Associate General Counsel

City of New York; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection seeks an experienced attorney to join the General Counsel Division as Associate General Counsel. The AGC will oversee the Policy and Special Projects Unit and manage a team of lawyers handling legislation, final decisions, sealing authority, and rulemaking.

The ideal candidate has strong writing skills, supervisory experience, and a proven ability to guide complex regulatory work in a fast-paced government environment, including strategic planning

Qualifications

• Admission to the New York State Bar and four years of relevant legal experience.
• Eighteen months of supervisory experience over other attorneys.
• Experience in administrative, managerial or executive capacity.
• Excellent writing and editing skills with rigorous standards.

Responsibilities

• Oversee legislation affecting DCWP, review bills, prepare for hearings, and coordinate with external affairs.
• Manage final decisions for DCWP, including research and drafting of complex decisions from trials.
• Supervise sealing authority, draft sealing orders, and improve interdivision workflows.
• Draft cutting-edge rules under the CAPA rulemaking process.
• Oversee priorities including tobacco policy, research for white papers, and reporting in response to orders and laws.

Skills

Managerial experience

Supervisory experience

Strategic planning

Legal writing

Team leadership

Regulatory experience

Education

New York State Bar admission

Job description

**This position may be eligible for remote work for up to 2 days per week, pursuant to the Flexible Work Pilot Program. ** The NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) protects and enhances the daily economic lives of New Yorkers to create thriving communities. DCWP licenses nearly 45,000 businesses in more than 40 industries and enforces key consumer protection and workplace laws that apply to countless more. By supporting businesses through equitable enforcement and access to resources, DCWP protects the marketplace from predatory practices and strives to create a culture of compliance. DCWP empowers consumers and working families by providing the tools and resources they need to achieve financial health and work-life balance. DCWP also conducts research and advocates for public policy that furthers its work to support New York City's communities. For more information about DCWP and its work, call 311 or visit DCWP at NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), sign up for its newsletter, or follow on its social media sites, X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The General Counsel Division (GCD) at DCWP seeks an experienced attorney to serve in the Associate General Counsel (AGC) position overseeing the Policy and Special Projects Unit. Reporting to the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for Legal Counsel and Operations, the AGC will be responsible for overseeing one of the GCD's core internal counseling units, which consists of a team of lawyers who work on legislation, final decisions, DCWP's sealing authority, and rulemaking. More specifically, the AGC will be responsible for:

1. Overseeing legislation affecting DCWP, including reviewing bills from City Council, preparing for Council hearings, testifying at hearings, drafting local and state bills to advance DCWP's policy agenda, and coordinating with DCWP's external affairs division;
2. Managing all final decisions for DCWP, including researching and drafting final decisions for complex recommended decisions from OATH Trials Division covering all laws and rules enforced by the agency;
3. Supervising DCWP's sealing authority, including managing the team selecting targets and drafting sealing orders, improving efficiency and accuracy of interdivision workflows, and resolving sealings through negotiations;
4. Drafting cutting edge rules on consumer protection, in accordance with the City's rulemaking (CAPA) process;
5. Supervising other DCWP priorities, including tobacco and electronic cigarette policy, street vending policy, research for white papers, collections efforts, U-visa certifications, and reports in response to executive orders and local laws.

The ideal candidate is a self-motivated, experienced attorney and manager with superb writing skills and experience with strategic planning and using technology and data to further legal goals. The position requires substantive management and supervisory experience by an individual who enjoys substantial responsibility and thrives in a fast-paced environment. EXECUTIVE AGENCY COUNSEL - 95005

Minimum Qualifications

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work. Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Preferred Skills

• Managerial and supervisory experience, including developing and implementing strategic priorities
• At least eight years of legal experience, of which two should be related to regulatory compliance and enforcement
• Experience providing internal counseling related to legislation, business licenses and taking formal legal action, either through hearings or trials, to enforce against licenses or applications
• Demonstrated ability to multitask, set priorities and work quickly and efficiently
• Interest in or experience in government or public sector work
• Experience with regulatory compliance
• Ability to work in and direct teams in a diverse environment comprised of attorney and non-legal staff
• Interest in working in a hands-on "roll up your sleeves" atmosphere
• Impeccable legal judgment, problem solving skills and ability to resolve issues in a diplomatic and expedient fashion
• Excellent writing and editing skills, appreciation of rigorous standards for written work and interest in growing and developing impeccable legal templates for the agency

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.