Elder Abuse Attorney (Civil Litigation)

State of California; California; On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) within the State of California seeks a Deputy Attorney General to lead civil investigations and enforcement actions against nursing home chains and related entities. You will analyze data, supervise case strategy, and collaborate with medical experts to uphold health care laws and protect vulnerable residents.

The role requires travel statewide, strong judgment, professionalism, and civil litigation experience.

Qualifications

• Excellent analytical, written and oral communication and legal research skills.
• Civil litigation experience, including deposition and complex motion work, is preferred.
• Experience working with medical records and/or healthcare industry, elder law, or medical malpractice is helpful but not required.
• Ideal applicants are mission driven, take initiative, organized, meet deadlines, work well with peers and supervisors, and have enthusiasm for the work.

Responsibilities

• Representing the People of the State of California through all phases of civil litigation from investigation to initiation of litigation to trial and appeal.
• Managing your own case load, including development of case strategy in collaboration with FET team and experts.
• Analyzing staffing data, quality of care data, and reports of abuse or neglect to identify trends and patterns indicative of systemic neglect across California nursing homes and nursing home chains.
• Working closely with leading experts in the field to analyze evidence and identify patterns and trends of violations of applicable laws and regulations which expose vulnerable nursing home residents to preventable harm, injuries, neglect, and abuse.
• Conducting investigations pursuant to Government Code section 11180 et. seq. using tools such as investigative subpoenas and witness interviews.
• Conducting discovery and litigating matters in state court pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 17200 and 17500, including drafting complaints, drafting and enforcing written discovery, taking depositions, preparing and arguing dispositive motions.
• Conducting Operation SAFE inspections in long term care facilities with interdisciplinary team to investigate complaints of neglect and abuse.
• Evaluating complaints from residents, resident responsible parties, state agencies, and local agencies related to potential neglect or abuse and initiating criminal or civil investigations as appropriate.

Skills

Analytical ability

Written & oral communication

Legal research

Civil litigation experience

Job description

Are you interested in protecting California's elder and vulnerable adult population from abuse and neglect? Are you interested in investigating unfair and unlawful business practices that place nursing home residents at risk of abuse or neglect?

The Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse (DMFEA) works diligently to protect residents in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from abuse or neglect. Within DMFEA, the Facilities Enforcement Team (FET) plays a unique and critically important role in ensuring the safety and care of elderly and dependent persons residing in nursing homes and other long term care facilities by investigating systemic under staffing, fraud, abuse, and neglect committed by nursing homes and their ownership. As a member of FET, this Deputy Attorney General Position leads civil investigations and enforcement actions against nursing home chains, including owners, operating entities, and related party entities, to enforce state and federal laws and regulations regarding staffing and quality of care. FET’s investigations may be conducted pursuant to Government Code section 11180, et. seq., and FET’s cases are venued in state courts, including actions brought pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 17200 and 17500.

Duties Include:

• Representing the People of the State of California through all phases of civil litigation from investigation to initiation of litigation to trial and appeal;
• Managing your own case load, including development of case strategy in collaboration with FET team and experts;
• Analyzing staffing data, quality of care data, and reports of abuse or neglect to identify trends and patterns indicative of systemic neglect across California nursing homes and nursing home chains;
• Working closely with leading experts in the field to analyze evidence and identify patterns and trends of violations of applicable laws and regulations which expose vulnerable nursing home residents to preventable harm, injuries, neglect, and abuse;
• Conducting investigations pursuant to Government Code section 11180 et. seq. using tools such as investigative subpoenas and witness interviews;
• Conducting discovery and litigating matters in state court pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 17200 and 17500, including drafting complaints, drafting and enforcing written discovery, taking depositions, preparing and arguing dispositive motions;
• Conducting Operation SAFE inspections in long term care facilities with interdisciplinary team to investigate complaints of neglect and abuse;
• Evaluating complaints from residents, resident responsible parties, state agencies, and local agencies related to potential neglect or abuse and initiating criminal or civil investigations as appropriate;

The DAG is expected to perform a variety of complex legal and other research and stay up to date in the rapidly changing fields of health care law, elder law, and electronic evidence. The DAG position will be responsible for cases statewide and will be required to travel throughout California.

Applicants must demonstrate good judgment and professionalism in all interactions with members of the public, colleagues, opposing counsel, and the judiciary. Civil litigation experience is preferred.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

• DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL IV
• DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
• DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL III

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Applicants should demonstrate excellent analytical, written and oral communication, and legal research skills.
• Civil litigation experience, including deposition and complex motion work, is preferred.
• Experience working with medical records and/or experience working in the healthcare industry, elder law, or medical malpractice, is helpful but not required.
• Ideal applicants are mission driven, take initiative, organized, meet deadlines, work well with peers and supervisors, and have enthusiasm for the work.