Deputy General Counsel

State of Missouri; Jefferson City (MO); On-site; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Missouri seeks a Deputy General Counsel – Administration in Jefferson City. You will support the Department of Economic Development, providing legal advice on tax credits, grants, and program guidelines, and draft procurement and contracts.

The role requires an accredited law degree, Missouri Bar standing, and at least five years of legal practice. In-person work in Jefferson City with a collaborative legal team.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited law school.
• Be a member in good standing of The Missouri Bar.
• Minimum of five years’ experience practicing law.

Responsibilities

• Provide legal advice (oral and written) to non-attorney Department of Economic Development team members on tax credits, tax increment financing, grants and other tax incentives.
• Advise on implementation of new DED programs, including reviewing guidelines and forms.
• Legislative drafting and assisting in review of pending legislation affecting DED.
• Draft templates for agreements, certifications, and other legal documents; increase clarity.
• Advise on record retention laws and assist with retention schedules.
• Conduct legal due diligence checks on applicants for incentives.
• Draft and review procurement documents and advise on procurement requirements under state law.
• Analyze potential program violations and potential litigation referrals.
• Respond to records requests and subpoenas; redact records.
• Note: litigation experience can be useful for risk assessment.

Skills

Issue spotting

Public service mindset

Team collaboration

Education

Law degree

Job description

Deputy General Counsel – Administration

Reports to the General Counsel in Jefferson City

Location: Harry S. Truman Building, 301 W. High Street, Jefferson City, MO

Salary Range $100,000 - $110,000 (commensurate with experience)

The salary indicated represents a base pay rate. If the individual selected is eligible for a pay differential (e.g. years of service), it will be added to the total compensation in your paycheck. A pay differential does not raise your base pay.

Scheduled Hours: M-F, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (flexible)

Full-time Salaried, Benefit Eligible

Why You’ll Love This Position

You’ll work on a small, collaborative team of attorneys supporting the Department of Economic Development’s mission to create greater opportunities for Missourians to prosper, operating under the values of exceptional service, creative solutions, and good stewardship of state and federal dollars and incentives.

This is a highly responsible position, reporting to the Department's General Counsel. The Deputy General Counsel responsibilities include:

• Provide legal advice (oral and written) to non-attorney Department of Economic Development (DED) team members on numerous issues affecting the day-to-day operations and activities of DED's economic and community development programs (e.g. tax credits, tax increment financing, grants, and other tax incentives), drawing upon statutory construction, administrative law, contract law, and other skills.
• Advise non-attorney team members on implementation of new DED programs, including reviewing and editing program guidelines and forms, and ensuring program requirements, including requirements applicable to multiple DED programs, are included. (DED will potentially be setting up more than five new programs from the recent legislative session).
• Legislative drafting and assisting in the review of pending legislation affecting DED.
• Serve as part of legal team charged with setting up templates for agreements, certifications, and other legal documents. This will include eliminating legalese and increasing clarity.
• Advise other members of the Divisions that serve the rest of DED, including fiscal, budget, legislative, and human resources.
• Conduct legal due diligence checks on applicants for incentives.
• Draft portions of procurement documents, review and approve procurement documents, and advise team members about the varying procurement requirements under state law.
• Analyze potential program agreement violations for action by DED, repayment demands, and possible referral for litigation.
• Draft administrative rules and amendments.
• Respond to or assist in responding to records requests and subpoenas, including reviewing and redacting records.
• Advise team members about record retention laws and assist in interpreting or seeking modifications to applicable retention schedules.
• Perform other work, as assigned.
• A note about litigation: DED is currently rarely involved in litigation and is typically represented by the Attorney General's Office (AGO) or outside counsel selected by the AGO. However, litigation experience can be useful in risk assessment and other responsibilities of the position.
• The Legal Team: In addition to the General Counsel, there is a Senior Counsel. Both the Deputy General Counsel and the Senior Counsel report to the General Counsel. Because of the size of the Legal Team, sharing responsibilities and having the ability to back each other up is vital. The actual responsibilities may depend on the experience, skills, and interest of the successful candidate.

Required

• Graduation from an accredited law school.
• Be a member in good standing of The Missouri Bar.
• Minimum of five years’ experience practicing law.
• This position is in person in DED’s Jefferson City office.

Preferred

• Previous in-house counsel to a government entity, or other government experience.
• Ability to proactively identify legal issues.
• A desire for public service and for learning.
• DED pays annual bar dues and although free Continued Legal Education (CLE) is encouraged, will pay for reasonable CLE expenses.
• DED is a qualifying Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer.
• The State of Missouri offers an excellent benefits package that includes a defined pension plan, generous amounts of leave and holiday time, and eligibility for health insurance coverage. Your total compensation would be more than the dollars you'd receive in your paycheck. To help demonstrate the value of working for the State of Missouri, we have created an interactive Total Compensation Calculator. This tool provides a comprehensive view of benefits and more that are offered to prospective employees. The Total Compensation Calculator and other applicant resources can be found here.

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