began her legal career as a New Jersey Superior Court law clerk for the Honorable Michele M. Fox.  Following her clerkship in 2014, Mrs. Owen was an Assistant Prosecutor in New Jersey, before she served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Guam and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in North Carolina.  Mrs. Owen was previously an Army officer in the Florida National Guard before joining the United States Army Reserves Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps.  Mrs. Owen holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from the University of Tampa where she graduated cum laude and received her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School.

Board Advisor & Other Responsibilities

In addition to assisting the City Attorney in all assigned matters, the Assistant City Attorney serves as the primary advisor to the St. Augustine Police Department, Code Enforcement, Adjustments, and Appeals Board, the General Employees' Retirement Board, the Police Officers' Retirement Fund Board, the Lincolnville CRA Steering Committee, and the Street Tree Advisory Committee. 

The Assistant City Attorney prosecutes all municipal code violations as well as coordinates and assists outside counsel in multiple litigation matters involving the City.